The Architecture of Cognition: A Cross-Atlantic Platform

Headline-grabbing claims about research on cognition often read as though there is just a single thing the brain does: Can AI develop ‘general intelligence’? Is the brain a ‘prediction machine’? Does consciousness generate a ‘grand illusion’? The reality inside the skull appears quite different: different parts of the brain find separate solutions for different problems, and do so using quite different formats: concepts, images, maps, etc. And yet, these different parts also communicate with and even borrow from one another: e.g., social cognition recruits map-like representations; spatial bodily axes are used in coding temporal information.

Researchers at both Warwick and Toronto have recently – independently from one another, and coming from somewhat different directions – homed in on questions at the interface between philosophy and psychology concerned with cognitive structure, i.e., the diverse representational mechanisms and architecture used by the brain to solve problems such as perceiving, remembering, navigating, etc. Despite its foundational nature, this is an area in which pivotal questions remain as yet underexplored.

We aim to create a cross-Atlantic community of researchers that will firmly establish cognitive structure as a research topic in its own right, and act as a centre of expertise for interdisciplinary work in the area, providing an attractive home also for graduates and ECRs. While the initiative will be spearheaded by researchers based in philosophy, they have extensive experience working across disciplinary boundaries and will oversee links with colleagues in empirical cognitive science.

• Warwick PI: Professor Christoph HoerlLink opens in a new window

• U of T PI: Dr Sara AronowitzLink opens in a new window