Instructor: Charles Higgins
Tue | 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM | In Person
We will start by debating the assumption that humans are simply biochemical machines. Do humans truly have "free will", and what does it mean if they do not? What is "the mind", and how do you know if it exists? What inherent value do humans have, and why? If machines were "intelligent", would they have inherent value, too? How would you design a machine that thinks it has a "mind" and "free will"? In this seminar, we will connect the latest research in neuroscience with ideas about the mind from psychology and cognitive science, using examples such as depression and neuro-degenerative diseases. We will further connect these ideas to research in robotics, prosthetics, and artificial intelligence. We will discuss the meaning of scientific inquiry. We will discuss how to read scientific papers, and each student will write their own scientific review paper.