This course will explore "tools" that improve how we think. The word “tools” is used broadly to include mental software (frameworks and insights people may have had) as well as computational tools. The kind of thinking we will focus on is real world phenomena, ranging from how we behave in social settings to how we make judgments. Most of the class will focus on interventions that appear to change how people reason about their own minds and the minds of others (including cognitive behavioral therapy). It will be participatory and experiential: students will attempt to learn new tools of thought and apply them throughout the week between sessions. So at the end, students will have not just an abstract understanding of what we know about tools of thought, but an intimate one.
Note that the syllabus provided on this page is a draft document; the final syllabus will be uploaded and distributed at a later date.