Thinking Through Human Cognition

HEB 145 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

What does it mean to inhabit a human mind? This course will investigate the origins of - and selective advantages provided by - key human cognitive traits. We will examine how these traits appear and develop in human evolutionary timescales, with a special focus on the origins of symbolic communication, language, exosomatic information storage, and the exponential nature of human technology. We will also examine how cultural norms are shaped by human cognition, with an eye to concepts such as fairness, collaboration, sharing, nurturance, reciprocity, spite, violence, social exclusion, and a concern for curating our reputation. This course will use a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on recent developments in fields such as evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, developmental biology, neuroscience, genetics, and primatology.