Are we ‘naturally-born cyborgs?’ According to an increasingly prominent idea within analytic philosophy and cognitive science, the answer is ‘yes.’ This challenging hypothesis—widely known as the Extended Mind Thesis—holds that minds are not restricted to individuals’ heads, but they can extend to include their bodies, artifacts and even other people as well.  This module will present and critically examine this approach to mind and cognition and will then assess numerous ramifications for the ethics of tool-use, their role in modern educational practices and the design of emerging digital technologies. Towards the end, the course will also examine the possibility of artificial general intelligence, transhumanism and the threat of ‘technological singularity.’ 

• Be familiar with defences and objection to the Extended Mind Thesis 

• Critically examine the ethical use of emerging technologies from the point of view of the Extended Mind Thesis 

• Critically examine the design of emerging technologies from the point of view of the Extended Mind Thesis 

The module will be delivered through a mix of large group and small group sessions, including, where relevant, asynchronous materials such as lecture recordings. Full details on the delivery mode of this module will be available on Learning Central at the start of the academic year – and may be, in part, determined by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales guidance.   

Students will practise and develop the following skills:  

• Critical thinking: the ability to understand, structure and critically evaluate the key claims and arguments made in complex written texts and discussions – achieved through reading, small-group discussion in seminars, plenary discussions in seminars, reflecting on lecture materials, essay and exam preparation and writing.  

• Oral communication: the ability to formulate and articulate critical thinking orally in a clear and respectful manner that others can grasp and engage with and to contribute to collaborative inquiry through oral discussion – achieved through small group and plenary discussions throughout the module.  

• Writing: the ability to structure a written report that builds a high-level argument on the basis of precise analyses and the ability to write an engaging online-style article – both achieved through explicit training in preparation for the formative and summative written work.  

• Organisation: the ability to organise and coordinate workloads – achieved through balancing reading and note-taking, critical analysis, post-seminar reflection and note writing, and essay and exam answer planning and writing.  

• Collaboration: developing ideas and inquiry collaboratively and responding sensitively to points made by others – achieved through small-group and plenary discussions throughout the module contact and non-contact time.  

The following is a list of indicative topics:   

• The hypothesis of embodied cognition This is the view that the mind is not confined into the head but it may also extend to include the body of the agent.   

• The hypothesis of extended cognition and the Extended Mind Thesis This is the view that under specific conditions, the mind may not just extend to include the body but specific artifacts as well. Several examples will be considered in order to assess their relative plausibility. 

• The ethics of extended cognition The hypothesis of extended cognition may call for a change to our ethical and legal practices. For example, could having your computer compromised count as a case of personal assault?    

• The design of digital technologies and their role in educational practices The hypotheseis of embodied and extended cognition can significantly impact the design of digital technologies and educational practices.  In this part of the module, we will consider several examples, ranging over social media, dating apps, exams, smartphones and more.  

• The technological singularity This part will focus on the possibility of artificial general intelligence, the threat of technological singularity and transhumanism.