Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPhilosophy of Mind

digital-brain-connected-to-data-center-artificial-intelligence-concept-based-on-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
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 ›
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.

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 ›
epilepsy-awareness-concept-human-face-with-copy-space-epilepsy-or-seizure-disorder-stockpack-adobe-stock
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 ›
tanned-five-year-old-boy-playing-in-the-sand-on-the-beach-summer-stockpack-adobe-stock
tanned five-year-old boy playing in the sand on the beach, summer

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
Five-year-olds instinctively know that you shouldn’t stack books on top of a cake, even if they might try it just to see what happens. Read More ›
robot-is-taking-a-walk-with-a-dog-stockpack-adobe-stock
robot is taking a walk with a dog

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
In terms of the nature of the obstacles faced, is conscious AI a problem more like Pluto tourism or time travel? Why is this question not raised more often? Read More ›
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Old computers from the 80s in an abandoned computing center

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
Paulson’s Penrose profile is written as if materialism is going to prevail but that seems much less likely now than it perhaps did in 2017. Read More ›
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Robot eyes closeup

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
Computers only compute. Better computer imitation of non-computational thinking is not a step on a road to non-computational thinking as a reality. Read More ›
smart-elder-playing-chess-board-game-at-home-for-training-brain-memory-and-thinking-happy-smiling-selective-focus-at-chess-piece-stockpack-adobe-stock
Smart Elder playing Chess board game at home for training brain memory and thinking happy smiling selective focus at chess piece.

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
One big change is that the role of social isolation in hastening the progress of the disease is becoming clearer — and thus more easily avoided. Read More ›
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placebo

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
With humans, it is likely more complex but identifying the neural correlates of expectation may help produce more effective pain relief in humans and animals. Read More ›
cute-and-little-robot-helper-with-artificial-intelligence-raising-hand-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Cute and little robot helper with artificial intelligence raising hand. Generative AI

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
But what if computers that think like people are a hard ceiling, like time travel — because not all thinking is 1's and 0's…? Read More ›
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Emergency Department: Doctors, Nurses and Surgeons Move Seriously Injured Patient Lying on a Stretcher Through Hospital Corridors. Medical Staff in a Hurry Move Patient into Operating Theater.

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
Parnia says he is not religious. Rather, his views are the outcome of clinical experience in a field where doctors have literally never gone before. Read More ›
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Close-up of a white flower with water in the foreground and a blurred background to the right of the image

“Plant Philosophy” Denigrates Human Uniqueness

Much contemporary advocacy is obsessed with deconstructing human exceptionalism
Plant philosophy seeks to change the definitional understandings of “intelligence” to elevate the moral status of plants relative to humans. Read More ›
man-having-dementia-while-sitting-on-his-living-room-trying-to-remember-some-place-inside-a-sea-of-memories-stockpack-adobe-stock
Man having dementia while sitting on his living room, trying to remember some place inside a sea of memories

A Status Report From the War on Late Life Dementia

Almost half of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed, researchers believe
Increasing longevity and widespread early diagnosis will mean that delaying the progress of the disease becomes very important over the next few decades. Read More ›