[PhilPhys] Friday - Aliya Dewey -Design explanation in behavioral neuroscience

[Center for Phil Sci]

The Center for Philosophy of Science invites you to join us for our Lunch
Time Talk.  Attend in person, Room 1117 on the 11th floor of the Cathedral
of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh or visit our live stream on
YouTube at *https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg>*.



*LTT: **Aliya Dewey*

Aliya's 5 min. Introduction Video:  https://youtu.be/xfLZNqVb9CE


Friday, November 1st @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT



*Title: Design explanation in behavioral neuroscience*
Abstract: Explanation in behavioral neuroscience is often thought to be
mechanistic—to explain stimulus-response pairs by describing a mechanism
(working parts “causally between” stimuli and responses). I suggest that
behavioural neuroscientists in fact want a richer form of explanation—one
that explains task-performance pairs by describing some kind of
correspondence between the mechanism and the structure required to perform
the task. In other words, they want an explanation for how a mechanism
realises competent task performance as such. Using a detailed case study of
sound localisation in the barn owl (*Tyto alba*), I argue that this form of
explanation—which I call “design explanation”—integrates mechanistic,
minimal model, and constraint-based forms of explanation.



*Can’t make it in-person? This talk will available online through the
following:*



Zoom:  https://pitt.zoom.us/j/92798130196
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listbox.elte.hu/pipermail/philphys/attachments/20241027/989902a7/attachment.html>