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See the readings about the history of cognitive science.
See the readings about the history of cognitive science. VERY briefly, cognitive science is the product of developments in computer science and AI, neuroscience, and a reaction against behaviorism in psychology, linguistics and philosophy.
Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
See the readings about the history of cognitive science.
Mental phenomena are explained in terms of physical processes in the brain. Most cognitive scientists are PHYSICALISTS or MATERIALISTS - everything in the world is made up of physical substance.
PHYSICALISTS would deny SUBSTANCE DUALISM - the view that the mind is a soul, some kind of non-extended and non-physical object. Substance dualism is of course a part of most religious doctrines.
We have no a priori reason to think that substance dualism must be wrong. Only experiments can help us decide which approach is better. What is true is that the physicalist approach has been more successful in improving our understanding of the mind.
Horizontal division of labour: Mental phenomena involves language, perception, reasoning, emotions, etc. Different scientists focus on different areas. Vertical division of labour: Each mental phenomena can be investigated at various levels - the task level, the level of algorithm, and the level of neural mechanism.
The mind is extremely complicated
Vertical and horizontal division of labour is needed to understand the mind.
The mind is extremely complicated - around 20 billion inter-connected neurons
Vertical and horizontal division of labour is needed to understand the mind.
Horizontal division of labour: Mental phenomena involves language, perception, reasoning, emotions, etc. Different scientists focus on different areas. Vertical division of labour: Each mental phenomena can be investigated at various levels - the task level, the level of algorithm, and the level of neural mechanism.
Some of the disciplines of cogsci:
Horizontal division of labour: Mental phenomena involves language, perception, reasoning, emotions, etc. Different scientists focus on different areas. Vertical division of labour: Each mental phenomena can be investigated at various levels - the task level, the level of algorithm, and the level of neural mechanism.
Some of the disciplines of cogsci:
Brief answer
Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
1. Cogsci is interdisciplinary
2. Cogsci is materialist
3. The mind is modular
4. Mental processes are explained in terms of parallel computations in the brain
5. Most mental processes are unconscious
Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior. What does this imply?
Feature #1: Cognitive science studies mind and behavior
Feature #2: Cognitive science is a science
More on methodology
FAQ - What is the difference between cognitive science and psychology?
What is cognitive science?
* All sorts of mental states (belief, emotions), processes (reasoning, speech), phenomena (consciousness), and behavior (motion) * Both normal and abnormal (prosopagnosia, autism) cases are studied.
* Theories and hypotheses in cogsci are not armchair speculations but have to be tested by experiments and observations. * Types of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation, ... * Dominant methodology in cogsci: interdisciplinary approach, explains the mind in terms of parallel, interacting computational systems of neurons.
* Psychology - cognitive psychology, developmental psychology * Linguistics - syntax, semantics, phonology * Neuroscience - brain structures, localization * Computer science - AI, computer models * Philosophy - theoretical foundations
* The brain is a complex system with different functional parts, e.g. visual areas, language, reasoning, ... * SPECIALIZATION not incompatible with PLASTICITY
* Perception - acquiring real-time information about the surrounding environment. * Language use - making use of information about syntax, semantics and phonology. * Reasoning - combining different sources of information, deriving new information, testing consistency of information, etc. * Action - making use of information in action planning and guidance. * Memory - storing and retrieving information
* We have lots of different beliefs at any given time, but we are not aware of all of them at the same time. * We are not aware of how we retrieve information from memory, how we recognize faces, ...
* Cognitive science is more like reverse engineering the mind to discover its architecture. * So less emphasis on social aspects and applications.
- [Required] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/
* [Required] A brief intro from Berkeley cogsci programme * Thagard, Paul (1996) Mind : Introduction to Cognitive Science Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press. [accessible from netlibrary.com] * Howard Gardner The Mind's New Science: A History of the Cognitive Revolution
Readings
* [Required] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/
- [Required] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/
Readings
* [Required] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/ * [Required] A brief intro from Berkeley cogsci programme * Thagard, Paul (1996) Mind : Introduction to Cognitive Science Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press. [accessible from netlibrary.com] * Howard Gardner The Mind's New Science: A History of the Cognitive Revolution
What is cognitive science? Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior. What does this imply? Feature #1: Cognitive science studies mind and behavior
* All sorts of mental states (belief, emotions), processes (reasoning, speech), phenomena (consciousness), and behavior (motion) * Both normal and abnormal (prosopagnosia, autism) cases are studied.
Feature #2: Cognitive science is a science
* Theories and hypotheses in cogsci are not armchair speculations but have to be tested by experiments and observations. * Types of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation, ... * Dominant methodology in cogsci: interdisciplinary approach, explains the mind in terms of parallel, interacting computational systems of neurons.
More on methodology 1. Cogsci is interdisciplinary The mind is extremely complicated - around 20 billion inter-connected neurons
Vertical and horizontal division of labour is needed to understand the mind.
Horizontal division of labour: Mental phenomena involves language, perception, reasoning, emotions, etc. Different scientists focus on different areas. Vertical division of labour: Each mental phenomena can be investigated at various levels - the task level, the level of algorithm, and the level of neural mechanism.
Some of the disciplines of cogsci:
* Psychology - cognitive psychology, developmental psychology * Linguistics - syntax, semantics, phonology * Neuroscience - brain structures, localization * Computer science - AI, computer models * Philosophy - theoretical foundations
2. Cogsci is materialist Mental phenomena are explained in terms of physical processes in the brain. Most cognitive scientists are PHYSICALISTS or MATERIALISTS - everything in the world is made up of physical substance.
PHYSICALISTS would deny SUBSTANCE DUALISM - the view that the mind is a soul, some kind of non-extended and non-physical object. Substance dualism is of course a part of most religious doctrines.
We have no a priori reason to think that substance dualism must be wrong. Only experiments can help us decide which approach is better. What is true is that the physicalist approach has been more successful in improving our understanding of the mind. 3. The mind is modular
* The brain is a complex system with different functional parts, e.g. visual areas, language, reasoning, ... * SPECIALIZATION not incompatible with PLASTICITY
4. Mental processes are explained in terms of parallel computations in the brain Information processing in the mind
* Perception - acquiring real-time information about the surrounding environment. * Language use - making use of information about syntax, semantics and phonology. * Reasoning - combining different sources of information, deriving new information, testing consistency of information, etc. * Action - making use of information in action planning and guidance. * Memory - storing and retrieving information
The distinctive feature of a lot of mental processes is that they involve complex information processing. But complex information processing is best explained by computations and representations. So we have reasons to believe that mental processes should be explained by computations in the brain. There are mental representations that encode information, and there are mental processes that operate on such representations. 5. Most mental processes are unconscious We are not consciously aware of much of our mental processes.
* We have lots of different beliefs at any given time, but we are not aware of all of them at the same time. * We are not aware of how we retrieve information from memory, how we recognize faces, ...
FAQ - What is the difference between cognitive science and psychology? Brief answer
* Cognitive science is more like reverse engineering the mind to discover its architecture. * So less emphasis on social aspects and applications.