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The analysis demonstrates that the aspiration to eliminate or minimize theory-dependence in favour of pure observation risks collapsing into na\u00efve empiricism. More broadly, the paper contends that there is no context-independent scientific method\u2014certainly not one that seeks to purge theoretical commitments from the neuroscience of consciousness without significant epistemic cost.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/nc\/niag003","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T12:29:58Z","timestamp":1769430598000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Against (theory-neutral) method (in consciousness science)"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"2026","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8719-0825","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Majid D","family":"Beni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Philosophy, Middle East Technical University , \u00dcniversiteler Mahallesi, Dumlup\u0131nar Bulvar\u0131 No: 1, 06800 \u00c7ankaya\/Ankara 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