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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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251 - 275 of 299 Reviews for Philosophy and the Sciences: Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences

By Robert L

Sep 8, 2017

A good overview though it does mix and match definition from Edinburgh research rather than research in general.

By Magdalena M

May 30, 2020

The slides for the last weeks lectures were a bit unstructured, would love if that was a bit more organized.

By Christian C

Nov 4, 2022

grand and well formulated. I leraned a lot and all involved are very knowledgeable on the subject matter.

By Manolis P

Nov 28, 2016

Approachable, easy to follow, interesting examples, rich additional readings, good lecturers, easy exams

By Karin F

Mar 22, 2017

Great course! Could've been longer. Looking forward to more online courses from the U of Edinburgh.

By Fraser D

Jun 24, 2022

Very interesting course. Let down by the fact many of the links to 3rd-party resources are broken.

By Israel Á P J

Aug 13, 2020

Thanks for the course, I enjoy more than the first part! I loved the funny options in the quizzes.

By Helene L E

Jan 6, 2021

Great course, scratching the surface of many important concepts and explaining them well.

By Amita F

May 14, 2022

That is a great class that talks about the basic of philosophy of cognitive sciences.

By Yan L

May 6, 2019

I enjoyed the course, but felt like something was missing from the course.

By Ignacio J B P

Aug 12, 2019

It lacks a certain unity, maybe because it has many different teachers.

By Marie F

Aug 20, 2018

Really Interesting, gives a first idea of what cognitive sciences are !

By Troy

May 1, 2019

A pretty course to have a brief understanding of cognitive science.

By Guruswamy S

Feb 14, 2019

One of the most thought provoking courses. Lot to think and learn.

By Jonathan G

Feb 13, 2018

fascinating course. I had no idea this was connected to robotics!

By Sidney C

Jun 21, 2017

This is a well done overview of Cognitive Sciences. Thank you.

By Daniel G

Jan 15, 2021

I was expecting a bit more of Philosophy of research methods

By Carola S

Jul 25, 2020

Very interesting course and could have been longer.

By scalesr4

Aug 5, 2017

I love these topics and all of the implications.

By Madhura A

Jul 4, 2020

A very interesting and well structured course.

By JEEVA T

Jul 19, 2020

I'm really happy doing this course

By 梅思远

May 4, 2020

a brief introduction to the topic.

By Sherry P

Aug 19, 2020

Challenging, but fun.

By Dr C J W

Jan 25, 2019

I came to update my existing knowledge of Cognitive Science (which dates from the 1990s), and this short course worked well enough for that.

However, it was a bit variable in quality for me. Andy Clark was okay, I got annoyed with the Philosophy of Consciousness lecture (probably not the lecturer's fault, more the terms of the debate), but I really loved Series's lecture on the Bayesian Brain.

The quizzes will not leave you feeling you have achieved great things, however - too easy. I won't be purchasing a certificate for my wall.

By Marcel D S

Jun 16, 2017

Nice introduction to the philosophy of cognitive sciences. As a psychology undergraduate, I have seen some of the material before but still, I've learned a thing or two. My biggest problem with the course is that it's very short and the quizzes are no real challenge. It took me three days to finish this course with 100% accuracy which diminishes the value of the certificate. However, the course recommends some interesting readings with which I'll spend a bit more time with.