The Idealized Mind - From Model-Based Science to Cognitive Science

A defense of scientific realism based on the role of idealization in the cognitive sciences. We study nature, including the mind and brain, by building scientific models. In A central error in most theorizing about the mind, Kirchhoff claims, is to confuse the properties of scientific models with those of the system being modeled. But scientific models are, almost exclusively and unavoidably, idealizations of the world we seek to understand. They are descriptions of hypothetical systems, things that do not actually exist in nature. Specifically, Kirchhoff uses insights on idealization in science to assess the status and standing of three foundational issues in cognitive science: neural representation, neural computation, and the prospects for explanatory unification. He also explains why it is a mistake to approach neural representation and neural computation through the metaphysical stances of realism, fictionalism, or eliminativism.

Product details

• Authors: Michael D Kirchhoff, Michael D. Kirchhoff, Michael D. Kirchhoff
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 05.08.2025
• EAN: 9780262552936
• ISBN: 978-0-262-55293-6
• No. of pages: 248
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 18 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology; PHILOSOPHY / Mind & Body, Philosophy of Mind, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, SCIENCE / Cognitive Science, Impact of science & technology on society, Impact of science and technology on society, Cognitive studies, Cognitive Science