Tag: Michael Egnor | Page 11

Stunning jar with piece of forest, save the earth concept

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post

News
Date
September 19, 2020

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Matt Williams, Michael Egnor, Nick Bostrom, Planetarium Hypothesis, Science fiction, Simulation hypothesis}

How Can We Be Sure We Are Not Just An ET’s Simulation?

_{A number of books and films are based on the Planetarium Hypothesis. Should we believe it?} _{News
September 19, 2020

9

Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind}

Science and science fiction writer Matt Williams has been writing a series at Universe Today on why the extraterrestrial intelligences that many believe must exist in our universe never show up. Last week, we looked at the Prime Directive hypothesis (The Directive is, don’t interfere in the evolution of alien societies, even if you have good intentions.”) This week, let’s look at the Planetarium hypothesis, the sixth in his series: “humanity is in a simulation, and the aliens are the ones running it! In order to ensure that human beings do not become aware of this fact, they ensure that the simulation presents us with a “Great Silence” whenever we look out and listen to the depths of space.” (August Read More ›

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post

News
Date
September 10, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
aboutness, Bernardo Kastrup, Computers, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, Featured, intentionality, Michael Egnor, Near-death experiences, Nokia, Ray Kurzweil}

Michael Egnor: What Happens to Our Consciousness After We Die?

_{Computer programmer and philosopher Bernardo Kastrup provides a surprising answer} _{News
September 10, 2020

11

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

In this week’s podcast, “Can Computers Think?”, Michael Egnor continued his discussion with philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for The European Organization for Nuclear Research and for Phillips Research Laboratories, and has authored many academic papers and books. This week, they look at a big question, “Will computers ever be conscious?”. But Egnor brought up an even bigger one: “What happens to our consciousness after we die?” As a scientist, Kastrup has worked for The European Organization for Nuclear Research and for Phillips Research Laboratories and has authored many academic papers and books. He is a leading advocate of cosmopsychism, the idea that intelligence did not randomly evolve somehow to help life forms Read More ›

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post

News
Date
September 3, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
Bernardo Kastrup, cosmopsychism, Featured, free will, George Berkeley (1685–1753), god, Idealism, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Naturalism}

Does Physics Today Point to Mind Rather Than Matter Only?

_{A cosmopsychist looks at the universe, God, and free will} _{News
September 3, 2020

12

Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

Bernardo Kastrup tells Michael Egnor that he does not think God is self-reflective. That, he thinks, is a unique job for humans.

Glorious Sky - Elements of this Image Furnished by NASA

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post

News
Date
August 20, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, Featured, Michael Egnor, Panpsychism, Sabine Hossenfelder}

Bernardo Kastrup Argues for a Universal Mind as a Reasonable Idea

_{The challenge, he says, is not why there is consciousness but why there are so many separate instances of consciousnesses} _{News
August 20, 2020

9

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, Michael Egnor continued his discussion with philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup; This week, the topic was panpsychism and cosmopsychism. (Last week, the topic was why consciousness couldn’t just evolve from the mud.) https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-096-Bernardo-Kastrup.mp3 A partial transcript follows: (The complete transcript is here. The Show Notes and Resources are below.) Dr. Kastrup made clear that he is not a panpsychism but rather a cosmopsychist. He explains the difference, defining panpsychism as follows: Bernardo Kastrup (pictured): Panpsychism, well, to be more accurately called constitutive panpsychism, it’s the notion that at least some of the elementary particles that constitutes the universe, at least some of them, are fundamentally conscious. In other words, they have experiential states, fundamental experiential Read More ›

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post

News
Date
August 13, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Darwinism, Evolution, Featured, god, Intelligent design theory, Jerry Coyne, Jerry Fodor, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Natural selection, Panpsychism, Philosophy, What Darwin Got Wrong (book)}

Why Consciousness Couldn’t Just Evolve from the Mud

_{Kastrup, a panpsychist, is sympathetic to the basic intuitions behind the idea that there is design in nature (intelligent design theory)} _{News
August 13, 2020

10

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, “Does the Moon Exist if No One is Looking at It?”, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviewed philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. Dr. Kastrup has been, in Dr. Egnor’s words, “leading a modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism”—that is, reality is essentially mental rather than physical.

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 25, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Bonobos, Kanzi, Michael Egnor, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh}

But, in the End, Did the Chimpanzee Really Talk?

_{A recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine sheds light on the motivations behind the need to see bonobos as something like an oppressed people, rather than apes in need of protection} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 25, 2020

10

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Recently, Michael Egnor commented on radical primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh’s effort to level the playing field between humans and bonobos by including the latter as authors of a research paper on animal welfare: “Non-human animals don’t have abstract knowledge-making and practices that would allow them to be meaningfully consulted. It is reality, not anthropocentric bias, that has left animals out of this decision-making process.” There is a larger and very interesting story around that paper, recently relayed at Smithsonian Magazine by Lindsay Stern (right), a PhD candidate in comparative literature at Yale and author of a novel, The Study of Animal Languages. Her article tells us a good deal about the motivations of those who, essentially, see bonobos not as apes Read More ›

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News
Date
July 16, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Christof Koch, Consciousness, David Papineau, Electrons, Featured, Giulio Tononi, Johannes Kleiner, Michael Egnor, Sabine Hossenfelder, Tam Hunt}

At Nautilus: Electrons DO have a “rudimentary mind”

_{Panpsychists in science believe that nature is all there is but, they say, it includes consciousness as a fundamental fact of nature} _{News
July 16, 2020

7

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Science}

Consciousness has traditionally been thought to correlate in some way with life but panpsychists in science are now challenging that view.

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post

News
Date
July 6, 2020

Categorized
Global Technology, Philosophy of Mind, Technocracy

Tagged
Featured, free will, Lucas Skrobot, Michael Egnor, totalitarianism}

Michael Egnor: Denying Free Will Is Totalitarian

_{News
July 6, 2020

2

Global Technology, Philosophy of Mind, Technocracy}

Specifically, “The denial of free will is the cornerstone of totalitarian systems.” That’s what he told podcaster Lucas Skrobot in the second of two podcast discussions: Dr. Michael Egnor | Free Will and Totalitarian Ideologies (Part 2 of 2) [E152] Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor has written a fair bit on free will for Mind Matters News. Here are some selections to consider: No free will means no justice: “Free will is the cornerstone of all human rights and the cornerstone of our Constitutional rights. The denial of free will is, literally, the denial of human freedom. Without free will, we are livestock, without the presumption of innocence, without actual innocence, and without rights. A justice system that has no respect for Read More ›

Psychology concept. Sunrise and woman silhouette.

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post

News
Date
July 4, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Featured, Lucas Skrobot, Michael Egnor, p-zombie}

Neurosurgeon Explains Why You Are Not a Zombie

_{News
July 4, 2020

2

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Podcaster Lucas Skrobot recently interviewed neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on the difference between the mind and the brain. Egnor told him, “My wife jokes with me that meeting me is always the worst part of a person’s life.” At 22:08, Dr. Egnor provides a thought experiment to explain that minds must transcend materials—the zombie problem. The zombie problem? Ah yes, the philosophers’ zombie: For that, you might also see one of Egnor’s articles: “Neuroscientist Michael Graziano should meet the p-zombie.” To understand consciousness, we need to establish what it is not before we create any more new theories: A p-zombie (a philosophical zombie, as distinguished from the kind that sells movies) is identical to a human being but has no first-person Read More ›

Double exposure portrait of attractive and young girl

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post

News
Date
May 6, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, David Papineau, Dualism, Featured, Michael Egnor, mind, Physicalism}

Philosopher: Consciousness is Not a Problem. Dualism Is!

_{Physicalist David Papineau says consciousness is just “brain processes that feel like something”} _{News
May 6, 2020

7

Philosophy of Mind}

Physicalist David Papineau argues that consciousness “seems mysterious not because of any hidden essence, but only because we think about it in a special way.” In short, it’s all in our heads. But wait, say others, the hard problem of consciousness is not so easily dismissed.

Sick girl lying on the hospital bed and her mom kiss to support.

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post

News
Date
April 20, 2020

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Abstract thought, Coma, concrete thought, Featured, Michael Egnor, perceptual thought, Robert J. Marks, Terri Schiavo}

Can People in Comas Have Abstract Thoughts?

_{Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor discusses how we might test for that ability} _{News
April 20, 2020

9

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In the recent podcast, “Michael Egnor on Whether People in Comas Can Think,” Robert J. Marks raised an interesting point with Egnor: Can people in comas think abstractly or do they form thoughts only at a much more basic level, given how physically distressed they are? The answer might surprise you.

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post

News
Date
April 15, 2020

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Adrian Owen, Coma, Featured, functional magnetic resonance imaging, Michael Egnor, Persistent vegetative state (PVS), Robert J. Marks, Terri Schiavo}

Can Loved Ones in a Coma Hear Us?

_{Modern brain imaging studies show that very often they can. And, with help from new technology, they can answer us too} _{News
April 15, 2020

9

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Pioneering research using brain imaging (fMRI) over the last fifteen years has shown that, even in deep coma, people can hear, understand, and respond. It’s no longer just anecdotes from caregivers. The controversial Terri Schiavo case might be decided very differently today.

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post

News
Date
April 4, 2020

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Featured, Michael Egnor, Mind-Brain Distinction, Robert J. Marks, Roger Sperry, split-brain surgery}

If Your Brain Were Cut in Half, Would You Still Be One Person?

_{Yes, with minor disabilities. Roger Sperry’s split-brain research convinced him that the mind and free will are real} _{News
April 4, 2020

13

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

The true significance of the split-brain experiments goes far beyond the significance of the lateralization of the brain; your essential unity also points to the immaterial nature of the mind.

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News
Date
March 23, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Benjamin Libet, free will, Free won't, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks}

How Libet’s Free Will Research Is Misrepresented

_{Sometimes, says Michael Egnor, misrepresentation may be deliberate because Libet’s work doesn’t support a materialist perspective} _{News
March 23, 2020

6

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

“Neuroscientist Benjamin Libet’s experiments are described very often both in the scientific literature and in the popular press as supportive of materialism—which is something that they don’t support and something that Libet made very clear was not his conclusion.” – Michael Egnor

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News
Date
March 19, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Benjamin Libet, free will, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks}

How a Neuroscientist Imaged Free Will (and “Free Won’t”)

_{At first, Libet thought that free will might not be real. Then he looked again…} _{News
March 19, 2020

6

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Neuroscientist Benjamin Libet (1916–2007), who studied measured brain activity as people make decisions, came across the power of “free won’t”: an apparently free decision not to do something we had decided on earlier.

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podcast

Michael Egnor and Robert J. Marks
Date
March 12, 2020

Tagged
brain, corpus callosotomy, corpus callosum, Michael Egnor, Mind Brain, Mind-Brain Distinction, Neuroscience, neurosurgeon, Neurosurgery, Roger Sperry, seizures, split-brain surgery}

Michael Egnor on Splitting the Brain and Staying You

_{Michael Egnor and Robert J. Marks
March 12, 2020

2}

If you lose all four of your limbs, are you still you? Most people would say yes. What if your brain were cut into two pieces? Would you still be you? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor discuss splitting the brain and the research of Roger Sperry. Show Notes 00:30 | Introducing Dr. Michael Egnor, Professor of Neurosurgery and Read More ›

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post

News
Date
March 5, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Bernardo Kastrup, Michael Egnor, New Scientist, Paul Davies, Richard Webb, Robert J. Marks, Sean Carroll}

How Did “Wanting” Things Emerge?

_{Agency (“wanting” or “deciding” things) is as hard a problem in physics as consciousness} _{News
March 5, 2020

6

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Rocks don’t resist becoming sand but plants resist, by various strategies, becoming insect food. All life forms seem to need and want things; the most intelligent ones want more complex and less obviously necessary things. At New Scientist, we are told that wanting things is a “superpower” that physics can’t explain. But are we asking the wrong questions?

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podcast

Michael Egnor and Robert J. Marks
Date
March 5, 2020

Tagged
Benjamin Libet, brain, free will, Michael Egnor, MRI, neuroplasticity, Neuroscience, predestination, readiness potential}

Michael Egnor: Free Will or Free Won’t?

_{Michael Egnor and Robert J. Marks
March 5, 2020

1}

There have been ongoing philosophical and theological arguments about free will vs. predestination. How do experiments on the human brain inform us on this question? Robert J. Marks discusses free will, free won’t, predestination, and the brain with Dr. Michael Egnor. Show Notes 00:40 | Introducing Dr. Michael Egnor, Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Read More ›

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News
Date
February 29, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Aristotle, brain, epilepsy, Featured, free will, intellect, Michael Egnor, mind, Neurosurgery, reason, Wilder Penfield, will}

Why Pioneer Neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield Said the Mind Is More Than the Brain

_{He gave three lines of reasoning, based on brain surgery on over a thousand patients} _{News
February 29, 2020

6

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Michael Egnor points out that Penfield offered three lines of evidence: His inability to stimulate intellectual thought during brain operations, the inability of seizures to cause intellectual thought, and his inability to stimulate the will. … So he concluded that the intellect and the will are not from the brain. Which is precisely what Aristotle said.

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post

News
Date
February 28, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Electrons, Michael Egnor, Panpsychism, Philip Goff, Physics, Sabine Hossenfelder}

Theoretical Physicist Slams Panpsychism

_{Electrons cannot be conscious, in Sabine Hossenfelder’s view, because they cannot change their behavior} _{News
February 28, 2020

4

Philosophy of Mind}

Hossenfelder’s impatience is understandable but she underestimates the seriousness of the problem serious thinkers about consciousness confront.