Peter McLaughlin Books

Focusing on functional explanation in biology and social sciences, the book explores philosophical presuppositions behind such explanations. It addresses key questions about the nature and implications of functional explanations, examining why some phenomena are explained functionally while others are not. McLaughlin critically reviews fifty years of debate in the philosophy of science, delving into the history of teleology and offering a detailed Aristotelian analysis of natural functions, contributing significantly to the ongoing discourse in this area.

Focusing on the evolution of scientific thought, this book explores the shift from Renaissance engineering and philosophy to classical mechanics, emphasizing the role of velocity. It highlights the contributions of figures like Descartes and Galileo, who grappled with essential concepts that laid the groundwork for classical mechanics, often without fully recognizing their significance. The authors argue that this transformation was neither a simple progression nor a sudden upheaval, but rather a complex process of pushing the boundaries of the existing Aristotelian framework.

Theory and Method in the Neurosciences surveys the nature and structure of theories in contemporary neuroscience, exploring many of its methodological techniques and problems. The essays explore basic questions about how to relate theories of neuroscience and cognition, the multilevel character of such theories, and their experimental bases. Philosophers and scientists (and some who are both) examine the topics of explanation and mechanisms, simulation and computation, imaging and animal models that raise questions about the forefront of research in cognitive neuroscience. Their work will stimulate new thinking in anyone interested in the mind or brain and in recent theories of their connections.