认知科学是一个跨学科领域，在过去的几十年中出现在许多现有学科的交汇处，包括心理学，语言学，计算机科学，哲学和神经科学。可以将其定义为思维，感知和智能行为的跨学科研究，由环境的性质以及智能主体（无论是人，动物还是机器）的内部体系结构共同决定。以前，每个学科都试图从自己的角度理解智力，而在其他领域的进步却无济于事。然而，随着认知科学的到来，各学科之间已经共享了理论见解和方法论，跨学科的相互作用已成为该领域的标志。这是一个基于以下原则的领域：应该在各学科之间的交叉点开发新知识，并且合作将有助于保护和加强所有参与
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field that has emerged during the past few decades at the intersection of a number of existing disciplines, including psychology, linguistics, computer science, philosophy, and neuroscience. It may be defined as the interdisciplinary study of thinking, perception, and intelligent behavior, as determined jointly by the nature of the environment and by the internal architecture of the intelligent agent, whether human, animal, or machine. Previously, each discipline sought to understand intelligence from its own perspective, benefiting little from progress in other fields. With the advent of Cognitive Science, however, theoretical insights and methodologies have been shared among disciplines, and interdisciplinary interaction has become the hallmark of the field. It is a field founded on the principle that new knowledge should be developed at the intersection among disciplines, and that collaboration will serve to preserve and strengthen all participating disciplines.