Summary
Might psychology someday be reduced to (that is, be exhaustively explained by) computational neurobiology? Many still say no. We approach this question through a brief survey of some prominent intertheoretic reductions drawn from the history of science. A general characterization of reduction is constructed from these, and some important philosophical and methodological lessons are drawn. The five most popular objections to the possibility of a neurobiological reduction of psychology are then addressed, and defeated.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bartoshuk LM (1978) Gustatory System. In: Masterton RB (ed) Sensory integration. Plenum, New York, pp 503–567 (Handbook of behavioral neurobiology, vol 1 )
Churchland PS (1986) Neurophilosophy: toward a unified understanding of the mind/brain. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Churchland PM (1989) A neurocomputational perspective: the nature of mind and the structure of science. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Churchland PM, Churchland PS (1990) Could a machine think? Sci Am 262: 32–37
Fodor JA (1975) The language of thought. Crowell, New York
Jackson F (1982) Epiphenomenal qualia. Philos Q 32: 127–136
Land E (1977) The retinex theory of color vision. Sci Am 237: 108–128
Nagel T (1974) What is it like to be a bat? Philos Rev 83: 435–450
Popper K, Eccles J (1978) The self and its brain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York
Searle J (1980) Minds, brains, and programs. Behav Brain Sci 3: 417–457
Searle J (1990) Is the brain’s mind a computer program? Sci Am 262: 26–31
Taylor C (1970) Mind-body identity: a side issue? In: Borst CV (ed) The mind/brain identity theory. Macmillan, Toronto, pp 231–241
Taylor C (1987) Overcoming epistemology. In: Baynes K, Bohman J, McCarthy T (eds) After philosophy: end or transformation? MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 464–488
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Churchland, P.M., Churchland, P.S. (1992). Intertheoretic Reduction: A Neuroscientist’s Field Guide. In: Christen, Y., Churchland, P.S. (eds) Neurophilosophy and Alzheimer’s Disease. Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer’s Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46759-2_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46759-2_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-46761-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-46759-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive