praenotion

Praenotion is a neologism used in speculative discussions within philosophy of mind and cognitive science to describe a hypothetical cognitive mechanism that generates provisional anticipations about possible future states before direct sensory input. In this view, praenotion acts as a preconscious or preconceptual scaffold that shapes how new information is attended to, interpreted, and integrated. It is not a fully formed belief or plan, but rather a tendency to organize perception around likely futures.

Etymology: The term derives from the Latin prae-, meaning before, and notio, notion or concept. It is intended to emphasize a temporal ordering of cognitive processing, from preconception to perception.

Conceptual framework: In discussions that employ praenotion, it is distinguished from explicit predictions or deliberate planning. It is conceptualized as a lightweight, preconscious bias toward certain interpretations, which can function analogously to priors in Bayesian accounts, yet operate at an earlier stage of information processing.

Usage and critique: The term appears primarily in theoretical analyses and thought experiments rather than empirical studies. Proponents argue it helps separate preconscious interpretive biases from later cognitive judgments; critics caution that the idea risks vagueness and conflating distinct phenomena such as bias, stereotype, and prior expectation. Empirical validation would require methods capable of isolating preconscious influences on perception.

Relation to other concepts: Praenotion is often discussed alongside predictive processing, priors, anticipation, and preconscious processing. See also predictive processing, priors, anticipation, preconscious, preconceptual.