Philosophy of Cognitive Science

Catalog description

The human mind is the most complex system we’ve ever encountered, yet it’s one we carry with us every day. How does this remarkable organ create thoughts, solve problems, or even imagine entire worlds? Despite centuries of study, we are only beginning to uncover the secrets of how minds – human, animal, and artificial – work. Cognitive science seeks to answer these profound questions by combining insights from philosophy, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science, among other disciplines. In this course, you’ll examine the philosophical foundations of cognitive science and explore how empirical evidence can bear on our understanding of the mind. Together, we’ll investigate questions like: What frameworks best capture the nature of thought? Are humans born with innate knowledge? How does thought relate to language? Can non-human animals think or communicate like us? And what can artificial intelligence teach us about ourselves?