PHIL 270 Minds and Machines
- Level 2 or above
None
one-way Exclusions
- Lectures
TBA
Instructor: Nancy Salay
In this course we will survey the contribution of philosophy to the cognitive sciences. Our focus will be on providing an holistic understanding of the various perspectives brought by each of the disciplines, in particular, cognitive psychology, AI, neuroscience, and systems biology, through an investigation of how the various approaches ultimately frame and answer our questions about mind. The course will begin with an overview of the traditional themes in the philosophy of mind, but the bulk of the term will be spent investigating contemporary studies of cognition, both mainstream and embodied, from a philosophical perspective. The topics we will cover throughout the term include, but are not limited to, the following: formal systems; physical symbol systems; deep learning networks; A-life; emergent systems; dynamical systems; cognitive linguistics; embodied cognition; enactivism.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have demonstrated they can:
integrate content from the course readings and in-class discussions to produce a portfolio of written work that reveals an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the philosophy of cognitive science that approximately tracks the progression of the course in real time;
communicate their assimilation of a reasonable subset of the course readings and in-class discussions via organized, cogent prose;
support and enhance the learning of their peers via oral contributions to discussions, active listening, or other means provided or required by the syllabus;
reconstruct arguments from the philosophical texts being studied and raise interpretive questions about or accurately targeted objections to those arguments, in written or oral forms as required by the syllabus, at an upper-intermediate level
Assessments
Assessments
TBA
AI/Technology Policy:
Use of electronic devices in class is: Permitted
Use of AI (generative, agential, etc.) for work for this course is: Forbidden
Course technology policy statement: Electronic devices are discouraged in the classroom (except as QSAS-mandated disability accommodation). Use of AI (generative, agential, etc.; in writing, editing or brainstorming your essays, completing make-up assignments, etc.) is strictly forbidden in this course.