Thinking About Tomorrow: The Cognitive Science of the Future
Peter Todd
Psychological & Brain Sciences
People spend a lot of time thinking about the future—from where to have lunch, to what kind of career to prepare for in twenty years. But how do we think about these uncertain outcomes? Are we good or bad at it? Could we do better? In this course we will explore how people (and other animals) think about the future, including making plans, learning the difference between “yesterday,” “today,” and “tomorrow”, imagining better futures, and experiencing hopeful awe or existential dread, from perspectives of psychology and other cognitive sciences. We will also discuss how people can be helped to think more clearly about the future and make better decisions about their finances, their own health, and the health and sustainability of society and the environment more broadly. The course will include weekly readings and discussions, participation in experiments related to thinking about the future, doing a research project, and writing about these activities, along with guest lectures and visits from local experts. This course is not about what will happen in the future, but about how we can even think about what will happen in the future. If we can figure out how people think about things to come, then we can have a better chance of improving how we think about the future: how usefully we can predict what will happen, and how well we can make decisions that will bring about the kind of future we want to live in.
Catalog Information: HON-H 241 SCIENTIFIC UNCERTAINTY AND DISCOVERY