Philosophical Applications of Cognitive Science
Fall 2011

The relevance of recent discoveries about the mind to philosophical questions about metaphysics, logic, and ethics. Questions include: What is causation? Is there a right way to carve up the world into categories? Why do we see the world as consisting of objects in places? Is there such a thing as objective right and wrong? Is there such a thing as free will? Readings are from both philosophy and cognitive science – that latter mostly in cognitive and developmental psychology, with linguistics, anthropology, and neuroscience making up the balance.

Readings can be found on the class Blackboard site

Syllabus

Paper topics

Guide to paper writing