Today, Dr. Selmer Bringsjord joins guest host Pat Flynn to discuss a compelling argument for the immateriality of mathematical objects and the human person. It’s an argument Bringsjord develops in his chapter “Mathematical Objects Are Non-Physical, So We Are Too” in the book Minding the Brain. Building on the work of philosophers like James Ross and John Searle, the argument suggests Read More ›
Today, guest host Pat Flynn concludes his conversation with Dr. J.P. Moreland discussing arguments for the existence of the soul. Moreland argues that a strong, cummulative case can be made for the soul, and on this segment he reviews some of his top arguments. First, the existence of conscious states that have a “what it’s like” quality cannot be fully Read More ›
Is reality merely the sum of our primitive parts? Or is there something greater that informs and unifies us? On today’s episode, guest host Pat Flynn continues a conversation with Dr. J.P. Moreland to discuss the implications of competing metaphysical theories of the mind and which theory best accounts for the existence of the soul. In this segment, Moreland and Read More ›
Today, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. J.P. Moreland to the Mind Matters News podcast to discuss which of the main metaphysical theories can best account for the existence of the soul. Moreland argues that the soul is a real, non-physical entity that has consciousness and exists separately from the physical brain. He presents three empirically equivalent theories – strict Read More ›
Some scientists and philosophers hold the view that our brains are basically brains made of meat. Today, Dr. Eric Holloway and Dr. Robert J. Marks explain what’s wrong with this idea in the concluding segment of their conversation with guest host Patrick Flynn. For starters, the computational theory of mind may be incompatible with materialism or physicalism, as formal, abstract Read More ›
Are AI language models like ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity actually intelligent? Or are they getting away with a creative kind of thievery? Welcome to the Mind Matters News podcast, your source for discussions on all things philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence. Today, guest host Patrick Flynn continues his conversation with Dr. Eric Holloway and Dr. Robert J. Marks. The Read More ›
On today’s episode, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Eric Holloway and Professor Robert J. Marks to the podcast to discuss the information cost of creativity. Today’s conversation is based on a chapter in the book Minding the Brain authored by Dr. Holloway and Marks. Essentially, they are addressing the following question: Can the marvels of human creativity, like novels, speeches, and Read More ›
Guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro to discuss substance dualism as an explanation for the nature of the human soul. The conversation draws from their contributions to the recent volume Minding the Brain. After a brief history of how the concept of the soul has been understood, Goetz and Taliaferro explain the main motivations for substance dualism: Read More ›
On this episode of Mind Matters News, guest host Pat Flynn concludes a conversation with Dr. Winston Ewert about his contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. This segment explores the implications of the view that human cognition can be reduced to a sophisticated algorithm, as Ewert argues. Ewert contends that an algorithm can only construct an algorithm less sophisticated than Read More ›
On this episode of Mind Matters News, guest host Pat Flynn begins a conversation with Dr. Winston Ewert about Ewert’s chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain. In his contribution, titled “The Human Mind’s Sophisticated Algorithm and Its Implications,” Dr. Ewert argues that the human mind’s problem-solving cognition can be modeled as a sophisticated algorithm. Ewert explains that any cognitive task Read More ›
Many proponents of artificial intelligence operate from an assumption that our own minds and conscious experience can be solely attributed to our physical brains. But is this assumption true? This question is the key focus of the book Minding the Brain, edited by our guests: Angus Menuge, Brian Krouse, and Robert J. Marks. Joining them to discuss this volume is today’s Read More ›
On this episode, host Pat Flynn concludes a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 3, Flynn and Bringsjord summarize their points about integrated information theory and an alternative view, cognitive consciousness. The discussion explores the challenges of explaining consciousness from a materialist or physicalist perspective, noting the apparent qualitative Read More ›
On this episode, host Pat Flynn continues a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 2, the discussion turns to Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and its claims about consciousness. IIT proposes that consciousness arises from the degree of informational integration in a system, so more integrated systems would have higher Read More ›
On this episode, host Pat Flynn begins a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. Dr. Bringsjord has been studying and debating issues related to AI and the nature of consciousness for decades, and he shares his predictions about the capabilities and limitations of AI systems. He believes that while AI systems Read More ›
In this episode, Pat Flynn and Dr. Michael Egnor conclude their discussion of Dr. Egnor’s contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. Flynn and Dr. Egnor discuss Thomistic dualism and its relation to neuroscience and the soul. Thomistic dualism is the belief that the soul is a separate entity from the body and that the rational aspects of the soul, Read More ›
In this episode, Pat Flynn and Dr. Michael Egnor continue their discussion of Dr. Egnor’s contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. Flynn and Egnor discuss various criticisms of materialism in neuroscience. They touch on topics such as near-death experiences, the limitations of the computational theory of mind, and the nature of artificial intelligence. Dr. Egnor also addresses common questions Read More ›
On this episode, host Pat Flynn begins a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Michael Egnor about topics such as mind, brain, dualism, the nature of the human person, neuroscience, and the soul. Dr. Egnor argues for dualism, stating that there are aspects of the mind that are not generated by the brain. They also discuss research on split-brain patients and its Read More ›
If mathematical objects are immaterial, does that mean aspects of human beings are too? On this episode, host Pat Flynn concludes his three-part discussion with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about his provocative chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain titled “Mathematical Objects are Non-Physical, so we are too.” They summarize the argument that formal thinking is non-physical and extend this reasoning to Read More ›
On this episode, host Pat Flynn continues his conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about his chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain, titled “Mathematical Objects Are Non-Physical, so We Are Too.” The discussion focuses on the first part of the argument, which asserts that mathematical objects are non-physical. Bringsjord explains that formal thinking, such as understanding algorithms, cannot be fully determined Read More ›
On this episode, host Pat Flynn is joined by Dr. Selmer Bringsjord, author of a fascinating and provocative chapter in the recent volume Minding the Brain. Dr. Bringsjord argues for the immateriality of mathematical objects as well as the immateriality of the human person. The argument challenges physicalism and raises questions about the nature of consciousness and the human person. The Read More ›