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PHIL 256Introduction to Cognitive Science

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Philosophy
Cross-listed
PSYCH 256

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 6 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind, drawing on philosophy, psychology, computer science, anthropology, linguistics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, in the attempt to theorize about cognition. Students will come to understand theories describing different aspects of cognition - which may include theories of linguistic understanding, concept acquisition and use, inference, perception and decision-making - and the various ways in which such theories have been evidentially supported and contested. Course readings and activities will equip students to think critically about perennial questions, such as how we perceive and reason about the world, the relationship between language and thought, how societies can be (or fail to be) collectively intelligent, and how human intelligence can inform the study of artificial intelligence and vice versa.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 081433419 / 20Online or by arrangement

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00183740 / 30TTh 13:00–14:20
LEC 701837513 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Resources

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Reviewed on UW Flow

62% liked it57% easy49% useful

From 42 ratings and 11 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I took this course online and I liked it.
    The topics were very interesting to me personally, but I also recommend it to just anyone. I think it's really cool to learn and think about how we learn and think. So meta.
    There were no weekly assignments, and if you take the course online, you can read the textbook and articles at your own pace. There were two major essays, midterm and exams. The essay topics will drive you a bit crazy (ex: can machines be conscious? what is consciousness?) but you can take any stance you want. They will require you think and structure your arguments, so don't expect this to be a bird course.
    If you've wondered how our mind works then this course is worthwhile.

    Apr 2015 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Even for a philosophy course, the readings were hard to digest. If you want a course to fill that philosophy requirement, don't choose this one. They focused a lot on linguistics, concepts, and neuroscience that are pain for a philosophical mind.

    Apr 2021 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course has got issues. I'm not going to lie. It's basically an overview of all of the brain modeling techniques in the past. For me, that's exactly what I wanted. For everyone else, this might be hell.
    One huge problem with the course is it's mostly just humongous walls of text. If you're a visual learner, this is basically just a giant "fuck you". Also the assigned reading are basically useless.
    On the bright side, it is really easy. All you need to do is write essays.

    Aug 2014 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Pretty easy, the only "difficult" parts involve some game theory, which is a breeze if you're comfortable with math and not too bad otherwise.
    Exams are not bad at all and the paper is chill. I had Sam Johnson who was pretty good but mostly read from the slides.
    Interesting material if you're interested but I felt it was pretty surface level.

    Mar 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Expected this course to be a lot lighter. Complete readings and mention them in your essays and it should be chill. Reasonable workload over co-op.

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

42 posts and comments in 36 threads mention PHIL 256, June 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2024

First year course help 1 point, 1 comment

“I'm going w the usual for my mains (CS 135, Math 135, Math 137). I js want to know if its possible to take ENG 109 as my communication course and COMMST 100 as an elective. …”

u/Laeriana: “… I personally took PHIL 256, but I would not necessarily recommend it if you don't like essay writing. The content itself was fascinating though, and I think Alan Turing's papers from class have become a LOT more relevant considering the current "AI boom" we're seeing. …”

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Spring 2023

Fall 2022

Philosophy 3 points, 6 comments

“How challenging are the philosophy courses? As its mostly subjective marking of essays, is it still possible to get good marks?”

u/samurai_cubed: “I took Phil 256 this term with Nicholas Ray, which was probably one of the most interesting courses I've taken. it's about the philosophy of the mind and cognitive science. …”

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Fall 2021

Spring 2021

Winter 2021

psych/phil 256 is gone? 1 point, 2 comments

u/angelazsz: “hey all, i was hoping to take intro to cognitive science this spring just for me to find that both options for the course (psych and phil) don’t appear in the drop down during course selection, nor do they appear in the schedule of classes. …”

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Fall 2020

Spring 2020

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar