Gualtiero Piccinini

Composition, Realization, and Constitutive Explanation: An Ontologically Egalitarian Account of Multilevel Mechanisms

Thanks to Dan Burnston and Nick Byrd for this opportunity to introduce Neurocognitive Mechanisms: Explaining Biological Cognition (OUP 2020). This book is the culmination of my main research program over the last 20+ years; it offers a comprehensive foundation for the science of biological cognition. In these posts, I’ll outline …

Reminder: Two Publishing Venues in the Philosophy of Neuroscience

Gualtiero Piccinini February 3, 2021 November 25, 2022 Mindcraft / Uncategorized

I periodically remind people of a couple of venues for work in the philosophy of neuroscience: The Synthese Topical Collection on Neuroscience and Its Philosophy. The deadline is purely nominal; submissions are processed as they come in and published online shortly after acceptance. To be considered, you need to submit …

A Couple of Venues

Gualtiero Piccinini January 6, 2020 November 25, 2022 Mindcraft / Uncategorized

Just a quick reminder about two venues for good work in the philosophy of neuroscience: Synthese used to publish a yearly Special Issue in the philosophy of neuroscience. The format has changed slightly, in that the papers are now published as they are accepted, but they are collected together online …

The New X-phi Blog

Gualtiero Piccinini December 13, 2018 November 25, 2022 blogs / Experimental Philosophy / Mindcraft

Joe Ulatowski, Dan Weijers, and Justin Sytsma have recently revived the x-phi blog under the auspices of the Australasian Experimental Philosophy Group: xphiblog.com. Edouard Machery has recently put up a post on the Geography of Philosophy project. More content is coming soon.

Dear Colleague Letter: Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Society – Supported Jointly with the Partnership on AI

Gualtiero Piccinini November 20, 2018 November 25, 2022 Academia / CFPs / Mindcraft

This is an NSF grant opportunity that might be of interest to some of you.

Neurocognitive Mechanisms: Explaining Biological Cognition

Gualtiero Piccinini June 9, 2018 November 25, 2022 Mindcraft / Uncategorized

I just completed a fairly polished draft of a new book, entitled Neurocognitive Mechanisms: Explaining Biological Cognition. It gives a comprehensive defense of a computational theory of cognition updated for the era of cognitive neuroscience, including ontological foundations, with surprises for both supporters and critics of traditional computational theories of …

A Note on Constitutive Relevance in Mechanisms

Gualtiero Piccinini October 14, 2017 November 25, 2022 Explanation / Mindcraft / Philosophy of Mind / Philosophy of Science

Carl Craver (Explaining the Brain, 2007) argues that what it is for an object doing X (micro variable) to be a working component of a mechanism doing Y (macro variable) is (i) for the former to be a part of the latter and (ii) for the two of them to …