University of Cape Town
- Start Date: 07 Nov, 2022
- 6 weeks
- Study Content: Videos
Explore the most pertinent scientific and philosophical concepts for understanding our own minds with this free online course
Course Fee: Free
Certificate Cost: See Fees and Eligibility
Introduction
Introduction Video
Course Description
This course is made available through the eLearnAfrica and FutureLearn partnership.
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 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.
Certificate cost may vary. You will be redirected to the host page for cost and payment options.
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is the oldest university in South Africa.
With its main campus located on the slopes of Devil’s Peak in the Cape Peninsula, it was third on The Telegraph’s 2014 list of the most beautiful campuses in the world.
UCT is one of the leading higher education and research institutions on the African continent and has a tradition of academic excellence that is respected worldwide.
On its staff are more than one-third of South Africa’s A-rated researchers and academics - all of whom are also recognised as world leaders in their respective fields, who have earned international awards and published articles in the world’s most prestigious journals. UCT has also established research and teaching partnerships with universities across Africa and around the world.
UCT focuses research on the leading problems of the day and seeks to instil in graduates a sense of social commitment and responsibility to their communities. UCT has established multidisciplinary research initiatives to tackle contemporary issues such as safety and violence, poverty and inequality, the crisis in basic education across South Africa, African challenges brought by climate change, issues affecting children, urbanisation and various gender issues, to name a few.
This institution is available on eLearnAfrica through partnership with FutureLearn.
COLLABORATION POLICY
By enrolling in a course on or through eLearnAfrica, you are joining a special worldwide community of learners. The aspiration of eLearnAfrica is to provide anyone with an internet connection access to courses from the best universities and institutions in the world and to provide our learners the best educational experience internet technology enables. You are a part of the community that will help eLearnAfrica achieve this goal. eLearnAfrica depends upon your motivation to learn the material and to do so with honesty and academic integrity. In order to participate in eLearnAfrica, you must agree to the Honor Code below and any additional terms specific to a class.
ELEARNAFRICA HONOR CODE PLEDGE
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Complete all tests and assignments on my own, unless collaboration on an assignment is explicitly permitted.
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Maintain only one user account and not let anyone else use my username and/or password.
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Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve my results, or improve or hurt the results of others.
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Not post answers to problems that are being used to assess student performance.
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Abide by any and all requirements of the eLearnAfrica Participants as may regard the expectations of civil or academic behavior or of community standards.
VIOLATIONS
If you are found in violation of the Terms and Conditions or Honor Code, you may be subject to one or more of the following actions:
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Receiving a zero or no credit for an assignment;
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Having any certificate earned in the course withheld or revoked;
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Being unenrolled from a course, learning program or degree program; or
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Termination of your use of the App and/or Site.
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Additional actions may be taken at the sole discretion of eLearnAfrica and eLearnAfrica course providers.
No refunds will be issued in the case of any corrective action for such violations.
Honor code violations will be determined at the sole discretion of eLearnAfrica, the Partners, or Members. You will be notified if a determination has been made that you have violated this honor code and you will be informed of the corresponding action to be taken as a result of the violation.
CHANGING THE HONOR CODE
Please note that we review and may make changes to this Honor Code from time to time. Any changes to this Honor Code will be effective immediately upon posting on this page, with an updated effective date. By accessing the App and/or Site after any changes have been made, you signify your agreement on a prospective basis to the modified Honor Code and any changes contained therein. Be sure to return to this page periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version of this Honor Code.
Effective Date: September 22, 2016