Conceptual Change and Tool Development: The Challenges of the Neurosciences to the Philosophy of Scientific Revolutions Cambio conceptual e innovación técnica: los desafíos de las neurociencias a la filosofía de las revoluciones científicas

BARBERIS, SERGIO DANIEL

Revista de Humanidades de Valparaiso

Universidad De Valparaíso, Chile

Año: 2022 p. 165 - 181

0719-4234

The determining role that tool development plays in neuroscientific progress poses special challenges to the Kuhnian-rooted philosophy of scientific change. Some philosophers of neuroscience argue that revolutions in neuroscience do not involve paradigm shifts, but instead depend exclusively on technical or experimental innovation. By studying the historical episode of the discovery of the neuron (1873-1909), I argue that revolutions in neuroscience, like many other laboratory revolutions, are frequently driven by the intertwining of technical innovations and conceptual change.