An Introduction to Cognitive Science
Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary course that integrates material from many fields. It is designed for students who are interested in the problem of the mind and aims to introduce a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the mind. This article will define what is cognitive science and explain why this course is a great choice for students interested in cognitive science, whether as a major or minor.
Interdisciplinary Nature of Cognitive Science
Cognitive science is interdisciplinary, so it draws on many different areas of study. Its broad field of study includes everything from human behavior to olfactory and gustatory sensations. It also studies the influence of the environment on human performance. Various theories of cognition take this into account. One example is the qualia problem, which can be found in the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
Cognitive science emerged as an intellectual movement during the 1950s and traced its origins to ancient Greek philosophical texts. But unlike its predecessors, modernist philosophers rejected scholasticism and Aristotle and used tools and core concepts that were entirely different from those of the classical school.
Cognitive science is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on ideas and tools from many different fields. Philosophers, computer scientists, and psychologists collaborate to understand human behavior and cognition.
Modernist Philosophers Rejected Scholasticism.
Many modernist philosophers have rejected scholasticism in cognitive science. Scholasticism holds that the essence of things is fixed and unchangeable, whereas neo-Scholasticism holds that the essences of things are the products of change. These views are problematic in the context of modern science and philosophy and are not always compatible with the values of modern societies.
Scholasticism has many facets, and scholars have different emphases. Some scholars have restricted their focus to a general definition of Scholasticism, which holds that it originated in Christian schools during the Middle Ages. This definition focuses on academic learning and its origins and evolution in the West.
In modern psychology, Neo-Scholasticism has developed into a new branch of thought entirely different from medieval philosophy. Neo-Scholasticism develops new soteriology and applies new ways to study cognition. While older Scholasticism handled the problem of certainty deductively, neo-Scholasticism approaches this problem from an inductive point of view.
Modernist Philosophers Rejected Psychiatry.
Postmodern perspectives place greater emphasis on the interplay between power and science. In a world with freedom of expression, a few professional groups have the power to use science to control fellow humans. Psychiatrists claim to use scientifically based treatments to relieve suffering, yet society gives them the power to impose their treatments on specific individuals. The rejection of such coercive treatments will have moral and ethical dimensions.
On the other hand, biological psychiatry posits the causal relationship between the brain and mind, which is inconsistent with Descartes’s dualism. Therefore, this view of mental processes is problematic. Nevertheless, a contemporary perspective rejects the dualism of Descartes, which is supported by the exclusion principle.
Modernist Philosophers Rejected Empiricism.
Throughout history, various philosophical views have been used to explain how things work. For example, Thomas Aquinas advocated inductive reasoning based on evidence observed through the senses. The seventeenth-century English scientists also relied on mathematics and imagination to make their research decisions and kept all possibilities open. Many of them also turned to the occult and nature for their research. Some, such as Isaac Newton, studied alchemy, the precursor of modern chemistry.
Empiricism rejects the idea that human beings possess ideas based solely on experience. Empiricism is thus a necessary part of cognitive science. However, a slippery slope may lead to a reductionist conclusion.
The first step to addressing this challenge is examining the mind’s nature. Modernist philosophers have argued that a person’s knowledge depends on an inner “quasi-visual” faculty. The inner eye is responsible for surveying mental representations. As a result, a person’s mental state is not entirely dependent on the external world, and there may be other underlying causes of the phenomena they perceive.
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