PHIL252-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025

Philosophical Issues in Cognitive Science and AI

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 February 2025
End Date: Sunday, 22 June 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 2 March 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 11 May 2025

Description

This course is an introduction to two vibrant and interrelated subfields of philosophy: the philosophy of cognitive science and the philosophy of artificial intelligence. Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind. Its constituent disciplines include psychology, neuroscience, computer science, AI, and philosophy. The philosophy of cognitive science concerns philosophical issues that arise out of the scientific study of the mind. Artificial intelligence is the simulation of certain processes, typically associated with human minds, by machines - especially computer systems. It is an important branch of cognitive science. The philosophy of artificial intelligence concerns itself with those philosophical issues that arise out of reflection upon the possibility of artificial intelligence. Key questions raised in the course include: What is the nature of mind? Are mental processes computational processes? Could a machine have a mind? If a machine were intelligent and conscious, would it have moral significance?

Learning Outcomes

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Prerequisites

Any 15 points at 100 level in PHIL, or
any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA or the BSc.

Restrictions

PHIL238 (before 2016)

Equivalent Courses

PHIL238 (before 2016)

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 11:00 - 12:00 Ernest Rutherford 225
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 12:00 - 13:00 Rehua 002 Lectorial
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Lecture C
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Friday 09:00 - 10:00 A9 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun

Course Coordinator

Elizabeth Stewart

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $894.00

International fee $4,100.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Humanities .

All PHIL252 Occurrences

  • PHIL252-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025
  • PHIL252-25S1 (D) Semester One 2025 (Distance)