cognitive science: an introduction to the science of the mind

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This article was downloaded by: [Universidad de Sevilla] On: 18 November 2014, At: 04:03 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Philosophical Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cphp20 Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind Anthony F. Beavers a a Philosophy and Cognitive Science, The University of Evansville , 1800 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville , IN 47722 , USA Published online: 01 Mar 2012. To cite this article: Anthony F. Beavers (2013) Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind, Philosophical Psychology, 26:4, 625-628, DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2012.663719 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2012.663719 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

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Page 1: Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind

This article was downloaded by: [Universidad de Sevilla]On: 18 November 2014, At: 04:03Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Philosophical PsychologyPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cphp20

Cognitive Science: An Introduction tothe Science of the MindAnthony F. Beavers aa Philosophy and Cognitive Science, The University of Evansville ,1800 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville , IN 47722 , USAPublished online: 01 Mar 2012.

To cite this article: Anthony F. Beavers (2013) Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science ofthe Mind, Philosophical Psychology, 26:4, 625-628, DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2012.663719

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2012.663719

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind

Book review

Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind

Jose Luis BermudezNew York: Cambridge University Press, 2010516 pages, ISBN: 1412977614 (pbk); $80.00

Introductory textbooks for a relatively new discipline, such as cognitive science,generally enter the marketplace in a precarious position. To start, such disciplines

have yet to settle on precisely what an introductory course should do. Should itprovide the historical and/or theoretical foundations of the discipline, introduce

key concepts, explain what professionals who work in the area do, develop apreliminary skill set, all of these, etc.? Over time, however, consensus starts to emerge

concerning a standard agenda, and the textbook market responds. For evidenceof this claim, one need only consider how much introductory psychology, calculus,and chemistry texts look alike. Though there are certainly small variations from book

to book, a common (usually short) history of the discipline, basic concepts, andin the instance of psychology, even common case studies, appear in almost all of the

available textbooks.As a discipline, cognitive science has been without consensus about its

introductory course for forty years. Only part of this situation can be explained bythe fact that the discipline is somewhat new. A more efficacious reason is due perhaps

to the interdisciplinary nature of the field and the disciplinary commitments ofprofessors. A computer science professor might take one approach to an introductorycourse, a psychologist another, and a philosopher a third. Consequently, cognitive

science can often look to undergraduates like either a sub-branch of one of thedisciplines that makes it up or, worse yet, a miscellaneous hodgepodge of concepts

drawn from several fields with no real integration. This hodgepodge approachto interdisciplinarity is apparent in several texts on the market (see, for instance,

Friedenberg & Silverman, 2006, and Kolak, Hirstein, Mandik, & Waskan, 2006, inspite of the fact that both books would like to be otherwise). This situation is not

present in Bermudez’s new book, however, which is the first textbook that is pitchedto first and second year undergraduates and that tackles the ‘‘integration challenge’’

head on, while introducing students to core concepts and the history of thediscipline. Consequently, this book stands a chance where others have failed to set theprecedent for what an undergraduate cognitive science textbook should be.

Philosophical Psychology, 2013Vol. 26, No. 4, 625–628, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2012.663719

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Page 3: Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind

The book consists of fourteen chapters divided into five sections: (i) historical

landmarks; (ii) the integration challenge (i.e., how to fit the various disciplines

that make up cognitive science together); (iii) information-processing models of

the mind; (iv) the organization of the mind; and (v) new horizons. Each section

is further divided into several chapters. Without offering a full table of contents

here, the book moves from the cognitive turn in reaction to behaviorism and the

development of computational technologies with Turing and the formal analysis

of language to define cognitive science as the science of information processing by the

mind. As this initial enumeration of topics suggests, the book excels at a seamless

integration of cognitive psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and philosophy

throughout, along with input from other disciplines as needed.The most difficult part of the book is perhaps section (iii), where models of

cognition are presented. This section addresses the strong AI hypothesis in the

context of distributed systems and artificial neural networks; indeed, it serves as an

excellent example of how it is possible to weave foundational (i.e., philosophical)

questions with applied science and computer modeling. The modularity hypothesis is

a central theme of section (iv), where agent and hybrid architectures are discussed

along with various techniques for brain mapping. The section ends with an extended

‘‘case study’’ on mindreading, including material on the theory/simulation debate,

the false belief task, and the cognitive neuroscience behind this phenomenon.Each chapter in the book is built around three or four seminal articles

(summarized, not included) with references for those who wish to supplement the

text with additional reading or use foundational articles as the basis for student

papers. Each chapter also includes questions to help guide the reader’s attention and

ends with a summary and a checklist of key points. The book also contains several

captivating diagrams. Together, these supplements work well to invite the student

not just to read the book, but to interact with it. Slide presentations for teachers,

electronic versions of the images in the text for projection in the classroom, and a

variety of other supplements are available on a companion website.

I have taught Introduction to Cognitive Science at my university 15 times, never

having used the same set of books twice until now, and I have discussed the question

of how best to teach the course with others who do so at a range of institutions

across the country. The stories are often similar. Several of the books are too difficult.

A favorite, Clark’s Mindware (2000), is way beyond the ability of freshmen and

sophomores, but it is often used anyway because it sets such a nice trajectory for an

introductory course. Some regularly used are not as difficult, but somewhat limited

in scope, requiring a teacher to use several texts to try to piece together a coherent

vision of the field. Favorites include Churchland’s Matter and consciousness (1988),

his The engine of reason, the seat of the soul (1996), Haugeland’s Artificial intelligence:

The very idea (1985) and Mind design II (1997), though the readings in this last text

are, like Mindware, too difficult. Another favorite is Thagard’s Mind (1996) and its

accompanying reader. However, the former is too dedicated to a single theme—what

a mental representation might be like—and the supplemental reader is again too

626 Book review

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Page 4: Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind

difficult. Several professors have also tried to piece together their own readers made

up of professional articles. (I’ve tried all of these approaches.)

The principal difficulty to date has been that selecting texts like those above

reinforces the illusion that cognitive science is a hodgepodge of inconsistent theories

from whomever might mention ‘‘cognition’’ or ‘‘mind.’’ They are also intimidating

to the student and often difficult to the point of being uninformative. This situation

makes Bermudez’s book a welcome relief. There is one criticism, however, on a

matter that will be immediately apparent to anyone who examines the book and who

works in more recent developments in the field. The book falls on the conservative/

traditional side, not because of what it advocates—its intellectual commitments are

minimal—but because of what it covers. Dynamic systems, embodied and situated

cognition, biorobotics and behavior-based robotics, etc., are all topics pushed into

one chapter at the end of the book. My experience has been that these are the issues

that tend to capture the imagination of students and inspire the best class discussion,

so much so that one might be tempted to supplement this text with another on new

frontiers in cognitive science. Doing so is unnecessary, however, since this textbook

is easy enough for students to read on their own. Thus, in the classroom, I assign it

for reading, but I lecture from Clark (2000) and some of the other texts previously

mentioned. I then test students on both the textbook and class lectures. There is

plenty of room for this approach to work. Bermudez lays down a firm foundation for

students coming into the class, and my lectures pick an idea or two from the reading

that I then bring up to date and that I use, in turn, to inspire class discussion.

The results have been quite positive; at least the complaints about the course being

too difficult have been minimized and student response to the text (and cognitive

science in general) enthusiastic.

In this last regard, one could wonder what the best approach to an introductory

text should be. Should it be conservative or on the cutting edge? After teaching the

class many times, my vote is for the conservative approach in the text and a more

exciting update during lecture. This dynamic interplay between text and lecture has

several pedagogical advantages in that it lays down a firm foundation in cognitive

science while inciting the imagination of young scholars-to-be, since students walk

away from the course with a grounded understanding of the history of cognitive

science, while simultaneously understanding how much work is left to be done. Used

this way, Bermudez’s text is an ideal text for introducing cognitive science.

References

Chuchland, P. (1988). Matter and consciousness: A contemporary introduction to the philosophy of

mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Churchland, P. (1996). The engine of reason, the seat of the soul: A philosophical journey into the

brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Clark, A. (2000). Mindware: An introduction to the philosophy of cognitive science. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Book review 627

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Page 5: Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind

Friedenberg, J., & Silverman, G. (2006). Cognitive science: An introduction to the study of mind.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Haugeland, J. (1985). Artificial intelligence: The very idea. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Haugeland, J. (1997). Mind design II: Philosophy, psychology, and artificial intelligence. Cambridge,

MA: MIT Press.Kolak, D., Hirstein, W., Mandik, P., & Waskan, J. (2006). Cognitive science: An introduction to mind

and brain. New York: Routledge.Thagard, P. (1996). Mind: Introduction to cognitive science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Anthony F. BeaversPhilosophy and Cognitive Science

The University of Evansville

1800 Lincoln AvenueEvansville IN 47722, USA

Email: [email protected] Beavers

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