A Cautionary Contribution to the Philosophy of Explanation in Cognitive Neuroscience

VENTURELLI, NICOLÁS

MINDS AND MACHINES

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2016 vol. 26 p. 259 - 285

0924-6495

I propose a cautionary assessment of the debate concerning the impact of the dynamical approach on philosophical accounts of scientific explanation in cognitive neuroscience. I criticize the dominant mechanistic philosophy of explanation, pointing out that it doesn?t do justice to the field?s diversity and stage of development, and that it fosters misguided interpretations of dynamical models? contribution. In order to support these arguments, I analyze a case study in computational neuroethology and show why it should not be understood through a mechanistic lens. In addition, I argue for a greater appreciation of the relation between explanation and other epistemic goals.