What makes you human? What are thoughts and feelings and why do you think and feel the way you do? How does the structure of your body affect your thoughts and feelings, and how do your thoughts and feelings affect your body? What does your brain have to do with your thoughts and feelings, your mind, your soul and your spirit, and what are ‘mind’, ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ anyway? How do we develop a sense of 'self'? Why do humans seem to be so different from other animals? What is language and how does it contribute to who we are and how we make sense of our lives?If you have ever wondered about any of these questions then you will enjoy this course. Human Mind and Body Relationships is taught by award-winning staff from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences who love what they do and are keen to introduce you to the magic and mystery of people.You will learn about the difference between living and non-living things, how living things belong to a category of entities we call 'self-organising systems', and what self-organisation means for the process of living. We will mostly focus on one particular species of living things - humans (i.e. 'us'). You will learn some basic things about human biology, human anatomy, brain structure and function, and how and why people are different from machines. We will explore our mental processes, how our thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs and expectations affect the workings of our bodies (using examples such as ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’ effects), why humans cooperate in social and cultural groups (which are both also examples of self-organising systems), and how we generate meaning in our lives.You will explore many areas of human life and you will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions and discuss ideas. Because this course is about what it is to be human, we hope that it will help you understand yourself and other people better while at the same time having a great deal of fun.