Comment on "Path integrals, Particular Kinds, and Strange Things": from Consciousness to Society

Abstract

The path integral formulation introduced in [arXiv:2210.12761] "Path integrals, particular kinds, and strange things" by Friston and colleagues in 2023, offers an innovative lens for examining complex systems, particularly through its nuanced typology of particles. This comprehensive commentary focuses on strange particles, a distinct category whose concealed active states provide an intriguing model for understanding phenomena like consciousness and resilience. A key contribution of the formulation is its ability to express system dynamics in terms of densities over paths or trajectories, thereby circumventing the need for assumptions about stationary states. This is especially advantageous for analyzing non-stationary systems. The formulation introduces a nuanced typology of particles :active, inert, dissipative, conservative, ordinary, and strange. Each with unique properties that offer valuable insights into resilience, or specifically the notion of timescales and possibility for inner screens.