Professor Johannes Mahr
jmahr@yorku.ca
Office Location:  N824 Ross Building
Office Hours:  Virtual office hours: The instructor’s office hours will be on Thur, 4pm (via Zoom) or you can schedule individual meetings via calendly.com/j_mahr

Imagine you are an alien coming to earth to study the creatures living here. You discover that there are all manner of seemingly intelligent beings on this planet. However, they all seem to be made out of stuff that itself doesn’t seem to have any intelligence. How can this be? How can intelligence emerge out of unintelligent stuff? This question is what the field of cognitive science has set itself to answer. Cognitive science seeks to understand how mental processes can arise in nature by integrating findings from such varied disciplines as philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, linguistics, anthropology, and artificial intelligence. Fundamental to this endeavor has been the idea that minds are the result of computational processes carried out by the brain. In this course, we will explore where this idea comes from, why it might be useful to think of minds as computers, and look at cases where it has been successfully applied. As a result, this course will serve both as an introduction to the cognitive sciences and as an introduction to philosophical issues in cognitive science. [Syllabus is subject to change]

Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be taught in a blended format: lectures will be video recorded and posted on the eClass but there will be in-person tutorials. That means you will need to have reliable access to a computer with internet access to take part in this course.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

Times and locations: Please note that this course has both an online as well as an in-person component.

Lectures: Lecture videos will be made available each week on the eClass.

Tutorial 1: M, 9:30 – 10:30 – Location: R N812

Tutorial 2: M, 10:30 – 11:30 – Location: ACE 012

Tutorial 3: M, 9:30 – 10:30 – Location: ACE 012

Tutorial 4: M, 11:30 – 12:30 – Location: R N201

This is a blended course. Lectures will be posted online. Tutorials will be held on campus. Students must attend the tutorials in person.

The textbook is Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind, 4th Edition, by José Luis Bermúdez, Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781009073677  Note that this textbook also has earlier editions. You can probably get away with using the 3rd edition. It’s more expensive than the 4th if purchased new, but you might be able to find a deal on a used copy. You should avoid the 1st and 2nd editions, however, which are outdated. Page numbers below are to the 4th edition first, and then to the 3rd edition in parentheses. Other readings will be made available through eClass. You should do each reading ahead the lecture it’s paired with. As you read, take notes to put the main ideas into your own words.

Assignments & Grading

QALMRI Papers (2/3)                                      45%

Weekly Quizzes (7/11)                                    45%

Tutorial Attendance and Participation           10%

ONLINE DELIVERY OF LECTURES

Lectures for each week will be recorded and posted to eClass by Monday. You are expected to have watched and taken notes on the lectures by the time your tutorial meets the following week. For example, you should have watched all of the week 1 lectures in time for your week 2 tutorial.

RECORDINGS POLICY

Lecture recordings are to be used for educational purposes only and as a means for enhancing accessibility. Students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute the recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA).

TUTORIALS

Tutorials are an opportunity to discuss the material, address your questions, and learn from your instructor and classmates. Students are expected to attend, and participate in, their tutorials. Each tutorial will begin with a quiz (see below).

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will be taken extremely seriously. Potential penalties include, but are not limited to, failure of the assignment and/or failure of the course. In addition, students who plagiarize or cheat on any assignments forfeit their privilege to drop their lowest grades. Students are expected to be familiar with York’s policy regarding academic integrity: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/.

ACCOMODATIONS

We are committed to fairly accommodating students with disabilities. Please contact us as soon as possible with the relevant documentation from Student Accessibility Services.

TBA

Course policies

QALMRI Papers. The QALMRI papers require you to read about a study and demonstrate your understanding of it. You must complete the first two of these paper assignments. The third one is optional though if you complete it, we will count your two highest grades from the three submitted papers. You have five paper extension days for the term. Once these are exhausted, late papers will not be accepted. Paper assignments will be posted on eClass, should be submitted through TurnItIn, and are due February 8, March 8, and April 8.

Weekly Quizzes. Starting in week 2, your tutorials will begin with a short quiz that covers the prior week’s lectures and readings. For example, the quiz from week 2 will cover the lectures and readings from week 1. To prepare for the quizzes, you should take thorough notes on the lectures and readings from the previous week and then study your notes. The quiz will begin at the very start of tutorial so it’s important not to be late. If you miss a quiz or arrive too late to complete it, you will earn a zero. There is no opportunity to make up quizzes. In exchange for this strict policy, you may drop your four lowest quiz grades (including zeros). So, if you’re sick one week, or your car breaks down, no worries. That can be one of your four dropped quizzes.

Tutorial Participation. This will be marked as a pass/fail grade. It is important that you show up to the tutorials and actively participate in the discussions there. Use these as an opportunity to help you understand the material covered in the lectures and the assignments.