How Scientific Instruments Speak

Postphenomenology and Technological Mediations in Neuroscientific Practice

Inbunden, Engelska, 2021

1 469 kr

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Science is highly dependent on technologies to observe scientific objects. For example, astronomers need telescopes to observe planetary movements, and cognitive neuroscience depends on brain imaging technologies to investigate human cognition. But how do such technologies shape scientific practice, and how do new scientific objects come into being when new technologies are used in science?In How Scientific Instruments Speak, Bas de Boer develops a philosophical account of how technologies shape the reality that scientists study, arguing that we should understand scientific instruments as mediating technologies. Rather than mute tools serving pre-existing human goals, scientific instruments play an active role in shaping scientific work. De Boer uses this account to discuss how brain imaging and stimulation technologies mediate the way in which cognitive neuroscientists investigate human cognitive functions. The development of cognitive neuroscience runs parallel with the development of advanced brain imaging technologies, drawing a lot of public attention—sometimes called “neurohype”—because of its alleged capacity to demystify the human mind. By analyzing how the objects that cognitive neuroscientists study are mediated by brain imaging technologies, de Boer explicates the processes by which human cognition is investigated.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2021-01-14
Mått160 x 227 x 23 mm
Vikt522 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SeriePostphenomenology and the Philosophy of Technology
Antal sidor232
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN9781793627841

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Table of ContentsIntroduction: Technological Mediations and (Neuro-)Scientific PracticePart 1: Towards a Theory of Technological Mediations in Scientific PracticeChapter 1: Scientific Instruments as Mediating Technologies and the Collectivity of Scientific PracticeChapter 2: “Technology” and “Human-Technology Relations”Chapter 3: Science and the Theoretical Disclosure of NatureChapter 4: To the Scientific Objects Themselves: Gaston Bachelard’s PhenomenotechniqueChapter 5: Bruno Latour and the Difference Between Technical and Technological MediationsPart 2: A Postphenomenological Ethnomethodology of Neuroscientific PracticeChapter 6: Postphenomenology as Ethnomethodology: Studying How Reality is Accomplished Through the Appropriation of Technological MediationsChapter 7: Constituting “Visual Attention” in the Cognitive NeurosciencesChapter 8: “Braining” Neuropsychiatric ExperimentsConclusion: A Philosophy of Technological Mediation as a Philosophy of Scientific Practice

de Boer attempts to challenge established scientific epistemology. How Scientific Instruments Speak can be read either as a theoretical exploration of the philosophy of science and technology, or as solid empirical research on the routine practice of current neuroscience. In addition, this book can shed light on the potential of interdisciplinary research between humanities and neuroscience regarding the institutionalized methods and theory within scientific collectives. It can also help examine how critical neuroscience can impact the practices of neuroscientists.