Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPhilosophy of Mind

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Family tree concept, dna, genes, ancestors. A large box suitcase lies on the table with old photographs. AI generated Generative AI

Where, Exactly, Is Memory Stored in the Brain?

The hippocampus of the brain is important for memory formation but memories are immaterial and are not really “stored” anywhere
Memories during near-death experiences, when the mind is not in touch with the brain, are often clear, precise, and comprehensive. Read More ›
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Brain psychology mind soul and hope concept art, 3d illustration, surreal artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea

What Christof Koch Misunderstands About the Mind and the Brain

In his revealing interview at Closer to Truth, the Allen Institute neuroscientist, though he doubts physicalism, attributed subjective experiences to “brains”
The brain does not see, hear, feel, taste, or smell. It is the *person* who sees, hears, feels, tastes, and smells. Read More ›
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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

Leading Neuroscientist Wavers on Physical View of Consciousness

On Closer to Truth, Christof Koch said last month, “Consciousness cannot be explained only within the framework of space and time and energy, but we need to postulate something additional”
Science is as dependent on the concept of public truth as the great religions are. Thus, when private truth rapidly gains power, it is just as vulnerable. Read More ›
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Capturing the intricate structure of microtubules within a cell, showcasing their role in cellular transportation. Metamorphosis, life, happiness

How Quantum Theory Relates To Consciousness

Experimental physicist Rob Sheldon explains the background to Hameroff and Penrose’s contested quantum consciousness theory, which is beginning to be tested
“Penrose consciousness,” in Sheldon’s view, escapes the paradoxes of non-computable problems that plague the trendy Universal Turing Machine model of the brain. Read More ›
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Particle, quantum entanglement (quantum correlation). Quantum mechanics . 3d illustration

The Theory That Consciousness Is a Quantum System Gains Support

Hameroff and Penrose’s Orch Or Theory sees consciousness as the outcome of a quantum collapse of a wave function
How a quantum theory of consciousness will work out is anyone’s guess but here’s a prediction: It won’t help the cause of materialism much. Read More ›
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peaceful nature

Psychiatrist Looks at Mindfulness From a Christian Perspective

UCLA research psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz notes that the word “heart” in the biblical sense means the seat of consciousness, the seat of our spirit
Dr. Schwartz thinks that mindfulness research and practice has played a role in shaking up the idea that the mind is simply what the brain does. Read More ›
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Labirinth

Consciousness Wars Still Simmer, Despite Peacekeeping Efforts

If neuroscientists are looking fruitlessly for a material basis for the human mind, progress may always be measured in conflicts, not insights. Read More ›
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Brain: network of astrocytes (glial cells that support neurons).

New Findings About Our Mysterious “Second Brain”

This “chat” among neurons, glia, and microbes could be important for research into the digestive system in relation to mood disorders, anxiety, and depression. Read More ›
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african american man looking at window

Philosopher Explains How We Can Know That Consciousness Is Real

Although it doesn’t emerge in this interview, Strawson is a panpsychist; thus he can maintain a materialist position and still argue that consciousness is real. Read More ›
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Mobile dictionary, translator  and e-learning.concept . Learning languages online.  Smartphone and books with language courses.

Do People Who Speak Different Languages Think Differently?

For centuries, linguists found that an intriguing, attractive idea but there is no clear evidence for it
McElvenny credits linguist Noam Chomsky (1928–) with revitalizing the idea that we all have the same sort of minds; language does not really change that. Read More ›
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3 d render illustration of brain with brain inside3 d render illustration of brain with brain insidebrain in modern computer lab

Does the Brain Constrain the Mind Instead of Creating It?

There is no systematic, science-based reason today to think that’s not true and plenty of evidence suggests that it is
To insist that the mind is not real and can’t be constrained amounts to taking a philosophical position, not one based on science. There is no relevant science. Read More ›
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Party Background with lights, confetti, balloons and serpentine

Can There Really Be an Ultimate Happiness Machine?

Technology can do so much. Can it really provide an answer to the eternal human quest for happiness?
What if we had a machine that could access and manipulate the internals of the human mind? It would fall victim to the halting problem. Read More ›
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the drawings from the ceiling of Altamira cave in Santillana Del Mar, Cantabria, Spain

Deciphering the Hidden Meanings of Cave Art

In many cases, there are more dots and lines than animals, which suggests some sort of early information system
Our remote ancestors were forging a system for writing down what they knew thousands of years before what we think of as history. Read More ›
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Surreal brain tree in a desolate land and a determined person watering it using a sprinkling can. Man splashes the green shrub using a water pot, taking care of mental health. Human mind concept

A Biochemist Begins To Sense the Limits of Materialism

William Reville seems both confident and uncertain at the same time that science can crack the problem of consciousness
Materialist science has got about as far as it can go and progress will only be made if we are willing to contemplate non-materialist approaches. Read More ›
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A phoenix rising from the ashes against a fiery backdrop - AI Generated

Why Logician Kurt Gödel Believed in Life After Death

He saw human folly as an opportunity to reform and learn, because our souls are immortal whether we like it or not
In a deeply rational, ordered universe, Gödel argues, human potential — frustrated in so many ways here — must flower afterward elsewhere. Read More ›
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Tribe of Hunter-Gatherers Wearing Animal Skin Holding Stone Tipped Tools, Stand Near Cave Entrance. Neanderthal Family Ready for Hunting in the Jungle or Migration

What Was It Like To Grow Up in the Paleolithic era?

We are learning much about our ancestors’ lives from the less highly publicized finds
From the fragments gathered so far, it seems we have no evidence for a history of the human mind, only the history of human technology. Read More ›
Mathematics in everyday life Reuben Teo Unsplash Hba7In7vnoM

Great Ideas, Like All Ideas, Are Immaterial in Principle

The main reasons we hear more ideas today is that we are building on basic past ideas plus there are many more human beings and communications systems
i Loeb sounds as though has absolutely no idea what makes human intelligence unique; thus he mistakes the result for the cause. Read More ›