Catalogue 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Cognitive Science Department
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Chair: John H. Long, Jr.;
Professors: Gwen J. Broudeb, Kenneth R. Livingstonb, John H. Long, Jr.;
Associate Professor: Janet K. Andrews, Joshua de Leeuw;
Assistant Professors: Stephen Flusberg.
b On leave 2023/24, second semester
We human beings take it for granted that we are possessed of minds. You know that you have a mind and you assume that other people do too. But what, exactly, are we referring to when we talk about the mind? Is a mind just a brain? What endows your mind with the property of being conscious? How does your mind allow you to extract music from sound waves, or relish the taste of chocolate, or daydream, or feel happy and sad, or reach for your cup when you want a sip of coffee? Are minds directly aware of the world out there? Or, when you think that you are perceiving reality, are you just consulting some representation of the world that your mind has built? How similar is your mind to the minds of other people? Do you have to be a human being to have a mind? Could other entities have minds so long as they were built the right way? Does your computer have a mind?
These are the kinds of questions that cognitive scientists want to address. Cognitive Science is a broadly multidisciplinary field in which philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, linguists, neuroscientists, biologists, mathematicians, and computer scientists, among others, combine their respective theories, technologies, and methodologies in the service of a unified exploration of mind. The hallmark of the field is a genuinely multidisciplinary outlook in which the perspectives and methods of all of the component disciplines are simultaneously brought to bear upon a particular question. In 1982, Vassar College became the first institution in the world to grant an undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science.
Major
Cognitive Science: I. Introductory
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COGS 100 - Introduction to Cognitive Science Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
Cognitive science is a multidisciplinary exploration of the nature of mind and intelligence in whatever forms they may take, from animal (including especially humans) to machine. This course explores the modern history of our efforts to understand the nature of mind, asking such questions as how a purely physical entity could have a mind, whether a computer or robot could have genuine mental states, and what it really means to be intelligent or to have a mind. In the process of seeking answers to these questions, the course explores such phenomena as perception, memory, prediction, decision-making, action, language, and consciousness by integrating methods and concepts from a number of disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, biology, linguistics, and anthropology. Material from economics, education, mathematics, engineering, and the arts is increasingly integrated into the field as well. No background in any of these disciplines is assumed, and this course is intended to serve as an introduction, for both majors and non-majors, to the unique multidisciplinary approach to studying problems of mind that Cognitive Science represents. The Department.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 110 - The Science and Fiction of Mind Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Our understanding of what minds are and of how they work has exploded dramatically in the last half century. As in other areas of science, the more we know the harder it becomes to convey the richness and complexity of that knowledge to non-specialists. This First-Year Course explores two different styles of writing for explaining new findings about the nature of mind to a general audience. The most direct of these styles is journalistic and explanatory and is well represented by the work of people like Steven Pinker, Bruce Bower, Stephen J. Gould, and Ray Kurzweil. The second style is fictional. At its best, science fiction not only entertains, it also stretches the reader’s mind to a view of implications and possibilities beyond what is currently known. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Greg Bear, and Richard Powers all provide excellent models of this kind of writing. In this course students practice both ways of writing about technical and scientific discoveries. By working simultaneously in both styles it should become clear that when done well even a strictly explanatory piece of science writing tells a story. By the same token even a purely fictional narrative can explain and elucidate how the real world works. The focus of our work is material from the sciences of mind, but topics from other scientific areas may also be explored. This course does not serve as a prerequisite for upper-level courses in Cognitive Science. Ken Livingston.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 2-hour periods.
Course Format: CLS
Cognitive Science: II. Intermediate
Cognitive Science: III. Advanced
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COGS 300 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit.
Yearlong course 300-COGS 301 .
Course Format: INT -
COGS 301 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit.
Yearlong course COGS 300 -301.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 302 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
A thesis written in one semester for one unit.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 304 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit. Yearlong course 304-COGS 305 taken in spring of junior year and spring of senior year. Only for students enrolled in the dual-degree program with Columbia University. Jan Andrews, Gwen Broude, Joshua de Leeuw, Kenneth Livingston.
Yearlong course 304-COGS 305 .
Course Format: INT -
COGS 305 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit. Yearlong course COGS 304 -305 taken in the spring of junior year and spring of senior year. Only for students enrolled in the dual-degree program with Columbia University. Jan Andrews.
Yearlong course COGS 304 -305.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 311 - Seminar in Cognitive Science Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2023/24a: Language and Thought. What is the relationship between language and cognition? Are some thoughts unthinkable without language or are the effects of language on thought more benign? Do people who speak different languages think about or perceive the world differently? Through what mechanisms might language influence other cognitive processes? Questions like these have long captivated philosophers, linguists, anthropologists, psychologists, and science fiction authors, generating fierce debates, clever experiments, and plenty of controversy. In this course we explore these ideas from a range of perspectives, with an emphasis on critically evaluating various theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence. Stephen Flusberg
Topic for 2023/24b: Transformative Experiences.There are some experiences in our life that transform who we are in ways that are seemingly unknowable prior to having the experience. Many of the biggest decisions that we make have this quality. How will I change if I move to a new country, change my profession, or become a parent? The only way to really know is to have the experience, but how can I make a decision about whether to have the experience if I don’t really know how it will affect me? This is an interesting puzzle for theories of decision making in cognitive science. In this seminar, we’ll try to piece together this puzzle by asking questions like: What counts as a transformative experience? Are they distinct from other experiences? What are the characteristics of transformative experiences? What changes when we have a transformative experience? Can theories and formal models of decision making account for transformative decisions? Are transformative experiences somehow special in this way, or are there more general problems with how theories of decision making apply to our lived experiences? What does this tell us about cognition more broadly? Logistics permitting, this course will include a field trip to Burlington, VT to view the total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024. This may or may not be a transformative experience — you have to take the course to find out. Joshua de Leeuw.
Prerequisite(s): At least one 200-level course in Cognitive Science and permission of the instructor.
May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 312 - Mind Reading: The Cognitive Science Book Club Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The goal of this course is to explore interests and issues from the field of Cognitive Science that go beyond the Cognitive Science curriculum. These include methodological and theoretical issues as well as empirical work, narrative, and more. The course is book-driven and discussion-intense. Think of it as a Cognitive Science book club. We read books, lots of them, and talk about them. Past topics have included: free will, consciousness, embodiment, first person subjective experience, neuroscientific methods, the anthropological stance, artificial intelligence, origins of morality, story, and theory of mind. Books and topics change each year. Gwen Broude.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level course in Cognitive Science and permission of the instructor.
May be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2023/24.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 319 - Modeling Minds, Brains, and Behavior Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
In this course students learn to apply computational methods to the study of minds, brains, and behavior. The course examines a variety of approaches to modeling through readings, discussions, and hands-on programming. Topics and methods covered change depending on the interest of students in the class, but typically include agent-based models, symbolic models, and neural networks. Hands-on experience with modeling experimental data and computer programming are essential parts of the course. Students complete a semester-long modeling project in an area of interest to them. In addition to the importance of these approaches for students in Cognitive Science, the techniques explored are also of value to students in Neuroscience and Behavior as well as other behavioral sciences. Josh de Leeuw.
Prerequisite(s): At least one 200-level course in Cognitive Science or a related discipline; or permission of the instructor.
May be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 320 - Autonomous Robotics Design Competition Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course gives students with an interest in robotics an opportunity to explore basic principles of robot design and programming in a hands-on laboratory environment. The specific nature of the task to be accomplished varies each year, but in all cases the problems to be solved require thinking about the key issues that confront any robot designer: How is the robot situated in its environment? How does the design of the robot’s body affect its intelligence? What are the optimal strategies for programming flexible intelligence in the robot (e.g., behavior-based or reactive systems, world modeling and planning systems, hybrid systems)? Students are organized into teams with balanced skill sets and compete to complete the assigned task most effectively in an end-of-semester competition. The design and construction components of the course are supported by classroom instruction in basic electronics, hardware design and building techniques, and relevant programming skills. Joshua de Leeuw.
Prerequisite(s): Either COGS 211 , a 200-level CMPU course, or permission of the instructor.
Students who have neither COGS 211 nor a 200-level CMPU course as prerequisites may still have sufficient background to take the course depending on other skills and should consult with the instructor about readiness to take the class.
2 - two-hour lab a week.
Not offered in 2023/24.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 399 - Senior Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group advanced independent work with prior approval of the advisor and of the instructor who supervises the work. The Department.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Individual conferences with the instructor.
Course Format: INT
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