(Neuroscientists obviously don’t use the term “homunculus”, but when they talk about “top-down versus bottom-up”, I think they’re usually equating “top-down” with “caused by the homunculus” and “bottom-up” with “not caused by the homunculus”.)
I agree that the homunculus-theory is wrong and bad, but I still think there is something to top-down vs bottom-up.
It’s related to what you write later
Another part of the answer is that positive-valence S(X) unlocks a far more powerful kind of brainstorming / planning, where attention-control is part of the strategy space. I’ll get into that more in Post 8.
I think conscious control (aka top-down) is related to conscious thoughts (in the global work space theory sense) which is related to using working memory, to unlock more serial compute.
I agree that it is possible to operationalize “top-down versus bottom-up” such that it corresponds to a real and important bright-line distinction in the brain. But it’s also possible to operationalize “top-down versus bottom-up” such that it doesn’t. And that’s what sometimes happens. :)
I agree that the homunculus-theory is wrong and bad, but I still think there is something to top-down vs bottom-up.
It’s related to what you write later
I think conscious control (aka top-down) is related to conscious thoughts (in the global work space theory sense) which is related to using working memory, to unlock more serial compute.
I agree that it is possible to operationalize “top-down versus bottom-up” such that it corresponds to a real and important bright-line distinction in the brain. But it’s also possible to operationalize “top-down versus bottom-up” such that it doesn’t. And that’s what sometimes happens. :)