Philosophy of Psychology

The course aims to provide students with a solid knowledge of the basic notions of experimental psychology and of their historical development, with particular attention to the most recent research in the field of social cognition.
The course also aims to show how the main topics of experimental psychology can be analysed from a philosophical point of view, with particular reference to the processes and mechanisms underlying human cognition, the understanding of others' actions and emotions, and the different forms of social cognition.

Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· present the fundamental notions of experimental psychology from a historical and theoretical point of view;
· describe the main experimental methods and their possible applications;
· illustrate the main stages in the historical development of psychology;
· identify the philosophical implications of the most debated topics in experimental psychology, with particular attention to social cognition;
· distinguish some central notions in contemporary debate, such as explicit and automatic mindreading, full and basic social cognition, action understanding, and the understanding of others' emotions.

Applying knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· use knowledge of the main topics of experimental psychology in the analysis of philosophical problems;
· integrate experimental data, methods, and research techniques by relating them to specific theoretical issues;
· apply historical and critical knowledge of experimental psychology to the understanding of the processes and mechanisms underlying human cognition, with particular attention to social cognition;
· use the above-mentioned skills to explore one or more topics covered in the course through the writing of one written essay for 6 CFU or two written essays for 9 CFU, integrating philosophical and scientific literature.