Evolutionary Cognition

Aim

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• apply the most important concepts and the perspectives that are used in the study of cognition from an evolutionary perspective
• be familiar with central research results in the area,
• explain how these theories are linked to basic conceptions of the human cognition as at least partly a product of evolutionary factors
• account for how such a perspective may have relevance for other disciplines within the cognitive science field, such as philosophy, linguistics, psychology and neuroscience.

Content

Consciousness and cognition can be studied in several different ways. Cognition can be studied as a structural phenomenon:

• how is cognition disposed? Cognition can be studied as a formal phenomenon: according to what rules does the cognitive system operate? Cognition can be studied from an implementation perspective
• How does the brain work to be able to read cognitive information?

This course studies cognition from an evolutionary perspective

• If our basis is that the natural cognitive systems (for example human cognition) we see around us today are the results of an evolutionary development, what are the consequences for our understanding of cognition?

The course will therefore begin with a shorter overview of the theory of evolution, to then specialise in what relevance an evolutionary perspective may have on the understanding of human cognition. In the course, we will study the cognition of other species, which means that questions about the cognitive abilities (and inabilities) of animals will be relevant. We will also have a comparative perspective on human cognition, which, for example, means that anthropological and archaeological results will be studied. The question if the evolutionary perspective has any direct relevance for different philosophic theories about the consciousness will also be addressed.