Throughout history, the vast majority of people around the globe have believed they have, however defined, a “soul.” While the question of whether the soul exists cannot be answered by science, what we can study are the causes and consequences of various beliefs about the soul and its prospects of surviving the death of the body. Why are soul and afterlife beliefs so common in human history? Are there adaptive advantages to assuming souls exist? Are there brain structures that have been shaped by environmental pressures that provide the foundation of body/mind dualism that is such a prominent feature of many religions? How do these beliefs shape the worldviews of different cultures and our collective lives? What is the role of competing afterlife beliefs in religion, science, politics, and war? This course explores several facets of this relatively unexplored but profoundly important aspect of human thought and behavior.
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Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences - Unit 2: Belief Systems
Rutgers the State University of New JerseyAbout this Course
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Try Coursera for BusinessSyllabus - What you will learn from this course
Introduction to Unit 2
Thinking and Feeling
Terror Management
Internalized Beliefs I
Reviews
- 5 stars77.38%
- 4 stars14.28%
- 3 stars4.16%
- 2 stars1.19%
- 1 star2.97%
TOP REVIEWS FROM SOUL BELIEFS: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES - UNIT 2: BELIEF SYSTEMS
Amazing class that really helps you to look your core beliefs and understand why and how your are the person that you are!
Really good professors and materials~ 10000 worthily!
Thought provoking with lots of concrete scientific evidence to support the topic. Enjoyed the class and assigned readings very much.
A wonderful insight into why we believe, and what effect deeply held beliefs have on out behaviour.
A unique course that combines science, religion, psychology, and history for the purpose of understanding human nature and the human mind. Thanks for the valuable course.
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