2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Neurophilosophy, B.S.


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DIRECTOR
Patrick D. Hopkins, Ph. D.

About: The Neurophilosophy Major is designed to provide students the opportunity to study the conceptual, physical, behavioral, and moral aspects of cognition and the mind-brain. The collaborative study of the mind involving neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy has been and continues to be an extremely active and productive area of research, appealing to those who wish both to apply empirical brain research to enduring questions of human nature and apply logical and conceptual analysis to neuroscience and its potential policy, medical, and legal applications. Broad areas of study in this field include the nature of the mind, the nature of brain activity, the mind-brain relationship, mental events, methodology problems in neuroscience and neuroimaging, the relationship between emotion and behavior, the nature of consciousness, moral psychology, religious neuro- psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroethics, neurolaw, evidence-based public policy, and models of psychopathology. Students pursuing the major will receive a solid grounding in both neuroscience and philosophical methodology, including functional cognitive neuroscience, statistical analysis, empirical research methodology, logic, and philosophy of mind. Career options for neurophilosophy include medicine, psychiatry, law, public policy, management, graduate study, and other fields. Students will apply their studies to a research project of their own design as a capstone experience and in satisfaction of the senior comprehensive exam requirement.

Policies: Majors in Neurophilosophy are encouraged to take BIOL 1000 - Introduction to Cell Biology with Lab , CHEM 1213 - General Inorganic Chemistry I , and CHEM 1211 - General Inorganic Chemistry Lab I  for their Compass Curriculum/ degree science course requirements. The Neurophilosophy major is set up to emphasize student research and pursuit of students’ own goals and projects, so consult with the director for applied philosophy/special topics/ internships that particularly interest you.

A total of 40 credit hours is required for the Major in Neurophilosophy. At least 20 credit hours in the major must be taken at Millsaps.

Required Courses


Students must complete the following required courses:

Philosophy Courses


Students must take two philosophy courses from the list below:

Any Topically Appropriate Course


Psychology/Cognitive Science/Neuroscience Courses


Students must take two psychology/cognitive science/neuroscience courses from the list below:

Any Topically Appropriate Course


Senior Project and Comprehensive Exam


Students must complete a senior project and a comprehensive exam in their major:

  • 4 Semester Hours (consisting of a research project-paper or experiment which has been approved by PHNS advisors, completed, and successfully defended orally) (C- or higher)
  • Comprehensive Exam (successful completion and defense of the senior project counts as passing the comprehensive exam)

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