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PHIL41980

Academic Year 2026/2027

Foundations of Cognitive Science (PHIL41980)

Subject:
Philosophy
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Philosophy
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Leda Berio
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module will provide an overview of topics and conceptual foundations in cognitive science. The main goal will be that of exploring the nature of minds. Cognitive science is an exciting, relatively new interdisciplinary field that arose at the intersection of psychology, philosophy, and computer science, and overlaps with parts of linguistics, anthropology, sociology, and more.
These different disciplines converge on the exploration of how minds work: how they emerge, how they relate to the world, and how they relate to other minds.
Cognitive Science is a pluralist discipline, and this class will reflect that. We will harness and explore different theoretical frameworks and empirical paradigms that answer some fundamental questions like: How does a mind relate to the body? What is a mind, even? Could other animals, aliens, computers, robots, or other types of entities have minds, or be conscious? How would we know?
In the second part of the class, we will look in more details into how cognitive science can help us answer questions about the self, our social interactions, morality, culture, and language.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

• Develop the ability to critically think about different concepts of minds
• Think clearly about the relationships between minds and behavior, brains, computers, intelligence,
consciousness, and morality
• Synthesize and organize a variety of ideas, information, and sometimes dense prose across different subfields of the cognitive sciences

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Specified Learning Activities

75
Autonomous Student Learning

150
Total

247

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lecture attendance is the primary requirement. Each topic comes with additional required reading. Further reading that can be pursued ad libitum is also provided.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Equivalents:
Introduction to Cognitive Scie (COMP47230)


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered

Not yet recorded.

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Not yet recorded

Name Role
Dr Leda Berio Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
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