Michail-Angelos Sotirchos

Researcher

Email: dpsd19125[αt]syros.aegean.gr

I am an undergraduate student currently studying at the University of the Aegean, in the department of products and system’s design. During my time studying there, I have formed a solid background in systems theory and complex organizations theory, honing my knowledge on concepts such as simple and complex self-organization, autopoiesis, closure, autonomy, function, regulation and self-regulation, self-directedness, integration, representation, intention, goal/purpose, anticipation, emergence, and levels of organization.

I am also a researcher at the Complex Systems and Service Design Lab, studying models of basic biocognitive agents, the nature and functionality of mental representation within the whole agent, general models of perception ranging from embodied cognition accounts all the way to more internalistic accounts of representation driven perception, as well as the co-constitution of perception and action. My main ambition is to help develop holistic models that explain in detail the ever increasing and powerful goal-directed behavior that complex agents exhibit when it comes to the fulfillment of ill-defined and long term goals, as well as how such goals and their evolution affect the development of the agent itself. In order to define and put together the puzzle of this complicated cognitive capacity, I work under a naturalistic and bottom-up organizational framework, studying the evolution of cognitive functions that give rise to complex goal-directed behavior.

Research topics

  • Mental Representations
  • Models of Perception and Action
  • Self-directed Agents
  • Goal-directed behavior