Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPhilosophy

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Microscopic Flatworm in Low Light, Detailed Platyhelminthes Anatomy

Mind Rules, Not Matter, Biologists Say — in Journal Article

They argue that simple natural processes cannot explain embryological development. Instead, biology is directed by cognition
A revolution in biology? Too soon to tell but the fact that they are permitted to make their case signals greater openness to considering the evidence. Read More ›
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Silhouette of Ancient Greek Galley Ship at Sunset, Majestic Ocean Scene

The Ship of Theseus: The Mystery of Personal Identity

If all your parts are slowly replaced, in what sense are you still you? A Mind Matters podcast discussion explores that
Walter Myers, an engineer and philosopher, sees the human soul as soul is what ultimately grounds human identity in something more than matter. Read More ›
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Brain psychology mind soul and hope concept art, 3d illustration, surreal artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea

The Enduring Self and the Case for Substance Dualism

On our most recent podcast, philosophers make the case that if mind is illusion, so too is the scientific enterprise
Scientists form hypotheses, interpret data, and act with purpose. These activities cannot be reduced to neurons firing without undermining science itself. Read More ›
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Colorful space galaxy cloud nebula. Stary night cosmos. Universe science astronomy. Supernova background wallpaper

Ross Douthat Makes the Case that Religious Belief Is Rational

His new book is written largely with the agnostic or full-on atheist in mind but believers would certainly also benefit, as I did
He notes, if our brains evolved merely to help us stay alive, then it’s strange that those same mental states could invent the telescope to explore the cosmos. Read More ›
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Dreamy foggy dark forest. Trail in moody forest. Alone and creepy feeling in the woods

1. When actual experiences challenge the viewpoints of skeptics

Sean McDowell recently hosted J. Steve Miller to talk about his top five believable near-death experiences
Mark Twain and Michael Shermer each had an anomalous experience that he could not explain but would not deny. Read More ›
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Green grass and blue sky with white clouds

Is Science in Our Frame of Reality Inevitably Incomplete?

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that human consciousness isn’t a material phenomenon like any other; it has one foot in time and another in eternity
Efforts to jam both feet into time have gone nowhere and are likely to continue to do so. Read More ›
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Universität Hörsaal mit schwebenden transparenten Blasen

Michael Shermer: Wokeness Poisons Science and I Am No Longer Woke

A number of well-known one-way skeptics and atheists are beginning to feel the consequences of prescribed insufferable virtue
Maybe we need to believe that there is a Mind behind the universe in order to provide guardrails against deeply crazy stuff claiming to be science. Read More ›
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cosmic symphony resonating throughout the universe with celestial bodies emitting harmonic frequencies that interweave to create a tapestry of cosmic music echoing through the void of space

Liberal Prof: Intelligent Design Is Not Just for Conservatives

Robert Shedinger’s findings certainly changed his perception of the nature of the controversy over Darwinism
He told colleagues he is planning a new book, tentatively titled “Why Liberals Should Ditch Darwin and Consider Intelligent Design.” Read More ›
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Silhouette of human with universe and physical, mathematical formulas

Physicists propose to test the finetuning of the universe

Their thesis is based on cosmic inflation theory and on the behavior of dark matter, whose nature remains unknown.
It is not more “metaphysical” to say that the universe shows apparent evidence of design than to say it does not. The bias in insisting otherwise is evident. Read More ›
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Science laboratory research and development concept. microscope with test tubes

Why Scientism is A Dead End for Science As Well As Philosophy

Canadian journalist Patrick Keeney’s thoughts on the topic — just as the Notre Dame fire smoldered out — are well worth revisiting
An absolute monopoly for science on truth conceals a fatal flaw. If scientific inquiry becomes corrupt or useless, we can find help from no other quarter. Read More ›
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Galaxy. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Cosmologist Paul Davies: Does the soul have an afterlife?

Davies argues that we’re not at the center of the attention of a God who is specifically concerned with us and his existence has no implications for the soul
The doctrine of most religious traditions that the soul is not destroyed with the body is not presented as a comfort so much as a plain fact, with consequences. Read More ›
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Colonisation of Mars. Mars base colony in open space. Digitally generated AI image

Why Do Science and Tech Writers Hate Elon Musk?

It's partly because he encourages bottom-up media but also he encourages a sort of vision that is now largely lost
Musk's philosophy of the future: I believe it should be curiosity about the Universe – expand humanity to become a multiplanet, then interstellar, species. Read More ›
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Inside the brain. Concept of neurons and nervous system.

Mirror Neurons and Consciousness: A Philosophical Perspective

Dr. Miretu Guta criticized the overblown claims about mirror neurons

In the most recent episode of the Mind Matters News podcast, hosts Brian Krouse and Robert J. Marks chatted with philosopher Dr. Mihretu Guta about the role of mirror neurons in understanding consciousness. Dr. Guta’s chapter in the book Minding the Brain critiques the popular interpretation of these specialized brain cells, which activate both when performing an action and observing others perform it. Mirror neurons, discovered in macaque monkeys, have been linked to empathy, learning, and imitation. However, Dr. Guta emphasized the distinction between correlation and causation. While these neurons activate during certain behaviors, this does not prove they cause those behaviors. He also noted the limits of extending findings from monkey studies to human cognition. Dr. Guta introduced three Read More ›

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A captivating view of a black hole in space, a dark center surrounded by a swirling disk of hot, glowing gas and dust, stars and nebulae in the background being bent by its gravity, feeling of the

Did Stephen Hawking End His Career by Giving Up on Truth?

A philosopher argues the case. But has the rejection of truth in physics spread widely into popular culture?
One element of getting to choose our private truths is that we need only notice or understand the significance of the things we want to notice or understand. Read More ›
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If Then logic statement written in white chalk on a black chalkboard isolated on white

Billboard Chris Asks a Sharp Question About “Evolution”

On a logical basis, Elston’s critique is unanswerable — but logic no longer has the status that it once did. Nor does evidence.
It may be that the big Whatever You Feel of private truth is here to stay and will slowly devour all forms of knowledge based on public truth. Read More ›
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Masculinity - a gigantic and unmovable weight chained to a vulnerable and suffering person in pain, misery and helplessness. Cold and tragic condition created by Masculinity ,3d illustration

Philosopher Asks, Why the Toxic War on Masculinity?

Prominent evangelical philosopher Nancy Pearcey is teaching a course on the roots of the “hate men” movement today. Here’s an excerpt from the controversial book it's based on
Pearcey argues that the biblical view of manhood offers men far greater dignity than any secular view, especially the Darwinian one. Read More ›
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Retro styled image of old pocket watches

When Einstein Clashed With Philosopher Bergson Over Time

Bergson’s point, back in 1922, was that clocks, however accurate, don’t read themselves; they are interpreted by conscious beings
A recent experiment claimed to have identified negative time. If that’s true, solving one mystery in science opens up a vista of… more mysteries. Read More ›
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After Dawkins Is Canceled, What Comes Next? Not Better Science!

As the National Academies of Science try to blend traditional lore into science findings, the concept of truth that atheists and theists clash over is irrelevant
For many today, truth is whatever benefits Woke causes. Claims for truth that offer them no political benefit are seen as a threat, meriting a hostile response. Read More ›
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The confrontation of a heatwave and a melting glacier, symbolizing the collision of rising temperatures and shrinking ice masses. Concept of climate change impact on glaciers. Generative Ai.

New Atheism Is Shrinking and It’s Not Entirely Clear Why

Now, there is an eerie unfashionable silence that fashionable media are beginning to notice. For one thing, it is affecting Richard Dawkins
The Woke, it turns out, are no more tolerant of atheists than they are of anyone else with divergent views. That may be what finally fells new atheism. Read More ›