Syllabus

BCSC 275: Syllabus

Spring 2024

Time & Location

Mondays and Wednesdays 12:30-1:45pm
Morey 525

Personnel

Instructor: Prof. Mark Povich

Office hours: Thursdays 2-3pm in Lattimore 523

Course Description

We will seek to understand the mind-brain by integrating findings from several of the cognitive sciences, including philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, anthropology, and artificial intelligence. This course will consider multiple perspectives on such topics as mental imagery, concepts, rationality, consciousness, emotion, language, thought, memory, attention, and machine intelligence.

Grading, Assignments, and Expectations

The course will be graded on the basis of two components: discussion questions (40%) and exams (60%).

Discussion questions: There is no philosophy without discussion. Discussion is an integral and valuable part of any philosophy class, and every year students tell me that discussion is one of the most fun and helpful parts of class. Thus, I am going to incentivize discussion by making discussion questions required for each reading. You must submit two substantive questions for each day’s reading to the Blackboard discussion board. “Substantive” means “regarding the substance of the material” – substantive questions show me that you read the material and are thinking about it. Examples of non-substantive questions include questions about what I or your classmates think about the material or questions about the meaning of a word that you could look up yourself, for example. You are permitted to miss three unexcused discussion questions without it hurting your grade. More than three will result in failing this part of the course.

Exams: there will be two exams and one cumulative final. Each exam is worth 20% of your final grade.

If for any reason you are struggling with the material, or if something is making it difficult for you to do your best, please let me know that so I can help you or put you in touch with someone else who can. The University of Rochester, this course, and I are committed to inclusion and welcome students of all backgrounds and abilities. Services and reasonable accommodations are available to students with temporary and permanent disabilities, to students with DACA or undocumented status, to students facing mental health issues or other personal situations, and to students with other kinds of learning needs. Please feel free to let me know if there are circumstances affecting your ability to participate fully in this course. Some resources that might be of use include:

There will be no tolerance of academic dishonesty of any kind, and any evidence of it will be handled in accordance with university-wide policy. I know this is a very strange and stressful semester, so I will extend my utmost patience and leniency to you and I hope you will be patient with me as well. If you feel pressured to cheat from all the stresses of the world today, instead of cheating, send me a message. I will try to be as accommodating as I can.

Course Materials

The main book for this course is Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind (Second Edition) by Jose Luis Bermúdez. The book also has a helpful website. On the left-hand side of the site, under “For Students,” click “Links to learning resources” for lots of information on the topics covered in the book. Chapters from the book and all other course readings will be posted on the Blackboard homepage.