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 3: How Does It All End?
Rutgers the State University of New JerseyAbout this Course
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Approx. 13 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: English, Romanian
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Approx. 13 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: English, Romanian
Offered by

Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
1 hour to complete
Introduction to Unit 3
1 hour to complete
1 video (Total 20 min), 2 readings
1 video
Introduction20m
2 readings
Welcome to the Course10m
Learner Support10m
2 hours to complete
Evolutionary Psychology
2 hours to complete
3 videos (Total 76 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz
3 videos
Evolutionary Psychology Part B23m
Evolutionary Psychology Part C27m
1 reading
Evolutionary Psychology: A Primer10m
1 practice exercise
Quiz 130m
1 hour to complete
The Evolution of the Human Brain
1 hour to complete
3 videos (Total 70 min)
3 videos
The Evolution of the Human Brain Part B22m
The Evolution of the Human Brain Part C25m
2 hours to complete
The Human Spark
2 hours to complete
4 videos (Total 95 min)
4 videos
The Human Spark Part B22m
The Human Spark Part C12m
NPR audio interview - Richard Leakey Reflects On Human Past And Future35m
1 practice exercise
Quiz 230m
Reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM SOUL BELIEFS: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES - UNIT 3: HOW DOES IT ALL END?
by JSJun 1, 2017
Culminates a 3 mooc series. They get increasingly abstract as they go on. This had some good info on science vs. religion.
by JCApr 5, 2018
Very interesting and engaging course. Loved the work that Professors Ogilvy and Hamilton did to put the 3 units together.
by PKSep 7, 2017
Amazing, thought provoking, engaging, and educational course
by APSep 12, 2015
Great, but with less new content than Units 1 and 2.
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