CategoryPhilosophy of Mind
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
What Did the Multi-Year Consciousness Study Really Find?
Surprisingly, the joint research teams found that the prefrontal cortex, the “personality center,” may not be as important for consciousness as we think
Why the Human Mind Cannot Be Reduced to A Mathematical System
Philosophers Roger Penrose and J.R. Lucas walk us through an argument based on Gödel’s incompleteness theorem
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
Does Our Humanity Really Depend on “Concept Cells”?
A recently discovered type of brain cell, thought to be unique to humans, codes for a variety of types of information around a single concept
The Nearly Unfathomable Complexity of Even a Mouse’s Brain
Mapping a small part of a mouse's brain required 1.6 petabytes of data, which is equivalent to 22 years of nonstop high-definition video
The Nature of Mind, Free Will, and Human Uniqueness: A Deep Dive
The book Minding the Brain sparks some interesting discussions about what is really unique about the human mind
How Do Individual Cells Make Decisions?
They have no brains but they solve problems for a purpose and make decisions. Claiming they “evolved” to do so doesn’t answer the question
Scientists Dare To Hint That the Mind Can’t Just Be the Brain
They start with astonishing facts about the brains of caterpillars and worms and end up discussing human near-death experiences
Is the Human Race Evolving Toward a Final Spiritual Unity? Part 2
Teilhard thought that evolution needed to be seen from the inside, viewing humans not only as observers of evolution but also as its products
Is the Human Race Evolving Toward a Final Spiritual Unity? Part 1
Philosopher and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin thought so but many other thinkers have found his Omega point too simplistic
Did the Enlargement of the Human Brain Depend on Two Genes?
The genes, unique to humans, spurred brain growth when introduced in mice and chimpanzee stem cells
Can One Person Really Have Two Different Consciousnesses?
The idea that split-brain surgery can create two separate minds is immortal — in science fiction
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
Why Did Our Very Ancient Ancestors Collect Ball-Shaped Stones?
Over a million years ago, it seems that some of our ancestors hiked through valleys in East Africa, searching for volcanic spheres
Can Christianity Just Abandon the Idea of the Soul?
Theologian Nancey Murphy thinks that the Christian tradition can do without the idea of a soul, by relying only on faith in a bodily resurrection