Using Robotic Competitions in Undergraduate Philosophy Courses: Studying the Mind through Simple Robotics.
John P. Sullins · CSUN ScholarWorks (California State University, Northridge) · 2007
Robotic competitions can add a great deal to undergraduate philosophy courses. I have successfully used Lego MindStorms kits in this manner to teach; logic, philosophy of AI, philosophy of cognitive robotics, and issues in the philosophy of technology. The following will describe some of my hard won experience in finding the best ways to cheaply and efficiently introduce robotic competition activities into the classroom, which will be of interest to any educators regardless of their disciplines. Why use Robotic Competitions in the Philosophy Classroom? There are certain significant tradeoffs to using robotic competitions in the undergraduate philosophy classroom. First, they take time away from typical classroom activities