Many traditional theories in philosophy of mind and cognitive science understand concepts to play a central role in cognitive processes such as learning, reasoning, language, perception, and action. However, concepts seem to find only a limited role in recent debates in situated cognition, which understands cognition as expanding beyond the brain and the body. In this course, we will critically examine contemporary philosophical issues and questions about concepts and their relevance to cognition. Some of these questions include, but are not limited to: What are concepts and how do they relate to our thoughts and actions? Are we born with basic concepts (e.g., `green’, as opposed to `green house’) or do we learn them? Do non-human animals have concepts? To what extent can concepts be grounded in sensorimotor representations? Is the term `concept’ dispensable to explain cognition in a relevant sense? We will draw on a variety of resources in investigating these questions, including findings from psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.
- Kursleiter/in: Nina Laura Poth