Philosophy

Recent articles

How does a control theorist explain cognition?

Maxim Raginsky draws on control theory, engineering and philosophy to explore what makes biological brains intelligent, what artificial intelligence is missing, and what principles underlie biological autonomy.

By Paul Middlebrooks
7 October 2026 | 1 min read
Illustration of waterfall inside a woman's brain.

Revisiting the neural correlates of consciousness

Life happens in real time, but experience may be composed in ragtime—like the music genre, full of offbeat notes and uneven rhythms. The assumption that waking life consists of a “stream” of conscious representations has inadvertently led consciousness science to its current impasse.

By Francis T. Fallon, Michael Pitts
28 September 2026 | 7 min read

What if Hegel were a neuroscientist?

Andrea Gambarotto shares what Hegel and enactivism have in common: an agency-first approach to understanding minds and brains.

By Paul Middlebrooks
16 September 2026 | 1 min read

Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?

Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.

By Paul Middlebrooks
15 July 2026 | 1 min read

What counts as a ‘naturalistic’ behavior?

Nedah Nemati explains how neuroscience methods and the lived experience of the scientists themselves shape how we define the behaviors we seek to explain.

By Paul Middlebrooks
3 June 2026 | 1 min read

Three ecological psychologists on the right and wrong ways to use the field’s principles in neuroscience

Matthieu de Wit, Luis H. Favela and Vicente Raja weigh in on the recent trend of neuroscientists importing concepts from ecological psychology, the study of how an organism’s interactions with its environment explain perception and action.

By Paul Middlebrooks
25 February 2026 | 1 min read

Alex Maier argues that a scientific explanation of consciousness requires grounding in formalized mathematics

When it comes to discovering laws of nature for consciousness similar to those in physics, Maier argues that integrated information theory is the only game in town.

By Paul Middlebrooks
7 January 2026 | 1 min read
A hand holds a clear rectangular prism up to a series of abstract patterns, offering a new view of them.

Beyond the algorithmic oracle: Rethinking machine learning in behavioral neuroscience

Machine learning should not be a replacement for human judgment but rather help us embrace the various assumptions and interpretations that shape behavioral research.

By Nedah Nemati, Matthew Whiteway
3 December 2025 | 7 min read

Does AI understand what it produces? Henk de Regt explores how we might assess understanding in machines and humans

Building on his philosophy of how scientists understand what they work on, de Regt is extending his approach to test understanding in machines.

By Paul Middlebrooks
19 November 2025 | 1 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research figure of fly neurons transforming taste information into movements.

Fly taste connectome traces paths from sensation to action

The map—the first of its kind for an animal more complex than Caenorhabditis elegans—gives neuroscientists a trove of testable hypotheses about how neuronal circuits guide feeding behaviors.

By Lauren Schenkman
30 October 2026 | 5 min read
Gerry Fischbach at a podium.

Remembering Gerry Fischbach, ‘orchestra conductor’ who brought scientists together

Fischbach, who died 25 October, elucidated the dynamic changes in neuromuscular junctions. Beyond the lab, he shaped careers, academic departments and scientific societies.

By Claudia López Lloreda
29 October 2026 | 8 min read
Mouse wearing a white, cube-like device on its head.

WILD platform levels up ability to record brain activity, behavior in nature

The customizable rig combines multimodal recording, onboard processing and neuronal manipulation to power more complex experiments.

By Simon Makin
29 October 2026 | 6 min read