Trapped priors as a basic problem of rationality

Abstract

Perception arises from the brain’s combination of raw sensory experience and contextual factors, including prior beliefs. This process can lead to “trapped priors”—deeply entrenched beliefs that resist updating despite contrary evidence, as the prior itself influences the perception of new experiences, often reinforcing the original belief. Examples range from sensory illusions and phobias, where gradual exposure therapy aims to allow new, safe experiences to update the prior, to intellectual, political, and religious biases where new information may only strengthen pre-existing convictions. Emotional states can exacerbate this phenomenon by reducing the “bandwidth” of raw experience, thereby making context and priors more dominant in shaping perception. While trapped priors are presented as a primarily epistemic problem, emotions can create fertile conditions for their development. Potential interventions to make priors more flexible and responsive to evidence include psychotherapeutic techniques, psychedelics (thought to reduce the weight of priors), and practices like meditation. – AI-generated abstract.