What is a Mind ? MOOC

[torridon]

Here's a heads up for anyone interested in the nature of mind with time for some online learning, Cape Town University are running this free online course on Mind starting 18th April.  I did an earlier cut of this MOOC last year and found it thoroughly enjoyable and informative. The lead tutor Mark Solms is an excellent communicator of ideas.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/what-is-a-mind

[Brownie]

Thanks, I have registered.

[ippy]

Thanks, I have registered.

We have a lot of psychology candidates here, when my wife went through her GCSE psychology courses she found the people with religious beliefs had some really serious struggles with their ideas about their beliefs.

Their's not many faith driven, believers if you like, into psychology that have religious beliefs, even if they started out with them. 

ippy

[Gonnagle]

Dear Brownie,

We can compare notes Cheers Torridon.

Gonnagle.

[Brownie]

Ippy, I have no problem with the study of psychology and don't see why any believer would, unless they are of the opinion that no-one 'should' have mental health problems which are the result of demonic oppression (yes, there are some who think that), or dislike Jung or whatever.  I love Jung btw.  Are you trying to put me off ?  I'm looking forward to it.

[ippy]

Ippy, I have no problem with the study of psychology and don't see why any believer would, unless they are of the opinion that no-one 'should' have mental health problems which are the result of demonic oppression (yes, there are some who think that), or dislike Jung or whatever.  I love Jung btw.  Are you trying to put me off ?  I'm looking forward to it.

I get what you're saying but I think you will find the problems are a bit broader than demonic possession.

I must admit Sam Harris's scenario, if someone was to mention their belief in Elvis still being around during in the course of a job interview; well? Yet if a mention was made of belief in one or the other of the religious beliefs, at a similar job interview, it would hardly be noticed but both scenarios are as likely as each other to be true. Makes sense to me.

Perhaps demonic possession isn't that far away from religious belief, who knows?

ippy     

   

[Brownie]

I doubt if anyone will ask me about my personal beliefs for an online course, Ippy.  We shall see.

[ippy]

I doubt if anyone will ask me about my personal beliefs for an online course, Ippy.  We shall see.

I think you may have missed the point I was trying to make.

In my origional post I said, "if someone were to mention and if a mention was made, respectivily about "Elvis" and then "religious belief", I thought I had missed out the ifs, so the asking about an individuals beliefs or not hasn't really got much to do with anything I was saying.

Trying to rationalise religious beliefs doesn't sit well with studying psychology and so I'm told, it's a particularly difficult job for those that hold well established religious beliefs to rationalise the two subjects, religious belief and psychology together but not a problem for non-religious people.

Ippy

[torridon]

I doubt if anyone will ask me about my personal beliefs for an online course, Ippy.  We shall see.

That's largely up to you. Last time around, there were literally thousands of people from all walks of life from all over the world enrolled and there was as much activity going on in the discussions between students as anything else. So there is huge scope for engagement in discussions with other students if you want it.  I enjoyed that part immensely last time around, there were some awesomely talented and knowledgeable people on the course from whom I learned a great deal in the side discussions.

[Brownie]

I don't consider myself to be a ''religious person'', ippy, though I do have faith.  It is not incompatible with neuroscience or neuropsychology and won't stop me doing an online course. I get what you are saying and thank you for it.  However you cannot generalise about people with faith, we're all different and there are plenty working in the fields mentioned who have a faith of some kind.

[Sriram]

I don't consider myself to be a ''religious person'', ippy, though I do have faith.  It is not incompatible with neuroscience or neuropsychology and won't stop me doing an online course. I get what you are saying and thank you for it.  However you cannot generalise about people with faith, we're all different and there are plenty working in the fields mentioned who have a faith of some kind.

Brownie,

'Faith' of a religious kind or in secular spirituality does not in any way hinder ones knowledge or development in specific fields like psychology, medicine, evolutionary biology, genetics, cosmology or physics in general. 

Atheists just like to think that because of their own limitations.

Some atheists have this compartmentalized and Zoom-in mind .... which prevents them from integrating information from different, seemingly disjointed, fields. They therefore tend to think that everyone would be like that. 

In fact, serious practice of  Yoga, meditations and Pranayama (breathing techniques) can help one to broaden ones mind, remove the compartments and look at the mind objectively from the inside. Such people will make the best psychologists.....and philosopher scientists in general.

Cheers.

Sriram   

[Stranger]

'Faith' of a religious kind or in secular spirituality does not in any way hinder ones knowledge or development in specific fields like psychology, medicine, evolutionary biology, genetics, cosmology or physics in general. 

You appear to be a counterexample.

[Sriram]

You appear to be a counterexample.

Not that YOU would know! LOL!!

[Shaker]

We can tell from what you, I use the word loosely, write here.

[ippy]

I don't consider myself to be a ''religious person'', ippy, though I do have faith.  It is not incompatible with neuroscience or neuropsychology and won't stop me doing an online course. I get what you are saying and thank you for it.  However you cannot generalise about people with faith, we're all different and there are plenty working in the fields mentioned who have a faith of some kind.

In this particular case where religious believers are introducing themselves to psychology a clash is inevitable between the two subjects, some are more able to deal with this clash than others, yes I would have thought that was obvious.

There certainly is a point where there is a need to come to terms with the clash between psychology and those that have religious beliefs of one kind or another, this clash does exist and I suppose it could be incompatible for some, even so it is still a clash as I said, I didn't say it was incompatible.

I would say that I think hanging on to these religious beliefs and trying to rationalise the two together would necessarily involve any student of the subject in some complicated forms cognitive dissonance, mind you CD usually is a complicated art.

I wasn't generalising, obviously some believers will carry on dealing with these subjects, in spite of any clash.

ippy

 
   

[Gonnagle]

Dear ippy,

Sometimes your chuntering can be very Vladdish, what clash do you see, you have mentioned Demonic possession and Elvis, what is your point!?

Gonnagle.

[ippy]

Brownie,

'Faith' of a religious kind or in secular spirituality does not in any way hinder ones knowledge or development in specific fields like psychology, medicine, evolutionary biology, genetics, cosmology or physics in general. 

Atheists just like to think that because of their own limitations.

Some atheists have this compartmentalized and Zoom-in mind .... which prevents them from integrating information from different, seemingly disjointed, fields. They therefore tend to think that everyone would be like that. 

In fact, serious practice of  Yoga, meditations and Pranayama (breathing techniques) can help one to broaden ones mind, remove the compartments and look at the mind objectively from the inside. Such people will make the best psychologists.....and philosopher scientists in general.

Cheers.

Sriram

Sriram I'm not familiar with local Indian colloquialisms, we have a few over here in England I just wondered if you were familiar with the expression we use here in England, where we refer to someone as a prat and sometimes you can add to that something like, a rather silly prat; I just wondered if you knew about this particular colloquialism and what it actually means? 

ippy

[ippy]

Dear ippy,

Sometimes your chuntering can be very Vladdish, what clash do you see, you have mentioned Demonic possession and Elvis, what is your point!?

Gonnagle.

If you go back to the beginning of Brownie's exchange between ourselves you will find out, I suppose it's like joining a conversation at the halfway point it can be difficult to understand.

The demonic possession bit has nothing to do with anything I was addressing, mind you if you're a god believer you might as well add demonic possession to your list, it's about as likely to have something in it as does god belief.

By the way having any luck with your inability to understand even the basics of secularism, still think of it as the enemy no doubt.

ippy

[Gonnagle]

Dear ippy,

Ooops, sorry, Brownie mentioned it first, my apologies, secularism, do I have a problem with that, refresh my memory.

Gonnagle.

[Brownie]

I'm quite looking forward to the course and am not afraid about having beliefs, indeed it had never occurred to me that there would be any barriers.  I have an open mind.  I also understand what Sririam said.  However it is a course, I'm not going to take up Neuroscience professionally at my age so if any conflicts arise I will find them an interesting challenge.  It will be very mind broadening if nothing else. It's also something I can do on my own which is I like.

[ippy]

I'm quite looking forward to the course and am not afraid about having beliefs, indeed it had never occurred to me that there would be any barriers.  I have an open mind.  I also understand what Sririam said.  However it is a course, I'm not going to take up Neuroscience professionally at my age so if any conflicts arise I will find them an interesting challenge.  It will be very mind broadening if nothing else. It's also something I can do on my own which is I like.

Who said anything about barriers? And yes I'm sure it will be an interesting challenge, I hope you really enjoy it.

Sriram? What's that about?

ippy

[ippy]

Dear ippy,

Ooops, sorry, Brownie mentioned it first, my apologies, secularism, do I have a problem with that, refresh my memory.

Gonnagle.

What would be the point of trying to refresh your memory's contents of secularism?

ippy

[L.A.]

Here's a heads up for anyone interested in the nature of mind with time for some online learning, Cape Town University are running this free online course on Mind starting 18th April.  I did an earlier cut of this MOOC last year and found it thoroughly enjoyable and informative. The lead tutor Mark Solms is an excellent communicator of ideas.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/what-is-a-mind

Hey! that sounds fascinating Torridon . . . I've signed-up.

[torridon]

Top guy LA, hope you enjoy

[Gonnagle]

Dear Torridon,

Frying my two remaining brain cells, what is a mind

Feelings come first then the mind or the thoughts, hopefully by the end of the course I will be able to give you a definition of the mind.

Gonnagle.