Cognitive Studies Research Seminar (MA Level): The Emergence and Acquisition of Norms
Lecturers: Prof Shaun Nichols, Dr Luca Barlassina, Dr Jerry Viera
(Spring Semester, Thursday 12-2. 30 CFU. The module can be taken for credits only by Sheffield MA students in Philosophy, Cognitive Studies, and Political Theory. Other MA students from TUoS can audit the module)
Description: In all cultures, human behaviour is guided by norms (i.e., by rules of the form “It is permissible/obligatory/impermissible to do such-and-such”). This module will focus on moral norms (e.g., "It is impermissible to kill") and on political norms (e.g., "It is impermissible to take another's possessions"), and will investigate the following questions:
(1) How did these norms emerge?
(2) How do people acquire the complex norms of their culture?
Students will learn methodological tools for tackling these questions (e.g., experimental philosophy; cultural and statistical learning), and will have the opportunity to design and run their own experiments to test hypotheses about the cognitive underpinnings of moral and political norms.
Sheffield students interested in this module are encouraged to get in touch with Luca ([email protected]) or Jerry ([email protected])
Lecturers: Prof Shaun Nichols, Dr Luca Barlassina, Dr Jerry Viera
(Spring Semester, Thursday 12-2. 30 CFU. The module can be taken for credits only by Sheffield MA students in Philosophy, Cognitive Studies, and Political Theory. Other MA students from TUoS can audit the module)
Description: In all cultures, human behaviour is guided by norms (i.e., by rules of the form “It is permissible/obligatory/impermissible to do such-and-such”). This module will focus on moral norms (e.g., "It is impermissible to kill") and on political norms (e.g., "It is impermissible to take another's possessions"), and will investigate the following questions:
(1) How did these norms emerge?
(2) How do people acquire the complex norms of their culture?
Students will learn methodological tools for tackling these questions (e.g., experimental philosophy; cultural and statistical learning), and will have the opportunity to design and run their own experiments to test hypotheses about the cognitive underpinnings of moral and political norms.
Sheffield students interested in this module are encouraged to get in touch with Luca ([email protected]) or Jerry ([email protected])