Course Overview

Instructor

Jonathan Edelmann - jonathanedelmann@ufl.edu

Office location: 106 Anderson Hall

Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 9:00 - 11:00 am.

Phone: (352) 392-1625

My research is on the Sanskrit language, the history of Indian theology and philosophy, and the intersectionality of science and religion. Here's a link (Links to an external site.) to my website in the Department of Religion. I took courses on science and religion when I was a student at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Since then I have been fascinated by the relationships between scientific, philosophical, and religious thinking, and I am excited to share some of the newest research on this topic. I also look forward to highlighting the many resources at the University of Florida. Email is the fastest and best way to reach me.

Course Description

This course covers the history of philosophy and religion on the matter of psychological theory. It looks at ideas of consciousness, intelligence, emotion, and cognition within the intersection of science, philosophy, and religion. Special attention will be given to the emergence of modern science as a tool or a method for resolving psychological problems. Thus, this course will also address theories of knowledge, of ignorance, and other matters in the sciences. By engaging with key thinkers, this course helps students construct their own psychological models for explaining human experience, belief, and well-being. As we examine texts, attention will be given to the social and the intellectual contexts in which they were created. Students are encouraged to think about and taught to write about psychology within the disciplines of philosophy and religion, thus engaging questions on the sources of knowledge (epistemology), the nature of being (ontology and metaphysics), and application to society and to the environment (ethics).

The Modules link in the left-hand navigation provides the content for each week of this class. Week 1 gives a general introduction to the course content.

Monday: Overview of the Content and Assignments for Week

Wednesday: Lecture on Readings

Friday: Discussion

Throughout the this time we will use active learning such as:

3-2-1 technique (Links to an external site.) Students can share 3 things they learned, 2 things they found interesting, and 1 thing they still have questions about. Students can respond to each other’s remaining questions or if done in a discussion board have students try to answer the questions posed by their fellow students.
Identifying the Argument. Students will be broken into smaller groups, given a text to read together, and will be asked to identify the argument. Do you agree with what the author argues? Do you disagree? In answering this, clearly state why and on what grounds you responded to the text as you did.

Materials

How to get started

Please read this Course Overview Module. Then proceed to Your Assignments by pressing Next. You can then scroll through each Module, starting with Week 1, to get a sense of the course content. On Modules page you will see all the information for each week of class.

Self-Reflection Component

In Paper Two, the Mid Term, and the Final students are given prompts that invite them to think critically on their personal beliefs on the content and the application of these ideas to their academic disciplines, personal belief systems, and religious, philosophical, and cultural perspectives.

Immediate Reading

Your Assignments
UF Resources and Policies
Weekly Modules

What kind of communication is expected of you?

Quest and the humanities require a open, civil, safe, and brave space wherein ideas are exchanged freely among students and faculty. I encourage this kind of discussion and we can learn from one another about this as the course progresses. I have talked to students about civil discourse here.
I expect students to be on-time for stated meetings and to submit work on time.
I look forward to learning about your intellectual interests and goals!

What texts and technology do you need?

You will need a computer for email and internet access. If you do not have regular access, please let me know.
You'll need to learn word processing like Word. Please do not use Pages. I can accept PDF or Word.

What do I need to know about academic honesty?

Academic honesty is important to the learning process.
Please learn about citing your written work at a website like this or feel free to ask me about any questions you have.
Try to learn about the process of academic writing from the assigned Readings and take time to reflect in an open manner with the views of your peers.

How can you share feedback or concerns?

UF Faculty Evaluations that will be available near the conclusion of the semester
Informal feedback
Talk to your advisor

Our class sessions may be audio-visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded. If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voice recorded. If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared. As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials by students or any other party is prohibited.