Nemati, Nedah (2024) What is 'Natural' about Naturalistic Neuroscience? [Preprint]

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Abstract

Recent advances in neuroscience have introduced a wave of technologies and experimental paradigms aimed at studying animal behavior under more naturalistic conditions. These approaches promise to reconcile the control of laboratory settings with the complexity of real-world environments. Although these methods, here collectively termed 'naturalistic neuroscience', are often regarded as groundbreaking, in this paper, I critically assess their conceptual underpinnings and methodological consequences. Specifically, I examine the assumptions held by proponents of what I call the “conventional framework” of naturalistic behavior, which seek to bring researchers closer to animals’ true, unaltered behavior. By closely attending to experimental practices involving nonhuman animal models, I show how distinct theoretical assumptions shape what is meant by naturalistic and how these differences challenge an often-invoked ideal of methodological pluralism. I discourage treating naturalistic neuroscience as a unified enterprise, arguing that the conventional discourse obscures the diversity of scientific aims and practices, both fostering theoretical fragmentation and impeding efforts to unify the study of behavior.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Nemati, Nedah nnn2120@columbia.edu 000000019426766X
Keywords:	Philosophy of Neuroscience; naturalistic studies; behavioral neuroscience
Subjects:	General Issues > Models and Idealization Specific Sciences > Neuroscience > Molecular Neuroscience Specific Sciences > Neuroscience > Systems Neuroscience
Depositing User:	Dr. Nedah Nemati
Date Deposited:	27 Nov 2025 12:03
Last Modified:	27 Nov 2025 12:03
Item ID:	24192
Subjects:	General Issues > Models and Idealization Specific Sciences > Neuroscience > Molecular Neuroscience Specific Sciences > Neuroscience > Systems Neuroscience
Date:	8 November 2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24192

Available Versions of this Item

• On Natural Behavioral Studies. (deposited 09 Nov 2024 13:19)
  • What is 'Natural' about Naturalistic Neuroscience? (deposited 27 Nov 2025 12:03) [Currently Displayed]

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