Cognitive Science

专业介绍

May be elected as an interdepartmental major, jointly administered by the Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology, and supervised by the Cognitive Science Executive Committee

Cognitive science is the cross-disciplinary study of mind, brain, and behavior. This study is conducted at multiple levels of analysis, ranging from theories of neuronal processing, to computational models of how information is processed, to evolutionary models intending to explain various features of mental architecture. Recent advances in cognitive science — made possible in large part by crossing conventional disciplinary and departmental boundaries — are distinguished by efforts to build comprehensive theories that integrate these multiple levels of analysis. Through rigorous, multi-disciplinary investigations, the field continues to reformulate fundamental and enduring questions, while posing new ones, concerning the nature of, for example, thought, reason, decision, language, and knowledge.

The Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science reflects these developments by coordinating interdisciplinary course offerings and research training for students seeking a degree in Cognitive Science. Tracks of study within the major provide primary (but concomitantly interdisciplinary) emphases on (a) computation and cognition, (b) decision and cognition, (c) language and cognition, and (d) philosophy and cognition. The major is therefore intended for students interested in a natural or social science degree in the behavioral and brain sciences with a combined focus and breadth not accommodated by a major within any single department.