Dr. Johannes Mahr
jmahr@yorku.ca
Office Location:  N824 Ross
Office Hours:  Thursday 4:00 - 5:00 pm via zoom or 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 information processing 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 in this way, 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]

All readings will be online.

Papers (2/3) 30%
Weekly Quizzes (6/10) 30%
Final Exam 40%

Papers. The papers require you to read about a study and demonstrate your understanding
of it. You must complete two out of three paper assignments, though if you do all three we’ll
drop your lowest grade. 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 and
are due October 4, November 6, and December 4.
Quizzes. Starting in week 1 (note: not week 0), 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.
Final Exam. The final exam will be held in person and you are expected to be present for it.
Alternative arrangements will only be made in extraordinary circumstances, must be
arranged ahead of the exam unless extraordinary circumstances prevent it, and must be well
documented. To document illness, you must provide an official York University Attending
Physician’s Statement that has been completed, signed, and stamped by a registered
physician (there is usually a fee for this, and it requires undergoing a medical examination).

SCHEDULE & READINGS
The following is an outline for the semester (though amendments may be made along the
way). The textbook is Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of the Mind, 4th
Edition, by José Luis Bermúdez (JBL below). 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.
NB: The readings and lectures are meant to complement one another. This means that there
is material in the lectures that is not covered in the readings, and material in the readings
that is not covered in the lectures. To do well on the quizzes and final exam, you’ll thus need
to watch the lectures and do the readings.
Fundamentals of Cognitive Science
Week 0
(No tutorial
this week!)
Lecture 1
6/9
Course Mechanics Syllabus
Thinking meat video
Core principles of
cognitive science
QALMRI QALMRI Guide
Week 1 Lecture 2
11/9
From behavior to
mental states
JLB 1–17 (3–22 of 3rd edition)
Lecture 3
13/9
Rules and
assumptions in
language
JLB 20–36 (25–47)
Yang, The Infinite Gift (Chapter 2)
Week 2 Lecture 4
18/9
Computation JLB 17–20 (22–25)
Crane, The Mechanical Mind (3rd ed.), 58-75
Minecraft 8-bit computer video
Lecture 5
20/9
Representation JLB 36–41 (47–53)
Week 3 Lecture 6
25/9
Levels of Explanation JLB 41–49 (53–63)
Marr, Vision (Chapter 1.2, pp. 19-29)
Enter the Brain
Lecture 7
27/9
Neural Structure JLB 50-59 (65-76); 171-178 (229-237)
Week 4 Lecture 8
2/10
Neural Function JLB 61–76 (80–95); 178–196 (237–255)
Mental Architectures
Lecture 9
4/10
Classical Architectures
1: Physical Symbol
Systems
JLB 77–82 (99–106)
Lande, “Do you compute?”
Block, “The Mind as the Software of the Brain,”
384–398 (§§11.1.2–11.2.1)
First paper due – 5pm 04/10
Week 5
9/10 - 11/10 Reading week: no class
Week 6 Lecture 10
16/10
Classical Architectures
2: The Language of
Thought
JLB 82–88 (106–114)
Lecture 11
18/10
Can computers think?
Turing Test & The
Chinese Room
JLB 88–94 (114–121)
Block, “The Mind as the Software of the Brain,”
377–384 (§11.1.1)
Searle, “Can Computers Think?”
Block, “The Mind as the Software of the Brain,”
416–421 ((§11.6)
Week 7 Lecture 12
23/10
Can computers think?
The Frame Problem
TBD
Lecture 13
25/10
Connectionism 1:
Neural Networks,
Basics, & Motivations
JLB 59–61 (76–80); 95–102 (123–131)
Week 8 Lecture 14
30/10
Connectionism 2:
Perceptron
Convergence &
Backpropagation
JLB 102–113 (131–145)
Lecture 15
01/11
Connectionism 3:
Deep Learning
Connectionism vs.
Physical Symbol
Systems
JLB 231–250 (307–332)
Lewis-Kraus, “The Great AI Awakening”
Hofstadter, “The Shallowness of Google
Translate”
Week 9 Lecture 16
06/11
Bayesianism 1:
Uncertainty,
Probability, & Bayes’
Rule
JLB 130–136 (171–179)
Lecture 17
08/11
Bayesianism 2:
Perception, Belief &
Desire
JLB 136–151 (179–200)
Week 10 Lecture 18
13/11
Mental Organization
1: Perception
JLB 152–158 (203–210)
Second Paper Due 5pm 06/11
Lecture 19
15/11
Mental Organization
2: Central vs.
Peripheral Systems
JLB 158–168 (210–226)
Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow, Ch. 1
Week 11 Artificial Intelligence
Lecture 20
20/11
Machine Learning
and AGI
TBD
Lecture 21
22/11
AI and society TBD
Week 12 Special Topics
Lecture 22
27/11
TBD TBD
Lecture 23
29/11
TBD TBD
Week 13 Lecture 24
04/12
Review Third Paper Due 5pm 04/12

TBA

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/. All students
are expected to complete the Honour Code Pledge on eClass.
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.