This lecture finishes the discussion of language by briefly reviewing two additional topics: communication systems in non-human primates and other animals, and the relationship between language and thought. The majority of this lecture is then spent on introducing students to major theories and discoveries in the fields of perception, attention and memory. Topics include why we see certain visual illusions, why we don’t always see everything we think we see, and the relationship between different types of memory.

This lecture introduces students to the theories of Sigmund Freud, including a brief biographical description and his contributions to the field of psychology. The limitations of his theories of psychoanalysis are covered in detail, as well as the ways in which his conception of the unconscious mind still operate in mainstream psychology today.

Professor Paul Bloom welcomes students and presents the course as a comprehensive introduction to the study of the human mind. Course readings and requirements are discussed. The five main branches of psychology are presented: neuroscience, which is a study of the mind by looking at the brain; developmental, which focuses on how people grow and learn; cognitive, which refers to the computational approach to studying the mind; social, which studies how people interact; and clinical, which examines mental health and mental illnesses.

In the final lecture of the course, the analysis of Samson Agonistes comes to a conclusion with an exploration of the poem’s sexual imagery. Milton’s choice of subject matter is puzzled over, as are the ethics of his tragic hero, particularly when compared to the heroes of Milton’s previous epics. The poem is positioned as a means by which Milton ultimately resolves the poetic, religious, and career-related crises of his earlier poem, “The Passion,” and the compelling relationship between the corpus and the poet’s biography is revisited one final time.