Denyse O'Leary
Covert Consciousness: When “Brain Dead” Doesn’t Mean Unconscious
Now that brain scan studies have established that at least 25% of people classed as brain dead can respond, doctors ask what to do for them?
The Hot New Word for Propaganda: Prebunking
Misinformation experts don’t address the fact that prebunking would work just as well for “inoculating” people against correct information as incorrect information
Should We Worry About Where Transhumanism Is Heading?
Wesley J. Smith asks some hard questions about the moral implications of Zoltan Istvan’s “anything to defeat death” atheist movement
X Now Banned in Brazil; Huge Fines Threaten Secret Users
The Supreme Court’s ruling seems to be part of an international trend toward attempted government control of the news stream
Does a “Spiritual Particle” Explain Human Consciousness?
Are There Rules Governing Which Animals Are Smart?
A neurologist makes a case for the importance of warm-bloodedness but cold-blooded reptiles can be learn surprisingly quickly
The Hard Problem of Consciousness Remains Inescapable
Neuroscientist Francisco Aboitiz starts by offering to tell us how consciousness evolved but then makes a critical concession
Biologist Kicked Out of National Institutes of Health Event
Colin Wright and Tomas Bogardus, also ejected, deny being disruptive but both think that humans are sex binary. That may have been enough
Philosopher Hollers Whoa! Are Plants Really Conscious?
Pigliucci worries about the claim. But if human consciousness 1) exists and 2) is fully natural, some scientists would of course argue that plants share it
If Materialism Is Failing, What Replaces It Might Not Be Better
If panpsychism prevails, we may need to get used to the politics of Insect Rights and of Rocks' Lives Matter. Also, panpsychists may have little of consequence to say about freedom of thought
Nobel Prize Physicist Thinks Consciousness Must Underlie Universe
Brian Josephson, after whom the Josephson effect in electronics is named, hopes to find the answer to the conundrum of consciousness in biology
Researchers: Living Cells’ Cognition Drives Evolution
“Natural selection is cognitive selection,” they say, arguing that cells exhibit meaning and purpose, contrary to Darwinian evolution theories
Scholars Association Changes Policy, Now Backs Academic Boycotts
If AAUP members have run out of challenging new ideas themselves, they can at least suppress them when they are introduced by others
What’s Behind the World Advertiser Boycott Against X?
Elon Musk’s refusal to censor news has made him enemies in top boardrooms
Researcher: AI Can’t Be Conscious Because It Is Not Alive
Consciousness is not computation. Without the ability to experience events from one phase to the next (sentience), we could not really be conscious
Study: 25% of Coma Patients Showed Consciousness When Tested
Making contact with patients via brain scanning technology is a first step toward treatment of those who may now be deemed hopeless cases
Of course cats grieve! But how to research it …?
The challenge is separating the cat’s feelings from those of the human interpreter
When materialist assumptions about the mind begin to sound dated…
A 2017 profile of Roger Penrose and his consciousness theory was penned before slow changes and major tumults rocked the discipline — and it shows