Mechanism, explanatory pluralism and efficient coding explanation in neuroscience

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Publicado: Apr 3, 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v9.n1.14650
Palavras-chave:
mechanism, unity of science, explanatory pluralism, causal explanation, efficient coding explanation

Conteúdo do artigo principal

Sergio Daniel Barberis
Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filosofía "Alejandro Korn"

Resumo

There is a growing debate within the philosophical community about the unity or disunity of neuroscience. The new Mechanist philosophers claim that neuroscience exhibits a mosaic unity –one in which different explanatory models may contribute to the explanation of some explanandum phenomenon ? by setting causal constraints on the space of possible mechanisms for ?. Non-mechanist philosophers frequently adopt some form or another of explanatory pluralism. In this paper I argue, first, that Mechanism is compatible with a popular version of explanatory pluralism, which I call causally restricted pluralism. Then, I present a liberalized version of explanatory pluralism –one according to which there are models in neuroscience that are explanatory of some phenomenon ? but that do not set any causal constraint on the space of possible mechanisms for ?. Finally, I argue that there is at least one pattern of explanation in neuroscience –namely, efficient coding explanation– that is better accounted for by liberal pluralism.

Detalhes do artigo

Como Citar
Mechanism, explanatory pluralism and efficient coding explanation in neuroscience. (2017). Revista Argentina De Ciencias Del Comportamiento, 9(1), 9-18. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v9.n1.14650
Edição
v. 9 n. 1 (2017): Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento
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Biografia do Autor

Sergio Daniel Barberis, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filosofía "Alejandro Korn"

Doctor en Filosofía por la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Becario Post-doctoral CONICET 2013-2105. Auxiliar Docente en Filosofía de las Ciencias, FFyL-UBA. Auxiliar Docente en Metafìsica, FFyL-UBA. Profesor Adjunto de Historia de la Ciencia, Universidad Nacional de Moreno. Becario Fulbright 2016-2017.

Como Citar

Mechanism, explanatory pluralism and efficient coding explanation in neuroscience. (2017). Revista Argentina De Ciencias Del Comportamiento, 9(1), 9-18. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v9.n1.14650

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