As modern human beings, our understanding of the world is shaped by a complex interaction between what we learn via the institutions of formal education and the intuitive theories that we spontaneously form—beginning early in development—to help understand, explain, and predict the world around us. In this seminar, we’ll examine the intuitive theories people hold about the physical, biological, and social world. We’ll explore how these intuitive theories are consistent with some aspects of current scientific understanding of the same phenomenon, but radically inconsistent with others. And we’ll consider the implications of the clash of science and intuition for education, public policy, and our understanding of how the mind works.

Professor John Coley

PSYC 4660

Prerequisites: PSYC 2320 and PSYC 3464 or PSYC 3466

Satisfies NUPath Capstone Experience and NUPath Writing Intensive