Philosophical tools to understand conceptual development in neuroscience
- Philipp Haueis,
- Margulies Daniel
Margulies Daniel
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Author ProfileAbstract
Alongside models and methods, concepts are one of the building blocks of
neuroscientific inquiry. They help researchers to pursue various goals,
such as describing novel patterns in the data, situate these patterns in
existing models, formulate new models or build explanations, e.g., of
how the brain processes sensory information. Often the formation of
novel or reinterpretation of existing concepts can signal major shifts
in how we understand the brain and investigate it scientifically. Yet
not every novel concept or reinterpretation produces such a shift, which
raises the question of when concepts succeed or fail to change our
understanding of the brain. In this paper, we introduce analytical tools
developed by philosophers of science and concepts of brain organization
as examples to discuss when introducing novel, reinterpreting existing
and replacing outdated neuroscientific concepts succeeds or fails. Our
discussion opens up novel avenues for neuroscientists and philosophers
to collaborate around the limits of old and prospects of new concepts
describing how the brain is organized.05 Mar 2024Submitted to European Journal of Neuroscience 08 Mar 2024Assigned to Editor
08 Mar 2024Submission Checks Completed
10 Mar 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Mar 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned