Session 1 – The Mind-Body Problem: Extra Materials
Here are the session slides as well a few extra resources about the mind-body problem. These materials are pitched at different levels of understanding, so some may stretch you more than others. They are completely optional: feel free to dip in and out of them as you choose!
BBC Radio 4: In Our Time – The Mind-Body Problem (opens in iPlayer)
Where Does Your Mind Reside? (opens in YouTube)
The Mind-Body Problem, Its Perspectives and Its Importance (blog post)
What’s Really at Stake in the Mind-Body Debate? (blog post)
Session 2 – Ancient Philosophers: Extra Materials
Once again, you’ll find the slides to the session as well as some materials on ancient philosophers which may be of interest. Have fun!
Plato and Aristotle (opens in YouTube)
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (opens in YouTube)
Plato’s Theory of Forms (magazine article)
Introduction to Aristotle and the Four Causes (blog post)
Session 3 – Free Will and Determinism: Extra Materials
Here are the slides for Free Will and Determinism and some related links. The article on God and free will picks up on one of the discussions that came up during the session (you may or may not be convinced by it!). The final video is not strictly philosophy but deals with the issue of being overwhelmed by choice, something many of us relate to.
Free Will and Determinism (opens in YouTube)
Free Will, Determinism, and the Possibility of Doing Otherwise (blog post)
Free Will: Perspectives from Neuroscience (blog post)
Can God Know Everything and Still Give Us Free Will? (blog post)
TED Talk: The Paradox of Choice (opens in TED.com)
Session 4 – Ethics: Extra Materials
Here are the slides from this session and a few extra materials for this week, hope you enjoy them. Also, an additional extra material has been added under the section for session 2 which is about Plato’s Form of The Good.
Aristotle & Virtue Ethics (opens in YouTube)
Utilitarianism (blog post)
Virtue Ethics (opens in BBC)
Kantian Ethics (blog post)
Session 5 – Thought Experiments: Extra Materials
And finally, the slides and extra materials for the session on thought experiments. Some of the links refer to those we have looked at, whilst others present some different ones. Enjoy!
Seven Thought Experiments That Will Make You Question Everything (internet article)
Wittgenstein’s Beetle in a Box Analogy (opens in YouTube)
The Prisoner’s Dilemma (internet article)
Interested in Exploring Philosophy Further?
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed doing philosophy with Converge and that the course has given you some food for thought. If you want to continue exploring the ideas we’ve covered, we recommend looking at the following resources.
- A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton
- The History of Philosophy by A.C. Grayling
- Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
- If Minds Had Toes by Lucy Eyre
- The CrashCourse Philosophy series on YouTube
- Converge’s Spirituality course
- Free online courses with FutureLearn, Coursera and WEA (the courses on offer may vary from time to time, so if there aren’t any philosophy programmes right now it might be worth checking in future)
