认知神经科学中神经层次的反向推理述介

Reverse Inference at the Neural Level in Cognitive Neuroscience

近些年来,随着功能神经成像技术的广泛应用,认知神经科学家越来越多地运用反向推理策略来建立和评价各种认知假说。科学哲学家们在讨论反向推理的性质时多把反向推理当作演绎或归纳,企图从有效性和可靠性角度来分析反向推理的合理性。分析表明,这个做法是失败的。反向推理中演绎和归纳交织在一起,同时还要参照其他认识论价值标准,应当被理解成一种溯因推理。反向推理作为溯因推理不仅对形成新假说有启发作用,也能够以最佳解释推理的形式对竞争假说做出筛选。

In recent years, a wide application of functional neuroimaging techniques encourages more and more cognitive neurescientists to construct or as- sess cognitive hypotheses by using the strategy of reverse inference. Most philosophers of science take reverse inference as deductive or inductive, thus e- valuating its rationality from a perspective of logical validity or soundness. Analysis in this paper predicts failure of these opinions, Reverse inference with aspects of deduction and induction, with which epistemic virtues are also taken into account, should be incorporated into abductive inference. Reverse in- ference as abductive inference may not only enlighten new hypotheses, but also, in terms of inference to the best explanation, select among competitive hypotheses.