GRK 2386: Extrospection. External Acces to Higher Cognitive Processes.

更高的认知过程，如情绪、感知、信念形成或读心，在哲学、心理学、神经科学和精神病学中都是至关重要的。然而，在多大程度上，这些过程，特别是它们的主观性和现象性，可以通过外在的方式，也就是通过外部进入更高的认知过程，来充分地捕捉到这些过程，这是相当有争议的。原因是，外在的方法仅限于间接的外部证据。相比之下，自省长期以来一直被视为特权，因为它直接以第一人称接触这些过程。尽管内省的认识论凭证受到了行为主义者的攻击，但对外在反思的怀疑论依然存在。在他们看来，内省甚至违反了科学方法论的最基本标准。尽管内省和纯粹的行为方法一直是方法论反思的重要问题，但外省一直被广泛忽视。这就是为什么本项目旨在对外部审查进行全面的认识论、历史学和经验主义评估。鉴于外省与哲学、心理学、神经科学和精神病学等学科研究的相关性，跨学科的方法是不可替代的。作为一个工作假设，我们假设原则上不仅在外省和内省之间，而且在外省和自然科学的标准第三人称方法之间存在认知对称性。虽然我们不否认当前外在方法的明显不足，但我们假设它们可以被未来的科学、方法和技术发展克服，至少在原则上是这样。RTG将提供一个跨学科的博士课程，包括一个快车道选项。以性别平等为重点的复杂录取程序将选出两批博士生研究人员和一批快速通道学生。博士生将申请一个致力于外省问题的跨学科项目。录取后，每名学生将获指派两名来自不同学科的专家担任他们的小学和中学导师。研习班的核心课程将包括专门的研究研讨会，以及一系列的工作坊和学术静修活动。此外，我们将根据每个学生的具体需求提供基础和高级课程。

Higher cognitive processes like emotions, perception, belief formation or mind-reading are of essential importance in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry. It is quite controversial, though, to what extent these processes and particularly their subjective, phenomenal character can be captured adequately by means of extrospection, that is, by way of external access to higher cognitive processes. The reason is that extrospective methods are restricted to indirect external evidence. Introspection, by contrast, has long been treated as privileged, given its direct first-person access to these processes. Skepticism against extrospection persists although the epistemic credentials of introspection have been attacked, e.g., by behaviorists. In their view, introspection violates even the most basic standards of scientific methodology.While introspection and purely behavioral approaches have always been important issues of methodological reflection, extrospection has been widely ignored. That is why the present project aims at a comprehensive epistemological, historical and empirical assessment of extrospection. Given the relevance of extrospection for research in disciplines like philosophy, psychology, neuroscience and psychiatry, an interdisciplinary approach is without alternative.As a working hypothesis, we assume that there is an epistemic symmetry in principle not only between extrospection and introspection, but also between extrospection and standard third-person methods in the natural sciences. While we do not deny the obvious insufficiencies of current extrospective methods, we hypothesize that they can be overcome by future scientific, methodological, and technological developments, at least in principle.The RTG will offer an interdisciplinary doctoral program including a fast track option. A sophisticated admission process with a strong focus on gender equality will select two cohorts of doctoral researchers and one cohort of fast track students. Doctoral candidates will apply with an interdisciplinary project devoted to the problem of extrospection. Upon admission, each student will be assigned two experts from different disciplines who will act as their primary and secondary advisors.The core of the RTG’s curriculum will consist of specific research seminars devoted to extrospection and a series of workshops and academic retreats. Moreover, we will offer basic and advanced courses tailored to each individual student’s specific needs.