20.07.2022

How does the mind work?

Opening of the Cognitive Science Center Tübingen

Originally starting with the interdisciplinary study program Cognitive Science in winter term 2009/10, Cognitive Science as a research perspective has been established over the last years at the University of Tübingen and has become an important cornerstone of scientific research. The Cognitive Science Center (CSC) Tübingen aims at bringing this broad research community closer together by providing a platform for exchange and collaboration in research and teaching activities in Cognitive Science at the University of Tübingen. 

On July 7th and 8th, the opening of the CSC was celebrated in a two-day launch event. To get ready, on the 4th of July students and lecturers jointly prepared for the main research topic of keynote speaker Prof. Peter Gärdenfors: the grounding of concepts and language in sensorimotor experiences. In his lecture "Natural concepts in humans and in machines: A design perspective" on Thursday afternoon, Gärdenfors discussed the question of how our inner and outer worlds can be represented by conceptual spaces. The lecture was followed by a reception for professors and students, enabling all to get to know Prof. Gärdenfors and his research perspective even better. The day was completed by the CIN dialogue "Love in culture and the brain" on Thursday evening.

The launch continued on Friday morning with further workshops on various approaches in Cognitive Science. A lively exchange on some current research topics of Cognitive Scientists in Tübingen took place at a poster session at the Department of Psychology. In the afternoon, Cognitive Science chairs introduced themselves in short lectures. The presentations ranged from the questions of how language is anchored in our cognitive system (Prof. Barbara Kaup, Department of Psychology), which neuronal processes contribute to color perception (Prof. Andreas Bartels, CIN), the contribution of Cognitive Science to experimental aesthetics (Prof. Bettina Rolke, Department of Psychology), a methodological plea for a well-replicable and objective science (Prof. Volker Franz, Department of Computer Science), an overview over neuro-computational cognitive models that can learn conceptual, compositionally-recombinable structures from sensorimotor experiences (Prof. Martin Butz, Department of Computer Science and Psychology), to the influence of eye movements on memory for spatial arrangements (PD Gregor Hardieß, Department of Biology). Unfortunately, the lecture of Prof. Felix Wichmann (Department of Computer Science) on visual perception of man and machine was cancelled due to illness. Discussions continued at the barbecue party organized by the students of the Cognitive Science program at the Department of Computer Science until late into the night. 

In the near future, the Cognitive Science Center Tübingen aims at integrating further colleagues in the field of Cognitive Science in Tübingen, at fostering professional exchange in teaching and research and at promoting joint research projects and activities.

Further Information on the CSC can be found on our website: https://uni-tuebingen.de/csc 

Bettina Rolke, Martin Butz, Gregor Hardieß, Verena Seibold

Contact:

Dr. Verena Seibold 
Managing Director Cognitive Science Center (CSC) Tübingen 
University of Tübingen 
Department of Psychology
Schleichstr. 4 · 72076 Tübingen · Germany 
 Phone: +49 7071 29-75641
verena.seiboldspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de