A Thermodynamic Taxonomy of Doxastic States: An Active Inference Model and Experimental Paradigm

The Thermodynamic State-Space Model (TSSM) integrates Karl Friston's Free Energy Principle with neuroimaging data to reframe doxastic states through the lens of metabolic constraints. The framework demonstrates that belief and disbelief occupy low-resistance subcortical pathways, whereas the suspension of judgment requires resource-intensive prefrontal equilibrium. To validate this model without relying on verbal self-reports, the study proposes the Forced-Choice Asymmetric Betting Paradigm (FCABP) to quantify neuro-computational workloads. You can read the full abstract above.