Beyond mechanism – extending our concepts of causation in neuroscience DOI Open Access
Kevin J. Mitchell, Henry D. Potter

Published: June 26, 2024

In neuroscience, the search for causes of behavior is often just taken to be neural mechanisms. This view typically involves three forms causal reduction: first, from ontological level cognitive processes that mechanisms; second, activity whole brain isolated parts; and third, a consideration temporally extended, historical focus on synchronic states. While modern neuroscience has made impressive progress in identifying mechanisms, providing unprecedented real-time control behavior, we contend this does not amount full explanation. particular, there an attendant danger eliminating our explanatory framework, even organism itself. To fully understand need what happens when different neurons are activated, but why those things happen. paper, introduce range well developed, non-reductive, extended notions causality philosophy, which neuroscientists may able draw order build more complete casual explanation behavior. These include concepts criterial causation, triggering versus structuring causes, constraints, macroscopic historicity, semantic causation – all which, argue, can used undergird naturalistic understanding mental agent causation. can, collectively, help bring cognition itself back into picture, as unto itself, while still grounding respectable scientific terms.

Language: Английский

Beyond Mechanism—Extending Our Concepts of Causation in Neuroscience DOI Creative Commons
Henry D. Potter, Kevin J. Mitchell

European Journal of Neuroscience, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 61(5)

Published: March 1, 2025

ABSTRACT In neuroscience, the search for causes of behaviour is often just taken to be neural mechanisms. This view typically involves three forms causal reduction: first, from ontological level cognitive processes that mechanisms; second, activity whole brain isolated parts; and third, a consideration temporally extended, historical focus on synchronic states. While modern neuroscience has made impressive progress in identifying mechanisms, providing unprecedented real‐time control behaviour, we contend this does not amount full explanation. particular, there an attendant danger eliminating our explanatory framework, even organism itself. To fully understand need what happens when different neurons are activated, but why those things happen . paper, introduce range well‐developed, non‐reductive, extended notions causality philosophy, which neuroscientists may able draw order build more complete explanations behaviour. These include concepts criterial causation, triggering versus structuring causes, constraints, macroscopic historicity, semantic causation—all which, argue, can used undergird naturalistic understanding mental causation agent causation. can, collectively, help bring cognition itself back into picture, as unto itself, while still grounding respectable scientific terms.

Language: Английский

Citations

0
Beyond mechanism – extending our concepts of causation in neuroscience DOI Open Access
Kevin J. Mitchell, Henry D. Potter

Published: June 26, 2024

In neuroscience, the search for causes of behavior is often just taken to be neural mechanisms. This view typically involves three forms causal reduction: first, from ontological level cognitive processes that mechanisms; second, activity whole brain isolated parts; and third, a consideration temporally extended, historical focus on synchronic states. While modern neuroscience has made impressive progress in identifying mechanisms, providing unprecedented real-time control behavior, we contend this does not amount full explanation. particular, there an attendant danger eliminating our explanatory framework, even organism itself. To fully understand need what happens when different neurons are activated, but why those things happen. paper, introduce range well developed, non-reductive, extended notions causality philosophy, which neuroscientists may able draw order build more complete casual explanation behavior. These include concepts criterial causation, triggering versus structuring causes, constraints, macroscopic historicity, semantic causation – all which, argue, can used undergird naturalistic understanding mental agent causation. can, collectively, help bring cognition itself back into picture, as unto itself, while still grounding respectable scientific terms.

Language: Английский

Citations

2