Michael Egnor
Michael Shermer Disagrees With Me on the Ethics of IVF
He sees a contradiction between my respect for and embrace of children conceived via IVF and my ethical qualms about the process of IVF: “Another example of how religion clouds rationality”
Immortality of the Soul Is a Reasonable Belief
Some may think that immortality of the rational soul is not possible in the physical world in which we live. But they are mistaken
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and the Human Industrial Revolution
To stand against IVF is not easy, because it provides infertile couples the blessed opportunity to conceive children. But it is the door into new and hellish bioethics
How Can We Conceive of Perfection When We Never Experience It?
Human Mind: Logic Shows Abstract Thought Is an Immaterial Power
Neuroscience evidence helps us see the spiritual nature of our minds but we can use the power of our reason to demonstrate that too
Why Behaviorism Failed as a Leading Theory in Psychology
The human mind, like the origin and development of life itself is not reducible to merely physical processes
The Boy Who Proved Most Theories of Consciousness Wrong
He was unequivocally conscious — without a cerebral cortex and even without brain hemispheres
Brain vs. Mind: A Very Revealing Fact About Epileptic Seizures
I have treated thousands of patients with epilepsy. Seizures can result in a variety of unexpected behaviors and emotions. But let me tell you what they DON’T do…
Why Much Current Consciousness Research Is a Fool’s Errand
The inability to even define consciousness with clarity is emblematic of the conceptual mess that modern neuroscience has become
How Logic Can Show That Your Mind Is Not Just Your Brain
A principle of physics — the indeterminacy of matter — precludes brain states from forming the basis of abstract thought
Are People in a Persistent Vegetative State Mindless? Maybe Not
They often can and do think. Research in the area helps us understand the relationship between the mind and the brain better
How a Neurosurgeon Showed That Abstract Thought Is Immaterial
Wilder Penfield, one of the first neurosurgeons to split human brains in half to relieve epilepsy, found much more than a treatment
What Damaged Brains Tell Us About the Mind
They often provide mute evidence that the human mind is not simply the output of the brain
Looking for Consciousness in All the Wrong Places
Reductionism is nonsense, and “consciousness” is not nestled in clusters of neurons
How Can We Know If Patients With Split Brains Have a Single Mind?
Just ask themReaders have brought to my attention a review article on the effect of split-brain surgery on consciousness. “Split-Brain: What We Know Now and Why This is Important for Understanding Consciousness” (2020) by Yair Pinto and his colleagues is an interesting open-access article, well worth reading for anyone interested in the topic. From the abstract: [Split-brain surgery] leads to a broad breakdown of functional integration ranging from perception to attention. However, the breakdown is not absolute as several processes, such as action control, seem to remain unified. Disagreement exists about the responsible mechanisms for this remaining unity. The main issue concerns the first-person perspective of a split-brain patient. Does a split-brain harbor a split consciousness or is consciousness unified? The current Read More ›
Does Brain Surgery Prove That Free Will Isn’t Real?
My fellow neurosurgeon Theodore Schwartz is mistaken in thinking that free will is an illusion. It is quite real
Does Surgically Splitting the Brain Make One Person Into Two?
A prominent neurosurgeon writes of his “amazement” at discovering that the patient with a split brain is still a single individual
What, Exactly, Does Your Brain Do? What Can’t It Do?
A surprising result of pioneering neurosurgery was the discovery that some mental processes could be stimulated in the brain but others could not be