Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind

This landmark text introduces the novice reader to what great thinkers think about thought. Unlike most texts, authors Jay Friedenberg and Gordon Silverman use a theoretical, rather than empirical, approach to examine the most important theories of mind from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. While experiments are discussed, they are used primarily to illustrate the specific characteristics of a model.

Jay Friedenberg is Associate Chair and Associate Professor of the Psychology Department at Manhattan College, where he directs the Cognitive Science program. He obtained his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology in 1995 at the University of Virginia. His academic interests are in the areas of vision and philosophy of mind. He teaches courses in introductory and physiological psychology, sensation and perception, and research methods.

Dr. Friedenberg has an active research program, investigating the visual estimation of center of mass. He has published articles on symmetry detection and face perception. Dr. Friedenberg is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, The Psychonomic Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi. He is a yoga instructor and lives in Riverdale New York with a fat cat called Mimi.

Gordon Silverman is Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Manhattan College. His professional career spans more than 50 years of corporate, teaching, consulting, and research experience, during which he has developed a range of scientific instruments, particularly for use in physiological psychology research environments. He is the holder of eight patents, some related to behavior modification. The author of more than 20 journal articles and books, he has also served on the faculties of The Rockefeller University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Silverman’s current research interests include telemedicine, rehabilitation medicine, artificial intelligence, and biomedical instrumentation and modeling.