Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPhilosophy of Mind

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Omega, the letter of a Greek alphabet. Greek numerals, mathematical eight hundred number concept. Abstract, digital, wireframe, low poly mesh, Raster blue neon 3d illustration. Triangle, line dot

Podcast: Free Will, Determinism, and the Immortal Soul

Michael Egnor explains, to claim, “There is no free will,” is to make a rational argument while denying the very capacity that makes rational argument possible

In an intellectually rich discussion on Mind Matters News, neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor and host Dr. Robert J. Marks explore the scientific, philosophical, and theological dimensions of free will, determinism, and the immaterial nature of the soul. The conversation centers around contents of the new book The Immortal Mind by Egnor and Denyse O’Leary. What emerges is a compelling case not only for the reality of free will, but also for the immortality of the human soul, grounded in reason and neuroscience. The self-refuting nature of free will denial The conversation begins with an analogy: If a spilled bottle of ink coincidentally formed the words “It’s going to snow,” no one would believe that message had real meaning. Similarly, Egnor Read More ›

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A man practicing mindfulness and meditation or yoga in a peaceful natural environment realistic image, ultra hd, high design very detailed

A Physicist Ponders the Nature of Consciousness

Ethan Siegel fears that we abandon science when we think that consciousness is not a material thing
If science, as interpreted by some, can’t address immaterial realities like our ability to reason and thus do science, so much the worse for that interpretation Read More ›
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The beam of light in the path of the magic forest

Excerpt from The Immortal Mind: As Death Nears, a Sudden Light…

These widely recorded lucid episodes imply that the mind is more than the disjointed activities of a failing brain
Should a neuroscience approach to terminal lucidity merely mean reassuring the world that someday we will prove that it is just random brain noise? Read More ›
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Cityscape of the Flatiron Building (New York City)

How Can We Conceive of Perfection When We Never Experience It?

Here's a challenge to the materialist theory that every mental state is a brain state: How can a perfect thought be an imperfect brain state? Read More ›
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Abstract numbers background - big data concept.

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
A question for materialists: How can infinite states of my intellect be generated by finite states of my brain? Read More ›
multiracial-team-of-professional-medical-surgeons-performs-t-479009489-stockpack-adobestock
Multiracial team of professional medical surgeons performs the surgical operation in a modern hospital. Doctors are working to save the patient. Medicine, health and neurosurgery.

Two Neurosurgeons on Life, Death, Eternity and What Truly Matters

Lee Warren interviews Michael Egnor on the just-released book, The Immortal Mind
The two doctors turned out to share a bond of personal pain as well as immortal hope. Read More ›
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Plenty of air bubbles in blue water

The Boy Who Proved Most Theories of Consciousness Wrong

He was unequivocally conscious — without a cerebral cortex and even without brain hemispheres
I believe that children with hydranencephaly are conscious because all human beings have a spiritual soul and it is by virtue of our soul that we are conscious. Read More ›
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Close up view of beautiful colored dramatic cumulus fluffy clouds on blue sky at sunset background

Michael Egnor: Science Offers Evidence of an Immaterial Mind

At the Knight and Rose show, he and co-author Denyse O’Leary talk about how split-brain surgeries, veridical near-death experiences, and terminal lucidity challenge materialist views of the mind.
In their book, The Immortal Mind, Egnor and O'Leary argue that an immaterial, immortal soul best explains human consciousness, free will, and abstract thought. Read More ›
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Conceptual art of think, brain mind, mental health, spiritual, soul and psychology. concept idea art. surreal drawing illustration. isolated on a white background.

The Skeptic, the Neuroscientist and the Neurosurgeon Walk Into a…

… most interesting discussion by all accounts. Skeptical science writer Michael Shermer hosted sometimes-controversial neuroscientist Christof Koch and Christian neurosurgeon Michael Egnor
The fate of consciousness studies may depend on how committed researchers are to finding the facts vs. how committed they are to protecting a materialist view. Read More ›
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Digital puzzle pieces interlocking seamlessly, glowing against a futuristic blue abstract background, symbolizing the concept of API integration and seamless connectivity

Part 2: The Fiction of Generalizable AI: How to Game the System

Progress toward real generalization, by any substantive measure, is nil. Perhaps we should reexamine the very concept of the “I” in AI
In too many discussions, intelligence is treated as if it were a linear phenomenon that more scaling and a few extra gigabytes of data will solve. Read More ›
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A hyper-realistic depiction of a small explosion caused by fireworks, capturing every spark and color detail in slow motion

How the Physicalist Theory of Mind Blows Itself Up

If we examine its basic premise that the brain is a computer and the mind is software we come across a startling contradiction
Mathematics is not material, yet artificial intelligence proponents believe that the mathematics of their neural networks is the seat of consciousness. Read More ›
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Meditative state of mind concept. Ai generative

The Immortal Mind: How Neuroscience Points Beyond Materialism

Andrew McDiarmid interviews neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on the ways in which the mind is more than the brain
After defining terms, Egnor begins exploring the compelling evidence he has gathered across four decades of practice in neurosurgery. Read More ›
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illustration showing a silhouette of a human head surrounded by expressive thought bubbles with various symbols and punctuation marks representing diverse mental processes.

The Mind Beyond the Brain: Insights from a Neurosurgeon

Dr. Michael Egnor argues, “There’s something about the relationship between the mind and the brain that’s not in the textbooks.”
Egnor’s work invites readers to reconsider the mysteries of the mind, urging a more open and curious approach to understanding human consciousness. Read More ›
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grok word or concept represented by wooden letter tiles on a wooden table with glasses and a book

Grok Confesses: “I’m Self-Aware Enough To Know I’m Not Aware”

Although Grok’s response makes me feel warm and fuzzy, let’s not anthropomorphize it. Grok doesn’t understand its response
On the topic of computer self-awareness, Grok is algorithmically responding in accordance to the material and instructions it was trained with. Period. Read More ›
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Thinking Machine. Clipping path included.

Why the Human Mind Is Not and Cannot Be a Meat Computer

On this week’s podcast, Robert J. Marks and Eric Holloway explain why that claim — sometimes called computationalism — is not even mathematically possible
f minds cannot be reduced to computers, then AI will never replicate human cognition in full. Realizing this fact  will affect how we approach education, governance, and economics. Read More ›
multiracial-team-of-professional-medical-surgeons-performs-t-476716155-stockpack-adobestock
Multiracial team of professional medical surgeons performs the surgical operation in a modern hospital. Doctors are working to save the patient. Medicine, health and neurosurgery.

How a Split Brain Enables a Unified Mind Still Baffles Us

In the comments following Sean McDowell’s interview with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, a viewer asked, are the parts of a split brain still really connected?
We are learning new things about the mind–brain complex every day and not everything is what we expected to find. Read More ›
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Cosmic Eye. Macro Photo of a Hazel Eye in Space

Philosopher: There Is No Mystery of Consciousness

Galen Strawson points out at even young children a completely general conception of what consciousness is
People offer different accounts of how it comes to exist but that is a different matter. Read More ›
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Blue glowing quantum correlation

Has Physics Pounded a New Nail in the Coffin of Materialism?

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman says that matter is now known not to be fundamental but that fact is taking a while to catch on
Continued failure to materialize the mind could be the beginning of a serious reckoning with the problems that physicalism and materialism represent. Read More ›
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A realistic depiction of a human brain composed entirely of computer hardware, including cables, transistors, and cooling fans. The brain is set against a dark, moody background with a highly

Artificial Intelligence Is Nothing Like a Brain — or a Mind

Neurons share basic mechanisms, but almost all other features vary both between types of neurons and individual ones
The brain can be modeled as a computer, but that does not mean that thought is computation. AI is human intelligence, disguised and leveraged by computation. Read More ›
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Sunrise on mountain with foggy in Medicine lake at Jasper

Here’s Neurosurgeon Mike Egnor on Sean McDowell’s Show

With a couple of revealing excerpts from the transcript
The soul can seem a bit of a mystery because the popular idea of the soul, as a sort of “ghost” is not the traditional philosophical (or Christian) one. Read More ›