Department of Philosophy Invited Lecture as part of the COREmind Project
Holistic Representation in LLMs
Lukas Kob, PhD (Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg)
Time: Friday, February 20, 2026, 10:30—12:00
Venue: Room SP319, Sedláčkova 15
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts
University of West Bohemia in Pilsen
The lecture investigates the extent to which vector space representations in large language models (LLMs) can be understood as holistic representations. It is argued that holistic principles influence both the training process and the generation of output in LLMs. To contextualize this claim, debates on representation in psychology and philosophy will be presented, with a focus on the distinction between indicator and structural representations which recently emerged in philosophy of cognitive science. The holistic properties of structural representations are introduced as a key feature that distinguishes them from indicator representations and provides a basis for analyzing holism in LLMs. Two novel criteria for holism are developed: holistic perturbability and holistic exploitability. It is argued that LLMs meet both criteria. Moreover, holistic exploitation in output generation provides a novel way to understand the exploitability of structural representations in general, possibly also applicable in the human brain. Classic counterarguments to holism and their implications for the question of semantic grounding are discussed. Finally, implications for the homunculus problem, gestalt perception, and development are presented.
This lecture is being held at the University of West Bohemia as a part of the project “Social-Cultural Determinants of Circulation of Representations: The Impact on Human Mind and Strategies of Remediation“, registration number CZ.02.01.01/00/23_025/0008715, with financial support of the Johannes Amos Comenius Programme (P JAC), provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (MS MT) for realization of the project in the period 1/2025 – 12/2028.
