Interdisciplinary summer course on “The Human Mind and the Open Society” at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary, July 8–19, 2024

This summer school focuses on how understanding the human mind as a tool for navigating a richly social existence can inform our understanding and advocacy of open society, and the ideals it represents. 

It will focus on four key ideals of open society. We will survey research on the cognitive and evolutionary basis of each; and explore some potential policy implications of this new understanding. Specifically, we shall focus on: Deliberation & the public sphere, Moral cognition & inequality, Trust & the rule of law, Cooperation & institutions. We have developed an innovative structure that mixes several different types of learning sessions, including but also going beyond traditional lectures and seminars. Students with a social science background will be exposed to research on the cognitive bases of citizens’ behaviour and interests. Reciprocally, students with a psychological background will see better how the individual phenomena they study—often in controlled, laboratory conditions—play out in society, and can either help or hinder the development of open societies.   

Financial aid is available. 

Application deadline: 14 February

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