MSc in Mind, Language & Embodied Cognition
Overview
The University of Edinburgh announces a new taught MSc programme in Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition. Students will tackle the key questions that are at the heart of the recent renaissance in the philosophical and scientific study of the embodied and environmentally embedded mind. The programme, commencing September 2010, draws on teaching from across the university, but students will be based in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. In addition to courses offered as a part of the programme students will have the opportunity to enroll on relevant courses that form part of other taught MScs (for example, the popular MSc in Evolution of Language and Cognition).
Background
Naturalized philosophy of mind, at least in the major analytic traditions of the last century, has tended to marginalize the study of bodily form, real-world action, and environmental backdrop. In recent years, this trend has been identified and, increasingly, resisted. The result is a plethora of work on what has become known as embodied cognition. (Some related terms in current use include 'situated cognition', 'distributed cognition', and 'the extended mind').
Work in this new, loosely knit field depicts thought and reason as in some way inextricably tied to the details of our gross bodily form, our habits of action and intervention, and the enabling web of social, cultural, and technological scaffolding in which we live, move, learn and think. But exactly what kind of link is at issue? And what difference might such a link or links make to our best philosophical, psychological, and computational models of thought and reason? These are among the large unsolved problems in this increasingly popular field.
The study of embodied cognition also marks a point at which many philosophical traditions and interests converge. These span analytic and continental approaches, and include the philosophy of mind and language, the philosophy of biology, moral philosophy and ethics. Importantly, it is also where these multiple interlocking strands of philosophical thought productively converge with front-line empirical research in psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, robotics, human-computer interaction, and beyond.
Why a masters?
Many students who become interested in the embodied mind do so from single disciplinary perspectives, often discovered late during their undergraduate (or other) degrees. This course will provide the tools and background necessary for the pursuit of genuinely interdisciplinary research in embodied cognitive science, and will provide a unique preparation for more advanced work in this area.
Why Edinburgh?
The University of Edinburgh boasts one of the world's largest and most vibrant postgraduate communities in Philosophy, with around 100 postgraduate students, many of whom are working in the area of Mind and Cognition. There is a vibrant Cognitive Science community both within the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences and in the neighbouring School of Informatics. There is a lively research and teaching culture, with a busy stream of visiting speakers, reading groups, workshops, conferences and student initiatives. Edinburgh faculty include world leaders in the study of mind, of language, and of situated and embodied cognition. For all these reasons, plus the undoubted charms of the city and the surrounding countryside, the University of Edinburgh is the ideal base from which to pursue the philosophically informed study of Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition.
The working environment
The Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition MSc is based within Philosophy, which is itself part of the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. The School is situated around the attractive George Square in the heart of the Old Town of the City of Edinburgh - a world-heritage site and host to the world's largest arts festival each year.
Applications and further information
Useful links and contact information
- Handbooks
- Funding and Scholarships.
- Postgraduate study in Philosophy at Edinburgh.
- Application information for prospective postgraduate students.
- Inquiries about this programme should be directed to the PPLS Postgraduate Office. Informal enquiries of an academic nature about this MSc programme may be addressed to the Programme Director, Dr Mark Sprevak.