Neural Basis of Imagination, Free Will, and Morality (Coursera)

Offered by Dartmouth College,
Neural Basis of Imagination, Free Will, and Morality (Coursera)

This course deals with the neural basis of imagination, free will, and morality. In module one of the course, you will explore the evidence of imagination derived from artifacts. This module examines the brain changes that caused the innovativeness of human imagination. The relation between the first and the second-order desires and free will also be discussed.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

In the second module, you will learn how we imagine and judge what is right versus what is wrong. You will also learn to differentiate between immoral and amoral acts and explore the origin of morality, evil, and human goodness.
While comparing the relationship between science and religion, you'll understand how to realign social, cultural, and governmental structures to serve broad human interests.
This course is part of the Libertarian Free Will Specialization.

Syllabus

Module 1: Neural Basis of Imagination and Decision Making
This module explores the evidence of imagination derived from artifacts. It also examines the brain changes that caused the innovativeness of human imagination. The relation between the first and the second-order desires and free will is also discussed in this module.

Module 2: Free Will And Morality
This module explains how we imagine and judge what is right versus what is wrong. It also differentiates between immoral and amoral acts and explores the origin of morality, evil, and human goodness. While comparing the relationship between science and religion, it also explains how to realign social, cultural, and governmental structures to serve broad human interests.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

The Science of Religion (edX) EdX
The University of British Columbia,UBCx

The Science of Religion (edX)

What is religion? Are we wired to believe? Does science have the answers? Join us on a journey to the origins of religion and spirituality. Drawing on new scientific advances, this religion course examines foundational questions about the nature of religious belief and practice.

This course is archived
5-12 Weeks
The Science of Parenting (edX) EdX
University of California, San Diego,UC San DiegoX

The Science of Parenting (edX)

Move beyond the chatter and opinion surrounding parenting and learn about the scientific findings and data that can help you make sensible, informed parenting decisions. Everyone has an opinion on parenting – where babies should sleep, what they should eat, and whether parents should spank, scold, or praise. What’s more, the media often offers support for whichever opinions appear most popular at any given time. This leaves those of us who like to base our decisions on firm, provable facts feeling dizzy.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Introducing Humanism: Non-religious Approaches to Life, with Sandi Toksvig (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Humanists UK

Introducing Humanism: Non-religious Approaches to Life, with Sandi Toksvig (FutureLearn)

Learn about humanism - a non-religious, ethical worldview shared by millions across the world. Presented by Sandi Toksvig. Learn about how humanists approach life's big questions. Humanism is a non-religious, ethical world view shared by millions of people around the world. Humanists believe that this life is the only life we have, that the universe is a natural phenomenon with no supernatural side, and that we can live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.

Jan 18th 2021
5-12 Weeks
The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future (Coursera) Coursera
Emory University

The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future (Coursera)

With its walls razed to ground by Babylon’s armies, Jerusalem joined a long line of ancient vanquished cities—from Ur and Nineveh and Persepolis to Babylon itself. While some recovered from the destruction, others did not. But none responded to political catastrophe by fashioning the kind of elaborate and enduring monument to their own downfall that we find in the Bible. Most conquered populations viewed their subjugation as a source of shame. They consigned it to oblivion, opting instead to extol the golden ages of the past. The biblical authors in contrast reacted to loss by composing extensive writings that acknowledge collective failure, reflect deeply upon its causes, and discover thereby a ground for collective hope.

Jul 27th 2026
5-12 Weeks
William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: Comedy, Conflict, and Community (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: Comedy, Conflict, and Community (Coursera)

This course introduces and explores William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, Twelfth Night. Interviews with actors who appeared in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s 2019 production of Twelfth Night, as well as lectures by scholars and theater professionals who work and teach at the University of Colorado Boulder, offer students insight into Shakespeare’s artistic vision and its applications.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Historia de las reglas del fútbol en Inglaterra y en Argentina (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Austral

Historia de las reglas del fútbol en Inglaterra y en Argentina (Coursera)

El curso es accesible para todos los aficionados al fútbol ya sean del nivel de un principiante como el de un profesional dado que describe de una manera clara y sencilla cómo se originó el fútbol en Inglaterra en el Siglo XIV y el modo en que se fueron desarrollando las reglas de juego, que comprenden la forma en que los futbolistas lo practicaban (con los pies, con las manos, con o sin arcos, el tamaño de la pelota, del campo de juego, cantidad de jugadores por lado, etc.) y las reglas de competición, que ordenan cómo se organiza una federación nacional, el formato de los campeonatos, los requisitos que deben cumplir los clubes afiliados, la fiscalización de los resultados, etc.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The History of Modern Israel - Part II: Challenges of Israel as a sovereign state (Coursera) Coursera
Tel Aviv University

The History of Modern Israel - Part II: Challenges of Israel as a sovereign state (Coursera)

This course deals with the Israeli politics, economy, society and culture, since its creation in 1948 till today. It analyzes the construction of the Israeli historical narrative as an identity-building narrative, intending to inculcate a collective memory to a diverse society. We will focus on key events and essential components that shaped the Israeli society from the fifties till the present. We will also discuss the changes that the Israeli society experiences in its almost seventy years of existence and how it affects its politics and culture.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera) Coursera
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera)

This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another. For each of these moments, cultural facts and artifacts—thought, literature, ritual—will be examined in relationship to changing social, political, and economic systems.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity (Coursera) Coursera
University of Copenhagen

Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity (Coursera)

In this course created by former associate professor at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, Jon Stewart, we will explore how Kierkegaard deals with the problems associated with relativism, the lack of meaning and the undermining of religious faith that are typical of modern life. His penetrating analyses are still highly relevant today and have been seen as insightful for the leading figures of Existentialism, Post-Structuralism and Post-Modernism.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks