Experimental Philosophy of Mind and Language 2500-EN-COG-F-35

This course offers an in-depth introduction to experimental philosophy as applied to questions about the mind and language. Experimental philosophy combines traditional philosophical analysis with empirical methods from psychology and cognitive science in order to investigate how people ordinarily think about mental states, agency, knowledge, meaning, and communication. The course focuses on how empirical findings about folk intuitions can inform, challenge, or reshape philosophical theories.

The first part of the seminar introduces the motivations, methods, and limitations of experimental philosophy. Students will examine classic and contemporary debates concerning the use of intuitions in philosophy, the diversity and stability of folk judgments, and the methodological assumptions underlying experimental studies. Particular attention is paid to how philosophical concepts such as belief, knowledge, intention, agency, and reference are translated into experimental designs, and how choices concerning operationalisation, stimuli construction, and measurement affect philosophical conclusions.

In the second part of the course, students engage with thematic case studies from experimental philosophy of mind and language. Topics include folk concepts of belief and knowledge, norm sensitivity in judgments about intentional action and side effects, the attribution of agency and responsibility, and experimental approaches to reference, names, and identity over time. The course also addresses broader theoretical issues such as the role of normativity in folk concepts, the distinction between descriptive and normative dimensions of concepts, and the prospects for conceptual engineering based on empirical findings.

A central component of the seminar is a collaborative empirical research project. Working in small groups, students design and conduct a simple experimental study within the scope of experimental philosophy. This includes formulating a research question and hypothesis, preparing experimental materials, collecting and analysing data, and interpreting the results in light of philosophical debates. Throughout the course, groups present intermediate stages of their projects and receive structured feedback from the instructors and peers.

By combining close reading of philosophical and empirical literature with hands-on research practice, the course aims to develop students’ ability to critically assess experimental work in philosophy, to understand the interaction between empirical data and philosophical argumentation, and to articulate philosophically informed positions grounded in empirical evidence.

Learning activities:
The course consists of 30 hours of in-class meetings and 15 hours of supervised group work dedicated to preparing and conducting the empirical study.
Classes are discussion-based and focused on close reading of assigned texts. Each week, individual students will be responsible for one of the following tasks: presenting the assigned reading, preparing a critical co-presentation, or analysing the methodological approach found in the text (e.g. what variables are examined, how they are operationalised, what research design is used, and what type of statistical analysis is employed). These contributions will be followed by open discussion.
A core component of the seminar is students’ own empirical project. Students will work in small groups to design and conduct an empirical study within experimental philosophy—formulating a hypothesis, preparing materials, collecting and analysing data, and drawing conclusions. Groups will present the progress of their research during the course and will receive feedback at each stage of project development. The supervised group work time will be dedicated to planning, preparing, and implementing these research tasks.
In addition to the regular weekly meetings (30 h), four separate meetings (15 h in total) will be organized in the second half of the semester and dedicated to students’ empirical research projects. Three of these meetings will take the form of open consultation sessions for project groups, during which students will have the opportunity to discuss research design, methodology, data collection, and the interpretation of preliminary results of their empirical projects. One additional meeting at the end of the course will be devoted to the presentation and discussion of the final results of the students’ projects. The exact schedule and format of the consultation meetings (in-person or online) will be determined by the students and supervisors during the first half of the semester, taking into account the availability and practical constraints of the respective project group.