PHIL 312 Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences

This course covers topics at the intersection of philosophy, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology. Our primary aim is to examine how the latter disciplines understand and model the phenomena they study. We begin by examining the core philosophical principles guiding cognitive science, namely, that mental processes are computational processes implemented by an evolutionarily developed biological organ (i.e. the brain).  We also consider some of the major theoretical debates in cognitive science, for instance, whether certain mental capacities are realized by innate "modules". We then explore the goals, methods, and theoretical commitments of neuroscience as a scientific discipline. Finally, we compare and contrast two theoretical frameworks for understanding brain functions: the reinforcement learning approach and the Bayesian Brain Hypothesis.