Patricia Smith Churchland (born 16 July 1943)[3] is a Canadian-American analytic philosopher[1][2] noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind.

[7] Larissa MacFarquhar, writing for The New Yorker, observed of the philosophical couple that: "Their work is so similar that they are sometimes discussed, in journals and books, as one person.

"[8] Churchland was born Patricia Smith in Oliver, British Columbia,[3] and raised on a farm in the South Okanagan valley.

In spite of their limited education, Churchland has described her parents as interested in the sciences, and the worldview they instilled in her as a secular one.

She has also described her parents as eager for her to attend college, and though many farmers in their community thought this "hilarious and a grotesque waste of money", they saw to it that she did so.

[7] It was here that she began to make a formal study of neuroscience with the help and encouragement of Larry Jordan, a professor with a lab in the Department of Physiology there.

Describing Salk, Churchland has said that he "liked the idea of neurophilosophy, and he gave me a tremendous amount of encouragement at a time when many other people thought that we were, frankly, out to lunch.