Undergraduate Course: The Computational Mind (PHIL10134)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Computation is the dominant approach to explaining how the mind works within psychology and neuroscience. Artificial intelligence also now holds out the promise of recreating human-like mental capacities in computing machines. This seems to suggest that cognition (thought, perception, even emotion) is a kind of computation. This course introduces the philosophical background to computational approach to the mind, exploring some foundational questions and challenges that it faces. |
| Course description |
Topics covered by the course include:
- History of the computational theory of mind, from cybernetics to functionalism
- Core commitments of the computational theory of mind (representation, realisation, etc.)
- Is your brain a computer?
- Can computation explain perception?
- Philosophical critiques of computationalism
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Knowledge and Reality (PHIL08017) AND
Mind, Matter and Language (PHIL08014)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students studying on MA Cognitive Science (Humanities) are permitted to take this course without having met the pre-requisites of Mind, Matter and Language and Knowledge and Reality. However, it is advisable that students discuss the suitability of the course with their PT and the course organiser before enrolling. |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Midterm essay 1500 Words (35%);
Final essay 2500 Words (45%);
Presentation (15%)
Participation (5%) |
| Feedback |
Written feedback on essays
Verbal feedback on class presentation |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
| To develop further the philosophical skills, and to extend as well as deepen the philosophical knowledge, acquired in previous philosophy courses.
|
Reading List
Representative Texts:
Haugeland, John (1985) Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press
Husbands, Phil and Owen Holland (2008) The Mechanical Mind in History.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Sprevak, Mark and Matteo Colombo (2018) The Routledge Handbook of the
Computational Mind. New York: Routledge
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | computation,philosophy,mind,consciousness,externalism |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mazviita Chirimuuta
Tel:
Email: m.chirimuuta@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
|
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