Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPhilosophy of Mind

thoughtful-female-blogger-looking-away-and-feeling-pondering-301344538-stockpack-adobe_stock
Thoughtful female blogger looking away and feeling pondering on ideas for new article at own web page, pensive woman sitting in cafeteria with textbook in hand and thinking about plan for future trip

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
Of his 55,000 brain stimulations that “activated complex networks,” not one generated abstract thought — implying that it is not a “product” of the brain. Read More ›
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An abstract representation of the human brain with sound waves, symbolizing mind and sound interaction.

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
A recent research paper looks at the way minds work with what’s available, something I often encounter in my practice as a neurosurgeon. Read More ›
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Dark sphere rests on volcanic rocks, Iceland landscape

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
Darwinian evolution theory allows any state of affairs that dates to eons ago to be called “evolution” even when, as in this case, the facts imply the opposite. Read More ›
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Brain psychology mind soul and hope concept art, 3d illustration, surreal artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea

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
The view Murphy outlines at Closer to Truth has more in common with modern materialism than with a traditional Christian understanding of the human soul. Read More ›
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View on Olduvai gorge in Tanzania

Abstract Reasoning in Human Ancestors: Earlier Than Thought?

Researchers say, bone tools were being mass produced 1.5 million years ago in the in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania
The question naturally arises, was the normally developed human mind ever incapable of abstract thought? That’s a challenge to accepted evolution theories. Read More ›
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Twin embryos inside female uterus, 3D illustration

Researchers Ask: When Are Children Conscious Before Birth?

Human consciousness in general is acknowledged to be a Hard Problem and prenatal consciousness is a subset of that
If examples of terminal and paradoxical lucidity in old age are any guide, we should not conclude that children must lack consciousness before a given stage. Read More ›
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Ability.

Consciousness: Reductionism’s Final Hill — the One To Die On?

The reductionist has no more information than anyone else about the origin of human consciousness and isn’t making any better sense of the evidence we do have
Is science about following the evidence or about confirming a materialist ideology about science? This is the big neuroscience question of our century. Read More ›
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A detailed visualization of a human brain with glowing nodes representing neural connections and brain activity, symbolizing neurological science, cognitive function, and advanced biological research

Looking for Consciousness in All the Wrong Places

Reductionism is nonsense, and “consciousness” is not nestled in clusters of neurons
The higher human ability to think abstractly — to reason and will freely — are not physical abilities and do not come from the brain. Read More ›
brain-psychology-mind-soul-and-hope-concept-art-3d-illustrat-477180129-stockpack-adobe_stock
Brain psychology mind soul and hope concept art, 3d illustration, surreal artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea

Beyond Materialism: Exploring the Mind-Brain Relationship

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and philosopher Angus Menuge probe the relationship through philosophy, neuroscience, and information theory
Understanding the mind in terms of information processing, rather than as a byproduct of brain activity, could reshape the debate. Read More ›
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Hemispheres of the brain front view

How Can We Know If Patients With Split Brains Have a Single Mind?

Just ask them

Readers 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 ›

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generative ai overview for project managers fund invetment and data analysis.

AGI, the Halting Problem and the Human Mind

Pat Flynn continues the conversation with Dr. Winston Ewert
According to Ewert, Ray Kurzweil’s famed Singularity is not possible because AI cannot create an intelligence greater than itself. Read More ›
a-team-of-surgeons-performing-brain-surgery-to-remove-a-tumo-376219500-stockpack-adobe_stock
A team of surgeons performing brain surgery to remove a tumor.

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
Unity of self after brain splitting is not surprising. Each of us is a physical creature with a single spiritual soul. It is immaterial and can’t be severed. Read More ›
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Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct prehistoric man. He used more advanced tools than Homo erectus, such as hand axes and spears, and probably fire

A Catholic Priest Talks About Human Evolution

Fr. Martin Hilbert approaches the topic from the perspective of evidence, reason, and faith — and realism about what is at stake in the discussion
Fr. Hilbert shows that we have not found anything that justifies a Darwinian approach to life as somehow more compatible with science than a Christian one. Read More ›
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Artificial intelligence and mind backdrop

The Human Mind’s Sophisticated Algorithm and Its Implications

Winston Ewert argues that if some human cognition is algorithmic, that fact does not necessarily support a purely naturalistic view of intelligence
Ewert also notes that recognizing human cognition as, in part, an algorithm raises deeper questions about the origin and sophistication of that algorithm. Read More ›
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Experience the eerie charm of Battlefield House Museum at night in Hamilton

A Novelist Posts on the Paranormal

Accounting for experiences of the supernatural
Lin notes that scientists and online outlets like Wikipedia, entrenched in a materialistic perspective, tend to simply dismiss them. Read More ›
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Determined Handsome Doctor Uses Digital Tablet Computer while Walking Through Hospital Hallway. Modern Bright Clinic with Professional Staff.

Joe McDonald: How AI Can Complement Human Capabilities

Despite its limitations, AI excels in areas where humans struggle, such as analyzing large datasets, identifying patterns, and automating repetitive tasks
Dr. McDonald emphasized that AI is best used as a tool to enhance human abilities, not replace them. Read More ›
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Steine im See bei Sonnenuntergang

Beyond the Physical: Exploring the Nature of the Mind

A recent podcast panel challenged the prevailing materialist assumptions about the mind and explored better accounts of the richness of human consciousness
Minding the Brain, to which the panelists contributed, challenges skeptical readers to move beyond physicalism, which is not producing useful results. Read More ›
a-beautiful-sunrise-in-the-mountains-with-grass-and-purple-a-852616245-stockpack-adobe_stock
A beautiful sunrise in the mountains with grass and purple and orange tones A realistic photo in the style of high resolution

AI Specialist Explains Why AI Can’t Replicate Human Experience

A profound recent experience crystallized the difference for him between brain and machine
Alberto Chierici realized that a machine can analyze information about a sunrise but can never experience it as a moment of “quiet awe.” Read More ›
person-is-looking-for-way-out-of-psychedelic-maze-a-surreal-labyrinth-in-magical-forest-human-consciousness-is-at-dead-end-searching-for-solutions-created-with-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Person is looking for way out of psychedelic maze. A surreal labyrinth in magical forest. Human consciousness is at dead end, searching for solutions. Created with Generative AI

Scientists Wrestling With Human Consciousness Are In For the Win

Yet they can’t win because what they are doing amounts to a form of shadow boxing
If consciousness is immaterial, a scientific explanation must address and include that fact. The hard problem is impossible if that fact cannot be accepted. Read More ›
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Land with dry and cracked ground. Desert,Global warming background

Daniel Dennett Made Atheism Easy to Understand

In the process, he somehow also made it less believable
Dennett may be best remembered for inadvertently helping to reduce the popularity of atheism Read More ›