This course provides a very short
introduction to the multidisciplinary field of
Cognitive Science(s). It sheds light on the
historical conditions that led to the
emergence of the concept of « cognition » and
of a unified science focused on the study of
mind and intelligence. It surveys several
investigation methods (further described in
"UE Méthode de mesures en sciences
cognitives"). It introduces some of the lively
debates that have taken place within the
field. Basic terminology and foundational
concepts are briefly overviewed, such as
modularity of the mind, enaction, embodied
cognition, universal grammar, mental
representations, computational procedures,
cognitivism, connectionism, neural networks,
mirror neurons. A few key paradigms or
arguments are described, such as the Turing
test or the Chinese Room.
In conjunction with the Module «
Séminaires Recherche », this course also aims
at encouraging students to communicate and
exchange with peers in English.
