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Merlin Donald, a cognitive neuroscientist whose work explores the evolution of culture and the "subtler capabilities" of the human mind, has been named founding chair of the College's department of cognitive science.
Donald is the author of many scientific papers and two influential books: Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition (Harvard University Press, 1991), and A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Consciousness (W.W. Norton, 2001). Since 1972, he has been professor of psychology and education at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. He has also been, at various times, a visiting professor at Harvard, Stanford, the University of California at San Diego, and University College, London. Donald was awarded a Killam Research Fellowship from 1994 to 1996, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Royal Society of Canada.
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| Merlin Donald |
Last fall, when the College of Arts and Sciences sponsored Cognitive Science Week to celebrate the creation of its newest department, Donald was one of the featured speakers.
According to Mark Turner, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the cognitive science department's distinctive focus is on human creativity in all its forms: in the arts and technology; in education and communication; in the conceptual structures and social arrangements that define human cultures. Though grounded in the "sciences of the mind"— neurobiology, neuroscience, psychology, and linguistics— the department's interests extend across other sciences, the arts, and the humanities as well.
Much the same can be said of Merlin Donald and his work. After earning his Ph.D. from McGill University in 1968, Donald did his early empirical research in the field of human cognitive and clinical neuroscience. During the past 15 years, however, he has steadily extended the boundaries of his discipline, insisting that the higher functions of the modern mind cannot be understood apart from their cultural matrix— the symbolic languages and social interactions by which cognition is "distributed" within human communities.
"Cognitive science needs to establish a more valid framework, anchored in the cultural world that humanity has created, before it can build better models of the mind, truer to the subtler capabilities that become evident in its natural environment, culture," Donald explained. "To achieve this change of framework, it needs richer interactions with the social sciences and humanities."
By the same token, "the humanities and social sciences have also run into limits in their present paradigms, just as cognitive science has. They, too, need a fresh infusion of new ideas. Cognitive science has many such new ideas that might prove liberating to scholars in other disciplines."
In Donald's view, it is inevitable that universities will increasingly promote interactions between cognitive science and other fields. "After all," he said, "we are all unified by dint of the fact that we are interested in advancing our understanding of the same subject: humanity." And he sees the creation of the cognitive science department at Case as a landmark opportunity, both personally and institutionally.
 "Sometimes, an administrative initiative— such as setting up a new department— can have a very large impact on a field. And I am at a point in my life where I would like to leave more than just an academic imprint. And so, this is an extraordinary opportunity to be on the ground floor on something that is going to happen. I looked at the probabilities very carefully, and I made the judgment that there was a very good chance it would happen first at Case. I know there are other universities that are thinking this way, but I don't know any others that have come this far."
Psychology professor Sandra Russ, whose research focuses on creativity in children, is one of the first College faculty members to hold a secondary appointment in cognitive science. "The international stature of Merlin Donald will ensure that our new department is 'on the map' from the start," she said. "He and his work are highly regarded. His appointment should attract outstanding scholars. His leadership ability and deep understanding of the area of cognitive science should lead to development of research and educational programs that are exciting and that genuinely contribute to the field."
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