Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences

2019/2020

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

3

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Школа философии

Статус:

Курс по выбору

Когда читается:

2-й курс, 1-3 модуль

Course Syllabus

Abstract

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

Learning Objectives

• Understands history of beliefs in the soul as well as a modern scientific view of the problem
• Knows why these views are so common and whether they offer any advantages
• Knows difference between beliefs in the immortality of the soul between different religions

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Понимает ключевые традиции определения души в религиях мира
• Может назвать основные социальные функции религии
• Способен объяснить ключевые сложности, с которыми религии сталкиваются в начале 21 в.
• Знает основные подходы к решению "Mind-Body" проблемы

Course Contents

• Religions Under Attack
  Значение религий меняется со временем. Что такое секуляризация?
• Functions of Religion in Ancient & Modern Times
  Какую роль играла религия в прошлом и какую играет сейчас?
• The Mind-Body Problem
  Вопрос о соотношении души и тела позволяет иначе взглянуть на проблему души.
• Historical Foundations of Soul Beliefs
  Our task is to consider the history of beliefs in the soul as well as a modern scientific view of the problem

Assessment Elements

• домашние задания
• тест

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (3 module)
  0.4 * домашние задания + 0.6 * тест

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Социология религии : учеб. пособие для вузов, Гараджа, В. И., 2005

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Richardson, T., Hendrix, H., & Stelling, L. (2012). The Turn of the Soul : Representations of Religious Conversion in Early Modern Art and Literature. Leiden: Brill. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=429973