| CODE | CGS5070 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Philosophical Issues for Cognitive Science | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Cognitive Science | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Research papers, journal articles and textbook examples of research, experiments and theories from the field of cognitive science will be analysed and discussed in relation to their relevance and implications for philosophical issues. Participants will write reports highlighting the possible philosophic relevance of specific experiments and findings in Cognitive Science. Students will write short draft reports on how their own planned research activities and findings may contribute to philosophical thought. This unit will be based on one core reference text in philosophical issues related to cognitive science. Journal Articles reporting on research activities and findings in cognitive science will be used as the basis for identification and analysis of philosophical issues and implications. At the end of the study-unit, students will present issues and findings relating their own areas of intended research and interest to one or more of the issues focused on during the course. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims to enable students to identify and analyse the philosophic relevance of specific areas of research and specific theories and findings emerging from Cognitive Science. It thus aims to make students aware of, and conversant with ongoing academic debate on some of the following issues: Free will and Determinism; Gender and Cognition; Memory; Responsibility; Collective Intelligence and Wisdom; Cognitive Enhancement; The nature of Empathy, Possibilities and limits of integration of human and machine. It also aims to enable the students to acquire and practice the analytic skills required to identify, discuss and report on new philosophic issues and problems which may then be taken up as new areas of investigation by philosophers and cognitive scientists. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify the philosophical issues and problems related to proposed or executed research in the field of cognitive science; - write a report presenting an analysis of the proposed or executed research in terms of relations and implications to philosophical issues; - analyse research reports and results, when presented in the form of articles, publications or in conferences with a view to reporting on such philosophical implications in philosophy conferences and journals; - bridge the domains contributing to cognitive science and engage in discussions and present philosophical issues and implications to researchers in the different domains. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify related philosophical issues and resulting implication when presented with: a proposal for an investigation, a design of an experiment, results of an experiment, discussions of results of experiments (within the field of cognitive science); - present clear and cohesive arguments and draft reports of such implications; - identify and consider the philosophical implications in research planning and design. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts - Mindware: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science Clark, Andy 2014 (2nd Edition). Supplementary Readings - Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind Friedenber, Jay and Silverman Gordon (2006) Sage Publications. - Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Houghton Mifflin. Various articles selected from cognitive science journals. These will be sourced from electronic research databases available through University of Malta Library research portal. |
||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Seminar and Tutorial | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Clive Zammit |
||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||