Dr Jonathan Birch

This course is available on the MSc in Economics and Philosophy, MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy, MSc in Philosophy of Science and MSc in Philosophy of the Social Sciences. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course provides an introduction to the (i) philosophical foundations and (ii) ethical, social and political implications of contemporary cognitive science. No background in either philosophy or cognitive science is required.

Topics covered include:

Part I: Foundations

Thought as computation: What does it mean to say that thought is ‘computational’? What is getting computed, and how? Are there limits to the ‘computer’ analogy?

The boundaries of thought: Are thoughts wholly 'in the head’? How might they extend beyond it? Where does cognition begin and end?

The fate of ‘folk psychology’: Are there really such things as beliefs and desires? Or is the ‘common sense’ conception of human thought radically mistaken?

'Dual-process’ theories of cognition: Do cognitive processes come in ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ varieties? Is the mind partitioned into two systems? Or is the true picture more complicated than this?

Part II: Consequences

Emotion and morality: Is explicit moral reasoning nothing more than the after-the-event rationalization of snap judgements made in the emotional heat of the moment? If so, where does that leave ethics?

Implicit bias: Could we be unaware of our own racial and gender biases? Are we responsible for the decisions they influence? And is there anything we can do about them?

Improving decisions: Can policymakers exploit cognitive science to ‘nudge’ our behaviour in the direction of desirable social outcomes? If so, should they?

Cognitive enhancement: What are the prospects for enhancing human cognitive capacity by technological means? What are the ethical limits? Are there any?

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT.

One 2,000 word formative essay and comments on a draft of the assessed essay.

Suggested introductory reading:

Crane, T. (2003), The Mechanical Mind. Routledge.

Haidt, J. (2012), The Righteous Mind. Allen Lane/Penguin.

Thaler, R. H. and C. R. Sunstein (2008), Nudge. Yale/Penguin.

Kahneman, D. (2011), Thinking Fast and Slow. Allen Lane/Penguin.

Exam (67%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (33%, 2000 words).