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What Is a Mind? – Online Course

Explore the most pertinent scientific and philosophical concepts for understanding our own minds with this free online course This free online course will bring together learners and practitioners interested in how the mind works It aims to build bridges between traditionally antagonistic approaches to understanding the mind What is a mind 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 Solmss posts for the FutureLearn blog What is a mind One of the great mysteries of our time and Thinking and feeling whats the difference Understanding the Mind Subjectivity Consciousness Intentionality and the Unconscious Agency Changing the Mind Explore scientific and philosophical concepts for understanding our own minds Discuss four aspects of the mind namely subjectivity intentionality consciousness and agency Reflect on what it is to be a mind why we have a mind and what it feels like to have a mind

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