ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author attempts to provide a brief overview of the three different areas of philosophically influential scientific research. The author's aim is twofold: first, to sketch the themes discussed in the chapters, and second, to highlight some of the interconnections between them. Advocates included Pavlov and the American psychologist Karl Lashey, whose work running rats through mazes led him to the conclusion that what mattered was the size of a brain lesion rather than its location. In this chapter, however, the author attempts to flesh out this standard story by showing how the problems and objections that beset each theory directly gave rise to the next. While scientists and artificial intelligence researchers will develop the coming technologies, philosophers of mind will be needed to help understand and assess the implications such technologies present. In doing so, future philosophers will have a very long and fruitful history upon which to draw.
