Exploring the Unconscious Mind

Exploring the Unconscious Mind is a Cognitive Science class taught by Philip Kelleher.

Course Description
This course will investigate the unconscious mind and how its properties and functions. It will consider unconscious processes in perception, attention, memory, judgment, emotion, motivation, social interactions, intuition, and expertise. It will ask three major and interrelated questions: First, what is the relationship between unconscious and conscious mental processes? Second, how much of what the mind does requires no conscious awareness and is, in fact, inaccessible to consciousness? Third, how much can introspection inform us about what the mind is doing, and are there other means that can allow us to identify or infer how the mind works? After examining the unconscious mind, the final part of the course will consider what the functions and purposes of consciousness might be. Students will complete a series of short papers and a longer, final project.

Learning Goals

 * Reading
 * Writing
 * Quantitative
 * Project-based