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Against (theory-neutral) method (in consciousness science).

Majid D Beni1

  • 1Department of Philosophy, Middle East Technical University, Üniversiteler Mahallesi, Dumlupınar Bulvarı No: 1, 06800 Çankaya/Ankara, Turkey.

Neuroscience of Consciousness
|February 18, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The science of consciousness cannot start from a theory-neutral basis. Minimizing theoretical commitments risks naive empiricism and incurs significant epistemic costs in neuroscience research.

Keywords:
inference to the best explanationnatural kind reasoningtheory-neutrality

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Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Science
  • Neuroscience of Consciousness

Background:

  • The traditional view in consciousness science assumes a theory-neutral foundation for empirical research.
  • This assumption is challenged by the inherent reliance on background theories in scientific inquiry.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge the assumption of theory-neutrality in the science of consciousness.
  • To argue against minimizing theoretical commitments in favor of pure observation.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of scientific methodology in consciousness research.
  • Examination of the epistemic consequences of theory-dependence and theory-independence.

Main Results:

  • Ostensibly theory-neutral research programs rely on substantive, unbracketed background commitments.
  • The pursuit of theory-minimization risks collapsing into naive empiricism.

Conclusions:

  • A context-independent scientific method, devoid of theoretical commitments, is unattainable in consciousness studies.
  • Purging theoretical commitments from the neuroscience of consciousness incurs significant epistemic costs.