Abstract
In this chapter I explain what is meant by the term philosophical psychopathology, what thought experiments are and what their role has been (and continues to be) within the philosophical tradition. I then move on to outline the book's aim which is to show how, in light of the growing availability of case study evidence documenting rare human pathological conditions and our ever-increasing neurological understanding of how the brain works, it is possible to engage with certain philosophical issues in the absence of thought experiments. It is not therefore my contention that thought experiments have no place in philosophy; rather, I aim to show only that pathological case study evidence amounts to a rich but, at present, underused resource, and that this resource merits a more prominent role within philosophical inquiry.