This question has
perplexed philosophers, scientists, historians and ordinary people across time
and cultures.
While advances in the
medical understanding of how the brain functions can shed light on neurological
functions and disorders, the essential question of what the mind is speaks to a
different problem.
This problem cannot be
answered by a purely scientific understanding of the brain, nor by a purely
philosophical or psychological approach. Many disciplines have attempted to
address the question, resulting in multiple and sometimes antithetical answers.
New understandings of the mind
On this course,
Professor Mark Solms, Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town,
will adopt a multidisciplinary approach.
He will bring in
perspectives from a range of disciplines, to explore four specific aspects of
the mind- subjectivity, intentionality, consciousness and agency. Together,
these will help us think about the fundamental questions: what it is to be a
mind, why we have a mind and what it feels like to have a mind.
You can find out more
in Professor Mark Solms’s posts for the FutureLearn blog: “What is a mind? One
of the great mysteries of our time” and “Thinking and feeling: what’s the
difference?”
This course is aimed
at anyone with an interest in psychology and the mind. The course will also
appeal to practitioners, students and researchers from a range of disciplines,
whose work directly or indirectly looks at the mind and the brain. This
includes, but is not limited to neuroscience, psychology, psychoanalysis,
philosophy, psychiatry and neurology.
Taught
by Mark Solms
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