Phil/Psych 447, Phil 673, 2010

Seminar in Cognitive Science: Mind and Society

Week 7: Sociology

Week 7a: Identity and Culture

Discussion Questions

1. What is the relation between sociology and anthropology?
2. How is cognitive science relevant to sociology and vice versa?
3. Are there social facts that are independent of psychology?
4. Why is cognitive sociology so rare?
5. How is culture related to the beliefs and practices of individuals?
6. Is culture an emergent property?
7. How can cognitive science and sociology work together to explain cultural change?
8. Can the sociological study of culture be normative as well as descriptive?

Week 7b: Sacred values

Discussion Questions

1. What is sacred about sacred values?
2. What values are sacred in your social groups?
3. How do sacred values make conflict resolution difficult?
4. Are sacred values irrational?
5. What are the cognitive processes underlying values?
6. Why do people reject material tradeoffs for sacred values?
7. How can understanding sacred values lead to negotiation breakthroughs?

Phil/Psych 447

Paul Thagard

Computational Epistemology Laboratory.

This page updated Oct. 25, 2010