Fundamentals of Cognitive Science: Minds, Brain, Magic, and Evolution

The book Fundamentals of Cognitive Science provides an engaging and student-friendly introduction to the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science, drawing on research from psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, linguistics, evolution, and neuroscience. It covers traditional cognitive psychology topics as well as neural networks, cognitive neuroscience, embodied cognition, and magic, and is organized around the history of thinking about the mind and its relation to the world. It is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology and related fields, as well as for general readers interested in an accessible treatment of cognitive science and its practical implications.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 390 pages
Publication date: 19 July 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The Fundamentals of Cognitive Science is a comprehensive and engaging introduction to this interdisciplinary field, drawing on research from psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, linguistics, evolution, and neuroscience. While structured around traditional cognitive psychology topics, such as attention, learning theory, memory, information processing, thinking, and decision-making, the book also explores neural networks, cognitive neuroscience, embodied cognition, and magic to illustrate cognitive science principles.

The book is organized around the history of thinking about the mind and its relation to the world. It considers the evolution of cognition and how it demonstrates how our current thinking about cognitive processes is derived from pre-scientific philosophies and common sense. Through psychologists' empirical inquiries into mind and behavior, they have pursued a science of cognition and the construction of artificial intelligences. The architectures of cognition are also applied throughout, and the book proposes a synthesis of them, from traditional symbol system architectures to recent work in embodied cognition and Bayesian predictive processing.

Practical and policy implications are also considered, but solutions are left for the readers to determine. The book is written in a student-friendly style and uses extended case studies to address the most important themes, ideas, and findings. It is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology and related fields, as well as for general readers interested in an accessible treatment of cognitive science and its practical implications.

To accompany the book, additional resources can be found on the website www.fundamentalsofcognitivescience.com. These resources include lecture slides, exercises, and discussion questions to help students engage with the material and apply cognitive science principles to real-world situations.

In conclusion, The Fundamentals of Cognitive Science is an essential resource for anyone interested in understanding the mind, cognition, and their relation to the world. By drawing on a wide range of research and perspectives, the book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to this interdisciplinary field. Whether you are a student, professional, or simply curious about the mind and its workings, this book will provide you with valuable insights and knowledge.

Weight: 740g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367339166