This course examines how people use language. We will focus on Herb H. Clark’s book “Using Language” (1996). In this book, Clark proposes that language use is a form of joint action, and extensively develop what this claim entails and how it accounts for people’s linguistic behavior. The course will consist of a detailed examination of Clark’s thesis.

This seminar examines the cognitive and neural mechanisms that enable humans to predict and understand people's behavior. We will be propelled throughout the course by fundamental questions about the human social brain. For example, why are humans so social? Does the human brain have specialized processes for social thought? Consideration of these questions will involve advanced treatment of a range of topics.

Topics vary each semester.

This course will examine the biological basis of human behavior and culture as an emergent product of the brain and its interactions with the physical and social environment. As we explore this topic, we will emphasize human brain function at the level of neural systems and the neural networks they supply, how these systems may have evolved, how they change depending on experience, and what dysfunction of these circuits as occurs in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopment disorders reveals about human thought and behavior. We will focus on key features of human nature, including language, mathematics, creativity and innovation, empathy, strategic thinking, cooperation, deception, economic behavior, and technology, amongst others.

The choices that people make determine their lived experiences, their social, economic, and political realities, and their overall well-being. For this reason, the study of choice is of special interest across both the sciences and the humanities, and is a central focus of academic disciplines like psychology, economics, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and philosophy. This course will introduce you to the interdisciplinary study of human choice behavior, and will examine in detail what we know about how people make choices, how observed choice patterns and mechanisms relate to those in animals and artificially intelligent machines, and how we can accurately predict and influence people’s choices and choice outcomes. The primary objective of this course is to build students' understanding and appreciation of the diverse perspectives on human choice behavior. Moreover, by exploring the mechanisms and nuances of decision-making, students will gain insight into their personal choice patterns and acquire strategies to improve their own choice outcomes.

Thinking, judgment, and personal and societal decision making, with emphasis on fallacies and biases.

Thinking, judgment, and personal and societal decision making, with emphasis on fallacies and biases.

This course will introduce students to neuroeconomics, a field of research that combines economic, psychological, and neuroscientific approaches to study decision-making. The course will focus on our current understanding of how our brains give rise to decisions, and how this knowledge might be used to constrain or advance economic and psychological theories of decision-making. Topics covered will include how individuals make decisions under conditions of uncertainty, how groups of individuals decide to cooperate or compete, and how decisions are shaped by social context, memories, and past experience.

An introduction to the study of positive emotions, positive character traits, and positive institutions. The positive emotions consist of emotions about the past (e.g., serenity, satisfaction, pride), about the future (e.g., hope, optimism, faith), and emotions about the present (pleasure and gratification). The distinction among the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life is drawn. The positive traits include wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and spirituality, and the classification of these virtues is explored. The positive institutions are exemplified by extended families, free press, humane leadership, and representative government.

This course describes the nature of human language, how it is used to speak and comprehend, and how it is learned. The course raises and discusses issues such as whether language ability is innate and unique to humans, whether there is a critical period for the acquisition of a language, and how linguistic and conceptual knowledge interact.