A Collection of Resources

The Cognitive Science Initiative at UH explores current research in central fields of cognitive science. We are also committed to encompassing related fields in arts and humanities, and to exploring the potentially revolutionary implications from cognitive science and its understanding of the mind for such key topics as creativity, language, meaning, narrative, and imagination. For an introduction to some of these central areas of current discussion, please see our Introduction to key topics in cognitive science and the arts or our "starter kit" of key readings. You may also wish to consult the overview of a panel on "Cognitive Science and the Arts" held at the American Society for Aesthetics meetings in Santa Fe, October 30 - November 1, 1997.

It is also our view that study of the arts and humanities may provide a critical perspective on the developments of cognitive science. Such study may, for example, pose questions about the social construction of scientific knowledge, or criticisms about unduly reductive accounts of beauty and its role in human evolution. Humanities scholars may wish to explore parallels and differences between recent critiques of the Cartesian model of mind by postmodernists and cognitive scientists. See also Hubert Dreyfus's text concerning Merleau-Ponty on mental representation, with commentary to come.

The Bibliography includes lists of readings in cognitive science and various fields in the arts or the humanities, sorted by category. The Other Aids include related resources such as on-line journals, courses, conference announcements, and web sites.

See also COGSCI-HUM, the electronic discussion list for cognitive science and the humanities. To join, send the message "Subscribe COGSCI-HUM" to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UH.EDU. COGSCI-HUM is co-moderated by Dr. Freeland and Dr. Anne Jacobson.