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Exploratory Concept Formation and Tool Development in Neuroscience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2022

Philipp Haueis
Philipp Haueis*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
*
Email: philipp.haueis@uni-bielefeld.de
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Abstract

Developing tools is a crucial aspect of experimental practice, yet most discussions of scientific change traditionally emphasize theoretical over technological change. To elaborate on the role of tools in scientific change, I offer an account that shows how scientists use tools in exploratory experiments to form novel concepts. I apply this account to two cases in neuroscience and show how tool development and concept formation are often intertwined in episodes of tool-driven change. I support this view by proposing common normative principles that specify when exploratory concept formation and tool development succeed (rather than fail) to initiate scientific change.

Type
Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 90 , Issue 2 , April 2023 , pp. 354 - 375
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Philosophy of Science Association

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