Аспирантура
2026/2027
Философия когнитивных наук
Статус:
Курс по выбору
Кто читает:
Департамент психологии
Где читается:
Факультет социальных наук
Когда читается:
2-й курс, 1 семестр
Охват аудитории:
для своего кампуса
Преподаватели:
Фауль Богдан Владимирович
Язык:
английский
Кредиты:
2
Контактные часы:
28
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field that draws from anthropology, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology to explain how the mind works. This course seeks to provide students with an overview of the field, with a focus on those issues that are of particular relevance to philosophy. To do this, we’ll look at some of the most important philosophical debates that have taken place within cognitive science over the past fifty years. Some of these debates are “settled” (or, at least, people have moved on), while others are not. Topics include but are not limited to: intentionality; weak and strong AI; consciousness; reductionism; counterfactual reasoning; evolution and cognition; animal cognition; and innateness. There are no prerequisites for the course.
Learning Objectives
- The aim of the course is to form a comprehensive understanding of what is known about human consciousness today, both from the perspective of modern philosophy of mind and from the perspective of other approaches in cognitive research. As a result of the course, the student will develop an understanding of the latest research paradigms in contemporary cognitive sciences.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Analyze the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive research; operate with key concepts in the philosophy of mind.
- Analyze arguments for dualism; analyze modal propositions; reconstruct and solve the problem of mental causality; distinguish between necessary and sufficient conditions;
- Analyze arguments for and against physicalism; distinguish between types of physicalism; distinguish between functional types; distinguish between access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness;
- Reconstruct the halting problem; Reconstruct the Turing machine; Analyze the difference between philosophical functionalism and computationalism; Distinguish Searle's arguments against computationalism.
- Analyze the problem of modularity of mind; Apply the methodology of distinguishing levels of analysis of complex systems; Analyze the devices of a neuron; Reconstruct the principles of neural network design.
- Reconstruct classical concept theory; Distinguish between artificial and natural languages; Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of prototype theory; Distinguish between Objectivism and Experientialism; Reconstruct approaches within 4E cognition.
- Construct a state space; Analyze system attractors; Distinguish between types of attractors; Reconstruct a dynamic theory of consciousness; Analyze a theory of ecological perception;
Course Contents
- 1. Introduction to the history of cognitive sciences
- 2. Introduction to the philosophy of mind
- 3. Physicalist approaches
- 4. Functionalism and Computationalism
- 5. Contemporary Computationalism
- 6. Introduction to the new paradigm of cognitive science.
- 7. Dynamic cognitive theory
Assessment Elements
- Seminar activity
- PresentationPrepare a 10-minute presentation on a topic related to the course that aligns with your scientific interests.
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Chalmers, D. J. (1996). The Conscious Mind : In Search of a Fundamental Theory. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=55770
- Cognitive neuroscience : the biology of the mind, Gazzaniga, M. S., 2014
- Cognitive pragmatics : mindreading, inferences, consciousness, Mazzone, M., 2018
- Cognitive psychology : connecting mind, research, and everyday experience, Goldstein, E. B., 2008
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- A commentary on Hegel's philosophy of mind, Inwood, M. J., 2010
- A materialist theory of the mind, Armstrong, D. M., 2002
- A neurocomputational perspective : the nature of mind and the structure of science, Churchland, P. M., 2000
- Cognitive science : an introduction to the science of the mind, Bermudez, J. L., 2010
- Cognitive variations : reflections on the unity and diversity of the human mind, Lloyd, G. E. R., 2009