ABSTRACT

New tools and methods for investigating the brain have given neuroscientists a chance to examine the working brain and placed neuroscience as the central discipline in cognitive science. My main goal in this article is to examine theoretical and philosophical assumptions on which different understandings and interpretations of neuroscientific research are based and to show why philosophical reflection on neuroscience is needed. I first discuss different roles philosophy potentially plays in cognitive science. After a short presentation of Descartes' position concerning the mind body problem and cognitive science approaches to answer his challenge, I examine different theoretical frameworks for neuroscientific research.

KEY WORDS

philosophy of cognitive science, Descartes, neurophilosophy, reduction, embodied cognition

CLASSIFICATION

APA:	2340, 2380, 2630
JEL:	D83, D84, Z10