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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Philosophy and the Sciences: Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences by The University of Edinburgh

4.6
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1,314 ratings

About the Course

Course Description What is our role in the universe as human agents capable of knowledge? What makes us intelligent cognitive agents seemingly endowed with consciousness? This is the second part of the course 'Philosophy and the Sciences', dedicated to Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences. Scientific research across the cognitive sciences has raised pressing questions for philosophers. The goal of this course is to introduce you to some of the main areas and topics at the key juncture between philosophy and the cognitive sciences. Each week we will introduce you to some of these important questions at the forefront of scientific research. We will explain the science behind each topic in a simple, non-technical way, while also addressing the philosophical and conceptual questions arising from it. Areas you’ll learn about will include: Philosophy of psychology, among whose issues we will cover the evolution of the human mind and the nature of consciousness. Philosophy of neurosciences, where we’ll consider the nature of human cognition and the relation between mind, machines, and the environment. Learning objectives Gain a fairly well-rounded view on selected areas and topics at the intersection of philosophy and the sciences Understand some key questions, and conceptual problems arising in the cognitive sciences. Develop critical skills to evaluate and assess these problems. Suggested Readings To accompany 'Philosophy and the Sciences', we are pleased to announce a tie-in book from Routledge entitled 'Philosophy and the Sciences for Everyone'. This course companion to the 'Philosophy and the Sciences' course was written by the Edinburgh Philosophy and the Sciences team expressly with the needs of MOOC students in mind. 'Philosophy and the Sciences for Everyone' contains clear and user-friendly chapters, chapter summaries, glossary, study questions, suggestions for further reading and guides to online resources. Please note, this companion book is optional - all the resources needed to complete the course are available freely and listed on the course site....

Top reviews

CG

Feb 10, 2020

this course was very broad and incredibly interesting. I highly recommend it as introduction to the philosophy of science, but I have to warn you: Once you have started, your journey won't stop here!

AS

Jun 24, 2020

this is the great course for the people who are pursuing their carer in philosophy, philosophy of mind to be more precise and also for the people who are thinking of doing psychology later anytime.

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226 - 250 of 299 Reviews for Philosophy and the Sciences: Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences

By Vijaya D

Jun 6, 2020

I learned a lot from this introductory course on Philosophy of Cognitive science.

Professors were very engaging and gave lots of example to make the understand the concepts better.

The course has made me so motivated and I am looking forward to learn more on Cognitive science.

By Lucy B

Aug 29, 2020

It was filled with information, almost too much to absorb and would have been much easier to understand with less technical, complicated terminology and overwhelming examples and references. Maybe simpler and more direct? The first part was fine and enjoyable and satisfying.

By Daniel F

Apr 17, 2017

Extremely interesting topics; it is a quick and broad survey, so very superficial, though. Just a series of 10-15 minutes presentations introducing each aspect of the field. Don't be discouraged if you find the first week's presentation lacking/unengaging: it gets better.

By Emiel d J

Aug 24, 2018

A very interesting course. Some of the lecturers where a bit monotone. And the information is quite hard to digest if you have little to no knowledge about cosmology. However besides that the course is amazing. It is a great introduction to the philosophy of science.

By Ben M

Nov 7, 2021

Both expansive and provoking course. The magnitude of the implications found in the evolutionary psychology component, reconfirmed in the bayesian statistic concepts re a mammalian brain augmented by predictive models.. staggering! Compelling and rousing.

By Jim K

Dec 19, 2016

I like the subject and the topics of each week are also interesting. However, the 4 weeks' content can only cover limited topics. And the course in Coursera can be improved by making the parts in each week clearer and reducing some subtitle mistakes.

By Netaniel R

Jun 12, 2022

It was a very interesting course, but it left me with a sensation of half understanding. The concepts were very clear, but for example I would appreciate a review of attempts made to defien conciousseness in neuroscience and philosophy in the past.

By Tan K Q

May 6, 2017

I am reading up on cognitive sciences for my PhD dissertation on cognitive narratology and space. The contents of this course are mostly very clearly presented. The topic is engaging, and I like the examples cited in the presentations.

By Belinda A

May 15, 2021

I would love the course to be slightly more comprehensive and if some of the discussions are mandatory, it would have been more robust. But all in all, I have learned a fair bit! The videos were also taken with good effort. Thank you!

By Allison B

Sep 3, 2017

I think they should give us harder/more in-depth readings than just internet encyclopedia articles. It would be nice if they directed us to seminal papers that developed some of the ideas presented here instead of just summaries.

By tuba y

Jan 19, 2018

Great as an introduction, but requires a lot of more in-depth individual research on the part of the novice learner, which could be facilitated by providing seminal readings - to let beginners know from where to start. Thank you

By NAUNIHAL S

Sep 3, 2020

The course was very informative with excellent reading material suggested. I think that the week four videos could have been more explaining at the conceptual basis, too many examples made it for me rather difficult to keep up.

By Steven v d G

Nov 22, 2016

A good and informative course on the philosophy of cognitive sciences. Judging by the lectures and quizzes, the course does seem to be more on a high school level, than an undergraduate level.

By Katt P

Mar 10, 2017

Great high-level overview that introduces some very interesting concepts. Great intro for those who are just exploring this area of study. Entices you to dive deeper into the topic!

By Stefan V

Feb 8, 2017

Wonderful course! It's a great introduction to the topic of embodied cognition. My only suggestion is to expand it for the people who are really interested in these topics.

By Eduardo S P

Mar 11, 2017

I enjoyed this course, however some of the lectures were a bit slow or somehow loose. Evenso, I think this is a very good introductory course to a fascinating topic.

By Rahul K

Apr 4, 2018

A very brief, concise, and fun-to-learn course. It helped me bridge the gap between AI cognition and human cognition. Love the presentation style of the lectures!

By A K

Dec 13, 2016

I enjoyed this course very much! Provided a very fundamental framework for understanding what cognition is, and the associated problems, such as mind-body

By Daniela C L K M

Jul 24, 2020

Maybe I was hoping for more philosophy and a little less science. But it was great to learn and think about applied sciences using cognitive sciences too.

By Anastasia B

Aug 10, 2020

A good course. Very interesting but it is rather on the surface and doesn't really go in depth explaining the evolution of cognitive sciences

By James R

Mar 18, 2019

I found the first three weeks to be great. The final week felt rushed and underwhelming. It was a shame to end on a whimper.

By Jesse

Jul 6, 2020

This is a relatively basic introductory program. Some interesting ideas had been introduced yet not been developed deeply.

By THOMAS W F

Apr 11, 2022

This was an excellent introduction to cognition, how we perceive it, seek to understand it, and strive to replicate it.

By Mohamed A

Apr 4, 2017

This is a complete introduction the cognitive sciences. A great course to start with, but is still for the beginners

By Jay K

May 13, 2020

Exceptional and accessible introductory course into the cognitive science and evolutionary and adaptive principles.