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Object Exploration and a Problem with Reductionism

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to use neuroscientific evidence to address the philosophical issue of intertheoretic reduction. In particular, we present a literature review and a new experiment to show that the reduction of cognitive psychology to neuroscience is implausible. To make this case, we look at research using object exploration, an important experimental paradigm in neuroscience, behavioral genetics and psychopharmacology. We show that a good deal of object exploration research is potentially confounded precisely because it assumes that psychological generalizations can be reduced to neuroscientific ones.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, 17604, U.S.A.

    Anthony Chemero

  2. Biological Foundations of Behavior, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, 17604, U.S.A.

    Charles Heyser

  3. Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, University of Connecticut, USA

    Anthony Chemero

Authors
  1. Anthony Chemero
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  2. Charles Heyser
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Correspondence to Anthony Chemero.

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Chemero, A., Heyser, C. Object Exploration and a Problem with Reductionism. Synthese 147, 403–423 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-005-8363-7

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