Vaughan Bell

While philosophy of psychiatry has emerged as a well-established academic field with dedicated journals, professional organisations, and substantial scholarly output, no equivalent “philosophy of neurology” field exists despite neurology’s comparable conceptual complexity. This paper examines why this disparity exists and proposes several potential avenues for developing a field focused on philosophical inquiry in neurology focused on outstanding clinical problems, namely: phenomenology of neurological disorders; ontological analysis of neurological categories; understanding alterations to volition, intention, and agency, and the relationship between changes to identity and personality change after neurological damage. We argue that neurology’s conceptual foundations warrant serious philosophical examination and that a dedicate field could provide valuable insights for both clinical practice and our understanding of human experience.