This course is an introduction to the philosophy of cognitive science. Cognitive science is the study of how organisms acquire, represent, manipulate, and use information. It is an interdisciplinary field that employs theories and methods from psychology, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, and philosophy. The philosophy of cognitive science is the field of philosophy that is concerned with foundational questions that arise in cognitive science. Is the mind a computer? If the mind is like a computer, can we understand it without investigating underlying 'hardware' of the brain? Could a robot or artificial intelligence (AI) ever really have beliefs, emotions, or conscious experiences? Is your phone, and all that it can do, an extension of your mind? In this class, we will look at the origins of questions like these, as well as their answers.

This course is an introduction to the philosophy of cognitive science. Cognitive science is the study of how organisms acquire, represent, manipulate, and use information. It is an interdisciplinary field that employs theories and methods from psychology, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, and philosophy. The philosophy of cognitive science is the field of philosophy that is concerned with foundational questions that arise in cognitive science. Is the mind a computer? If the mind is like a computer, can we understand it without investigating underlying 'hardware' of the brain? Could a robot or artificial intelligence (AI) ever really have beliefs, emotions, or conscious experiences? Is your phone, and all that it can do, an extension of your mind? In this class, we will look at the origins of questions like these, as well as their answers.