interview by DONATIEN GRAU and OLIVIER ZAHM portraits by OLIVIER ZAHM investigating the plasticity of the brain, the first french philosopher to tackle neuroscience looks at the inner machinery of the brain as the organ of thought OLIVIER ZAHM — I was very surprised to learn that as a philosopher, you work on the brain. We generally see it as being science on one side — including neuroscience — and on the other, the philosophical world. What was your initial interest in the brain? CATHERINE MALABOU — I have two answers to this question. First, I entered the neural world through the concept of plasticity — a philosophical concept that I discovered through Hegel, who talks about the role of plasticity in designating a system that transforms itself from the inside. I then discovered later that the brain is considered “plastic,” exactly for this same reason. OLIVIER ZAHM — As…