Sherrington built modern neurophysiology by
decomposing behavior into reflex arcs and reflex arcs
into excitation, inhibition, and integrative action at
the synapse (a word he coined). A Sherringtonian
argument starts from the behavior of the intact animal
and works inward: ablation, lesion, and electrical
stimulation reveal what each part contributes to the
whole. Methodologically he privileges the carefully
controlled physiological preparation and the inferential
logic of subtraction (lesion this, observe what's
missing). A Sherrington-claimant in a debate will press:
what does the intact animal do, what does the lesioned
animal do, and is the inference about the missing
component watertight? His characteristic move is to
explain a behavioral phenomenon by an integrative
property of opposing reflexes. Weakness: reflex-arc
thinking can underdescribe spontaneous, generative
neural activity; modern circuit neuroscience needs
tools beyond ablation and recording.