Hernad Istvan szeminariuma

Hernad Istvan (University of Southampton) oktober 20 es 27 kozott ismet tanszekunk vendege lesz. Nem kurzust, hanem az alabbi szeminariumot fogja tartani. A kognitiv szakiranyos es a PhD diakok felvehetik. Az idopont reszletekrol hamarosan ujabb tajekoztatot kuldunk. Elozetes jelentkezes, mintegy a mi tajekoztatasunkra: pleh(a)izabell.elte.hu Udvozlettel Pleh Csaba Foundations of Cognition: A Sociobiological Perspective We, like other species, evolved. And we can think -- in fact, we evolved the ability to think. We also evolved the ability to feel. Why we are afraid of the dark, of snakes, of strangers, of heights; why we feel like eating when our blood sugar goes down, why we overeat, why most of us prefer sex with the opposite sex rather than our own, why we are jealous, why we favour our kin -- all of this can be explained as an evolutionary legacy. What scope does this leave for thinking and freedom of will? These and other questions will be discussed in this seminar on what can and cannot be explained sociobiologically. A good starting paper is: http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/primer.htm Note: this is a seminar, not a lecture course. We will discuss readings form these books. Other readiings: http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/readlist.htm Books: Barkow, J., Cosmides, L. and Tooby, J. (1992) The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture. NY: Oxford University Press. Baker, Robin (1996) Sperm wars : infidelity, sexual conflict and other bedroom battles London : Fourth Estate, 1996. Dennett, Daniel C. (1995) Darwin's dangerous idea : evolution and the meanings of life. London ; New York : Allen Lane Pinker, S. (1994) The language instinct. NY: Morrow.