Searching for the mind:
From humans to robots

This course is an honors seminar for first-semester undergraduate honors students. We will start by debating the assumption that humans are simply biochemical machines. Do humans truly have "free will", and what does it mean if they do not? What is "the mind", and how do you know if it exists?
Prof. Higgins is the author of more than 50 publications and has been honored as a member of the 2012 and 2013 "Nifty fifty", a "Leading Edge" researcher, a da Vinci Fellow, and a visiting faculty member at a number of institutions. Prof. Higgins has received multiple teaching awards, and has been interviewed countless times for television, radio, and newspaper articles. His research involves an intersection between neuroscience (study of the brain) and electrical engineering (electronic circuits) which sometimes involves interfacing living brains with robots. You can read more in this 2012 bio from the Nifty Fifty.