MindCraft: Revolutions in Thinking about Thinking

Catalog description

What does it mean to have a mind? What does it mean to think? These deceptively simple questions lie at the heart of this course. We explore diverse perspectives on the "mind", from long-standing philosophical debates to contemporary theories in psychology. By grappling with these questions, students consider how different answers shape the study of psychology, its methods, goals, and fundamental assumptions. The course emphasizes critical evaluation and challenges students to reflect on their own views about the nature of the mind. The semester is organized around three major themes: The mind–body problem: Whether, and in what sense, the mind is distinct from the brain. Through the history of psychological science, we compare behaviorism and cognitivism as contrasting approaches to studying the mind. Finally, we investigate probabilistic theories of cognition, which blend computation and psychology to address enduring questions about reasoning and thinking.