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Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:53:38 GMT

The following is adapted from J Brendan Ritchie and Piccinini, "Cognitive Computational Neuroscience", forthcoming in N. Heinzelmann, ed., Advances in Neurophilosophy.

Anti-mechanists sometimes contrast functional, computational, dynamical, Bayesian, network, pathways, or process modeling strategies to mechanistic modeling and explanation. Their criticism relies on a strong reading of the strategy of decomposition and localization: each cognitive function admits of a unique decomposition into subfunctions, each subfunction is carried out by a unique neural structure, and each structure carries out one and only one subfunction. A reductionist assumption sometimes included in the strong reading of localization is that individual subfunctions can be studied and fully understood in isolation from one another.

In fact, there is considerable evidence that many neurocognitive functions do not admit of decomposition and localization in this strong sense (Anderson, 2014; Burnston 2021, Pessoa 2022, McCaffrey 2023).

But decomposition and localization admits of a weak reading. On a weak reading, cognitive functions may be decomposable in more than one way depending on context, each subfunction may be carried out by different neural structures depending on context, neural structures may carry out different subfunctions depending on context, and subfunctions may be fully understandable only when studied in combination with other subfunctions.

Modeling approaches that are contrasted with mechanistic explanation violate only the strong construal of decomposition and localization. But a mechanistic approach to CCN need only be committed to the weak reading of this strategy. When a weak reading is accepted, insofar as other modeling approaches contribute to constitutive causal explanation of cognitive capacities, they describe aspects of neurocognitive mechanisms.

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 22:53:49 GMT

Gianni Vattimo died on Sept 19, 2023. He was an internationally well-known postmodern ("continental") philosopher, and one of his generation's most influential Italian philosophers. Gianni was my very first mentor (of sorts).

He played an important role in my choice to study philosophy.

I enrolled in an (undergrad) engineering program at Politecnico di Torino in 1989. After a few weeks, unfulfilled by engineering, I skipped classes and went to the Universita' di Torino instead. I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do instead of engineering but philosophy sounded more appealing. I looked at the schedule and recognized Vattimo's name (he had a column in the local newspaper, La Stampa, that I had read before). So, I went to his class.

Vattimo's class was in a large lecture hall with 2-300 students in it. Courses had started a couple of weeks prior, so I had missed all the information that had already been covered. That day, Vattimo lectured on Heidegger, using many Heideggerian words (in German, which I didn't know). At some point, he said: "If you have a question, feel free to raise your hand; if you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, come to my office hours this afternoon". I thought: "That's me".

I went to his office hours and explained that I was an engineering student mulling a switch to philosophy (in Italy, you must choose your major before enrolling in college/university). He told me to read some accessible philosophy to see how I liked it. Since Nietzsche is usually accessible, he even gifted me a copy of a Nietzsche anthology that he edited.

He forgot to tell me to skip the first chapter, which was an excerpt from The Birth of Tragedy (a work largely based on philology by a young Nietzsche, rather difficult for an 18-year-old with minimal philosophy background).

Not knowing any better, I tried reading the first chapter and found it almost as abstruse as Vattimo’s lectures on Heidegger. Nevertheless, I kept attending Vattimo's lectures, plus other philosophy courses. Soon thereafter, I switched from engineering to philosophy.

Once in a while, I would show up at Vattimo's office hours, update him about my studies, and get his helpful guidance. He knew I was moving towards "analytic" philosophy of mind and cognitive science, and he never pushed me to do anything different. He was kind to me and, as far as I can tell, to others. We even kept in touch for a while after I graduated and, for a brief period, after I moved to the US. But we lost touch for good shortly after I moved to the US.

I am grateful to Gianni for his kindness, guidance, insight, and openness. I'm still trying to pay it forward.

PS: If you are a college student reading this, go talk to your instructors and ask for their advice; they are probably happy to help and, in any case, their job is to help you.

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 22:53:20 GMT

He played an important role in my choice to study philosophy.

I am grateful to Gianni for his kindness, guidance, insight, and openness. I'm still trying to pay it forward.

PS: If you are a college student reading this, go talk to your instructors and ask for their advice; they are probably happy to help and, in any case, their job is to help you.

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 22:52:03 GMT

He played an important role in my choice to study philosophy.

I am grateful to Gianni for his kindness, guidance, insight, and openness. I'm still trying to pay it forward.

PS: If you are a college student reading this, go talk to your instructors and ask for their advice; they are probably happy to help and, in any case, their job is to help you.

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 22:51:54 GMT

He played an important role in my choice to study philosophy.

I am grateful to Gianni for his kindness, guidance, insight, and openness. I'm still trying to pay it forward.

PS: If you are a college student reading this, go talk to your instructors and ask for their advice; they are probably happy to help and, in any case, their job is to help you.

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 22:46:20 GMT