What has philosophy got to do with cognitive science?

Readings

• van Gelder, T. J. (1998) The Roles of Philosophy in Cognitive Science. Philosophical Psychology 11, 117-136. (especially section 3)

Methodological relevance

Philosophy is an activity that relies mainly on the analysis of concepts and reasoning (logic).

Logic

• Scientist - New discovery X! New theory Y explains discovery X!
• Philosopher - Does theory Y really explain X? Is Y really the best explanation of X?
• Philosopher - Theories A, B, C all assume P. Is P really true?

Concept

• Philosopher - Theories A, B, C all make use of concept X. What does concept X really mean?
  • Example - computation, representation, grammar, innateness, ...

Intuitions

• Philosophical discussion might talk about observations and experiments. But philosophical research usually do not directly involve observations and experiments.
• However,
  • Very often philosophers rely on intuitions in their arguments which are often empirical assumptions in disguise.
  • Some would argue that the distinction between pure reasoning and observations is not a sharp one.

Functions / roles

Van Gelder suggests that philosophy can perform such functions within a scientific discipline:

• The Pioneer - philosophy as baby science nursery
• The Building Inspector - examining the foundations of a subject
• The Cartographer - mapping out the big picture
• The Archivist - a collection of past wisdom and consensus
• The Gadfly - stirring up trouble

Category.Mind