University of Virginia · Department of Philosophy

Humanistic
Cognitive Science
Hub

Cognitive Science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind. Over a half century ago, humanists and scientists established this field together, believing we cannot uncover the mysteries of the human mind from within disciplinary silos. Yet the field is retreating back to those silos at a historical moment that demands interdisciplinary research; as humanists and scientists grapple with the impacts of technologies such as AI and social media on human minds and societies.

The HooCS Hub is a three-year initiative incubating UVA's existing strengths to establish us as a leader in the interdisciplinary study of the mind. We integrate humanistic and philosophical inquiry — from contemplative traditions to analytic philosophy — into the core of cognitive science, while using empirical methods and results to inform humanistic scholarship. We promote this inquiry through vertically-integrated collaborations between faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. Although HooCS is deliberately capacious, spanning any topic in humanistic cognitive science, much of our research is organized around two related topics: spontaneous thought in an anxious world, and human agency and autonomy in the age of AI.

HooCS promotes interdisciplinary collaborations through two core activities:

1. We host a biweekly HooCS Lab during the academic year. HooCS Lab is a venue for works-in-progress talks, external speakers, training sessions, reading groups, etc.
2. We will host our inaugural week-long Summer Seminars in Humanistic Cognitive Science (SSHooCS) from August 10–14th. SSHooCS will bring together a small cohort of humanist and scientist students for six intensive days of cross-disciplinary training, collaboration, and research development. Participants will leave with a fully developed interdisciplinary research project that they will complete in the following Academic Year, a network of collaborators across UVA, and the concrete skills to pursue interdisciplinary research and funding in HooCS and beyond.
   
   Click here for SSHooCS 2026 projects and schedule. Applications for 2027 will be accepted in Spring 2027.