I. Course Description

Theories and explanations in biology, cognitive science, neuroscience and psychology typically describe or purport to describe mechanisms. Accordingly, many of the activities of scientists in these disciplines can be understood in terms of the search for mechanisms. What, exactly, is a mechanism and what is a mechanistic explanation?

In trying to answer these questions, we will confront a wide range of other questions:  How is the contemporary conception of a mechanism related to previous incarnations of the mechanical philosophy? What is the relationship between mechanisms and laws of nature? What is the best way to understand the notion of causality implicit in the  notion of a mechanism? How does the search for mechanisms shape the search for evidence and the design of experiments? Are there strategies for discovering and testing mechanisms? Under what conditions are these strategies likely to succeed or fail?