
CategoryPhilosophy of Mind


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
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?
Does a “Spiritual Particle” Explain Human Consciousness?

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
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
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
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?
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
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
When an Advanced AI Faces Off Against a Five-Year-Old…
Many problems don't turn on complex reasoning but on knowing how the world works
Researcher: AI Can’t Be Conscious Because It Is Not Alive
Consciousness is not computation. Without the ability to experience events from one phase to the next (sentience), we could not really be conscious
When materialist assumptions about the mind begin to sound dated…
A 2017 profile of Roger Penrose and his consciousness theory was penned before slow changes and major tumults rocked the discipline — and it shows
Computer Science Prof: The Turing Test Was Not About Intelligence
The aim was to pretend intelligence, to fool people. That makes a big difference when we ask whether computers can become intelligent
Not Suffering But Fighting: Dementia as a New Beginning
Writers, artists, and many others who must fight the late-life disorder are finding new resources to do so
How Believing You’ll Get Better May Affect Your Brain
A placebo effect experiment in mice pinpointed a change in an area of the brain not previously known to be involved in pain control
Programmer: Chatbots Are a Dead End. Time for a New Contest!
François Chollet is offering $1.1m in prize money for the next step on the road to computers that think like people
The Mind Is Not Annihilated at Death, Emergency Room Doctor Says
ER specialist Sam Parnia is making waves with his challenge, based on his clinical experience and research, to the claim that the human mind is annihilated at death
“Plant Philosophy” Denigrates Human Uniqueness
Much contemporary advocacy is obsessed with deconstructing human exceptionalism