Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPhilosophy of Mind

brain-psychology-mind-soul-and-hope-concept-art-3d-illustration-surreal-artwork-imagination-painting-conceptual-idea-stockpack-adobe-stock
Brain psychology mind soul and hope concept art, 3d illustration, surreal artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea

Can the Soul Be Defined Out of Existence?

Berkeley cognitive linguist George Lakoff argues that the soul could not really amount to much without a physical brain
The physicalist wants to assert that the mind (soul) is simply what the brain does while escaping the contradictions that follow if we think about it seriously. Read More ›
brain-mind-way-soul-and-hope-concept-art-illustration-surrea-425584966-stockpack-adobe_stock
Brain mind way soul and hope concept art, illustration, surreal mystery artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea of success

Is Physicalism Dead? And Is Psychology Today Here to Bury It?

Physicalism argues that the mind is simply the activities of neurons in the brain and consciousness is an illusion that they generate
A sense is growing that no matter what stunning neuroscience discoveries we make, we cannot in principle explain E = MC^2 by what Einstein had for breakfast. Read More ›
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Prehistoric hand paintings at the Cave of the Hands (Spanish: Cueva de Las Manos ) in Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The art in the cave dates from 13,000 to 9,000 years ago.

Do We Need Language To Think? Some Researchers Say No

At one time, it was strictly a philosophical issue but then neuroscientists got involved

A controversy about whether we need language to think pits two MIT scholars against each other: Noam Chomsky (yes) vs. Evelina Fedorenko (no). For a long time, it was only a philosophical issue: Plato saw thinking as a conversation with oneself. If you don’t form concepts into words are you really thinking? Chomsky agreed. But later, neuroscientists like Fedorenko got involved, offering some research findings. Last summer at the New York Times, science writer Carl Zimmer reported, When Dr. Fedorenko began this work in 2009, studies had found that the same brain regions required for language were also active when people reasoned or carried out arithmetic. But Dr. Fedorenko and other researchers discovered that this overlap was a mirage. Part Read More ›

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Flint sparking matchstick for authentic ignition. Concept Fire starting, Survival gear, Camping essentials, Emergency preparedness

Neuroscientist Seeks the First Spark of Human Consciousness

It's a challenge. Human consciousness is very hard to define for the purposes of this kind of research
If we have “prior models of how things ought to be” at birth, aren’t we already conscious? Read More ›
hyper-realistic-figure-standing-at-a-forked-road-with-incred-1012775102-stockpack-adobe_stock
Hyper-realistic figure standing at a forked road, with incredible detail in the environment, representing free will in a realistic scene

Free Will: A Materialist Thinks It Might Somehow Be Real

Psychiatrist Ralph Lewis thinks that Darwinian evolution can explain human consciousness but now hesitates to debunk free will

Earlier this year, University of Toronto psychiatrist Ralph Lewis wrote a two-part series at Psychology Today titled “The Strongest Neuroscience Arguments in the Free Will Debate” (here and here). He looked at Mitchell (yes) and Sapolsky (no), both of whom published serious books on the topic in 2023. And he concluded, For now, for practical purposes, given our current level of incomplete understanding of the complexities of the brain’s decision-making processes, and our inability to predict human behaviors in most situations, we might as well regard ourselves as having free will—or rather, degrees of freedom. We do know that our brain has highly evolved systems for self-control—even for those of us who struggle with this relatively more than others, and Read More ›

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whole psilocybin mushroom inside a clear medicine capsule.on wood surface; low angle view horizontal

At Big Think: Getting Stoned Shaped the Modern Mind

Cognitive neuroscientist Bobby Azarian sees human civilization forming something like “the brain of Gaia” in a cosmos that is becoming increasingly conscious
We learn nothing specific here about how our remote ancestors thought but we have learned something useful: Big Think sees this as cutting edge science. Read More ›
brain-mind-way-soul-and-hope-concept-art-illustration-surrea-425584966-stockpack-adobe_stock
Brain mind way soul and hope concept art, illustration, surreal mystery artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea of success

Soul Survives Death? ER Doc Sam Parnia Faces Skeptical Questions

In discussion with Closer to Truth host Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Parnia stuck to his clearly defined evidence, avoiding religious digressions
Confirmation of post-death consciousness during trauma might seem a little thing. But in science persistent little discrepancies are often the ones that matter. Read More ›
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Smart robotic farmers concept, robot farmers, Agriculture technology, Farm automation.

Computer Prof: Handing Off Risky Operations to AI Would Be Stupid

When everything went wrong in Space Odyssey 2001, the cause was faulty programming, not the computer deciding to take over, he says.
When everything went wrong in Space Odyssey 2001, the cause was faulty programming, not the computer deciding to take over, he says. Read More ›
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Beautiful sunrise over the sea

Does Science Show That the Soul Persists After Death?

Gradually, medical findings about what happens to the mind around the time of death are undermining the assumption that the soul dies with the body
Life after death: A gap is growing between “no way” and “impossible to disclaim.” That gap is probably going to get bigger rather than smaller. Read More ›
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Digital brain connected to data center. Artificial intelligence concept. Based on Generative AI

When the Computer Tried Being a Mind, It Almost…

Philosopher Andy Clark offered to explain the popular computational theory of mind to Robert Lawrence Kuhn — but then a gap appeared
The weakness of mind-as-computer theories is that the steps by which a computer motors through a problem involve nothing that would generate mental states. Read More ›
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A stunning visual of a brain split into two halves, showcasing electric energy in contrasting colors, symbolizing creativity and logic.

Do all of us really have two minds inside our brains?

The truth is even more remarkable. When the brain is split in half, the mind remains a unity
Unity of the mind underlines the actual existence of the mind, a concept that many fashionable neuroscientists would very much like to refute. Read More ›
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Comatose male patient in hospital.

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?
New brain implant technology may help covertly conscious people make contact because neurons can interface with electrical systems. Read More ›
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Abstract golden particles flowing on dark background

Does a “Spiritual Particle” Explain Human Consciousness?

Before dismissing the idea as untestable, we should ask, is the idea that consciousness is an illusion, grounded in Darwinian evolution theory, testable? Read More ›
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Back View of a Primitive Prehistoric Neanderthal Child in Animal Skin Draws Animals and Abstracts on the Walls at Night. Creating First Cave Art with Petroglyphs, Rock Paintings Illuminated by Fire.

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
Aboitiz concludes, “In the end, the dualistic dilemma between subjective experience and mechanistic explanations seems to me inescapable.” Read More ›
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Stylish composition of home garden interior filled a lot of beautiful plants, cacti, succulents, air plant in different design pots. Home gardening concept Home jungle. Copy spcae. Template

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
Darwinism’s failure to simply *eliminate* the human mind, as promised, enabled a Pandora’s box of materialist claims for consciousness in all life forms. Read More ›
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The cosmic dance of galaxies in a mesmerizing wildlife astrophotograph

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
As Kuhn marvels, Josephson reasons his way to precisely the sorts of conclusions generally accepted in major world religions. Read More ›
a-stunning-visual-of-a-brain-split-into-two-halves-showcasing-electric-energy-in-contrasting-colors-symbolizing-creativity-and-logic-stockpack-adobe-stock
A stunning visual of a brain split into two halves, showcasing electric energy in contrasting colors, symbolizing creativity and logic.

What Did Splitting Human Brains in Half Tell Us About the Mind?

How did split brain study subjects compare things when no part of their brains saw both things?
As Michael Egnor told Pat Flynn, research of this sort — where split brains provide united perceptions — is an unacknowledged problem for materialism. Read More ›
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Epilepsy awareness concept: human face with copy space. epilepsy or seizure disorder.

What Brain Surgery for Epilepsy Taught Us About the Human Mind

Michael Egnor continues his discussion with Pat Flynn, noting that neither seizures nor Penfield’s brain stimulation provoked abstract thought
The claim that we will find a materialist explanation some day, no date specified, means that we never reckon with failure to do so. Read More ›
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Dilapidated sign reads

Is Materialism Slowly Losing Its Death Grip on Science?

If it is, neuroscience discoveries will play a key role, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor tells podcaster Pat Flynn, in a recent interview
Materialism is a totalistic claim. If the human mind is not simply the physical processes of the brain, with no remainder, then materialism is disproven. Read More ›