Minds, Brains & Intelligent Behavior

(Fundamentals of Cognitive Science)

What is the difference between the "mind" and the "brain"? What does it mean to have a mind? What is "artificial" about Artificial Intelligence? Answers to these questions determine how we scientifically study the human mind. This course will introduce Cognitive Science to answer the age old question: How can we scientifically study something that is as intangible as our "minds"? We are going to look at relevant developments in psychology, philosophy of mind, computer science, and linguistics. The interdisciplinary nature of this course will teach students to tackle both theoretical (i.e., critical thinking on deep philosophical questions about the mind) and quantitative (i.e., solving equations to train an artificial neuron) problems.