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Knowledge and the Brain:

Bridging the Gap Between Epistemology and Neuroscience

(aka "NeuroKnow")

What is it?

NeuroKnow is a broad, interdisciplinary research project dedicated to understanding the philosophy of knowledge through the lens of the neurocognitive processes responsible for how both philosophers and laypeople think about knowledge. This means investigating both the neurocognitive mechanisms of knowledge attribution and the epistemological significance of these mechanisms.

Where is it?

NeuroKnow is currently based out of the Turku Brain and Mind Center at the University of Turku, with the support of an Academy of Finland postdoctoral research grant.

Previously, NeuroKnow was also hosted by the University of Cologne's CONCEPT research center, where much of its philosophical approach was developed and refined.

Fig. 1: Looks like a brain with an arrow on it.

What are NeuroKnow's research objectives?

(O1) The application of neuroimaging and behavioral techniques in studying the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying knowledge attribution

(O2) The establishment of a framework on which the theoretical structure of knowledge can be inferred from how the brain attributes knowledge

(O3) Advocating for the use of neurocognitive techniques as a natural advancement in epistemological methodology

(O4) Developing an account of knowledge that can accommodate how the brain computes knowledge attributions

Fig. 2: Schematic overview of the NeuroKnow project.

What advancements has NeuroKnow produced?

Experimental Epistemology Powered by Neuroscience—In a pioneering use of EEG in experimental epistemology, NeuroKnow has provided the first direct look into what happens in the brain when we make judgements about knowledge (Bricker 2020). These neural measurements provide compelling evidence of knowledge attribution in the absence of any belief attribution stage. That is, at least in the simple cases of perceptual knowledge studied thus far, the brain treats knowledge like a mental state.

Advocacy for Neurocognitive Techniques—NeuroKnow is at the forefront of the promotion of neurocognitive techniques in the study of knowledge attribution, particularly in the emerging knowledge-centric Theory of Mind research program (Bricker 2021a).

Inferring the Structure of Knowledge from How Knowledge is Attributed—Central to the NeuroKnow project is the principle of neurocognitive parity, which specifies conditions on which the mechanics of knowledge attribution can tell us something about the nature of knowledge itself (Bricker 2021b). With the help of neurocognitive parity, NeuroKnow is able to employ behavioral and neurocognitive techniques in the direct investigation of epistemological questions about knowledge.

Fig. 3: Event-related potentials depicting a clear neural difference in how the brain processes knowledge (K) and belief (B) attributions for otherwise identical tasks. The reduced amplitude around 450 ms for tasks involving belief attribution (B and TB) indicates increased demand for neural resources vs. both knowledge attribution and a non-mental counting task (T). The most likely explanation is that knowledge attribution doesn't require the same self-perspective inhibition that characterized belief attribution. (Note that the F-map is for TFCE-transformed f-values.)

What is the current focus of NeuroKnow?

During its Academy funding period, NeuroKnow will be largely occupied with two primary tasks.

Advancing our understanding of the neural and cognitive processes governing knowledge attribution: While the past two years have seen significant advancements in our understanding of the mechanics of knowledge attribution (see especially Bricker 2020; Phillips et al. 2020; Westra and Nagel 2021), there are still remarkably few studies directly investigating the neural and cognitive processes involved. NeuroKnow is dedicated to addressing this shortcoming through a series of studies investigating knowledge attribution under an extremely broad number of conditions.
Developing a new account of the metaphysics of knowledge: While the principle of neurocognitive parity is an important methodological tool for making epistemological inferences on the basis of empirical facts about knowledge attribution, it has surprisingly little to say about what kind of thing knowledge is. We here at NeuroKnow are committed to pushing things forward by developing an attributor-dependent account of knowledge, on which S being in the state of knowledge depends in some way on knowledge being attributed to S. As knowledge attribution is governed by specific neurocognitive processes, we can understand that it is in virtue of these processes that knowledge is conferred.

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