The Curious Case of the Decapitated Frog

In 1853, the German Physiologist Eduard Pflüger published the first in a series of startling experiments on living, decapitated frogs. He elicited behaviours in these compromised animals that seemed more than just reflexive - the behaviours seemed purposive. An ensuing controversy over whether these frogs could be considered genuinely conscious pitted the English polymath G.H. Lewes against T.H. Huxley. Their debate curiously intertwined empirical with a priori philosophical concerns, concerns which we will try to tease apart.