Does Mathematics Belong to an Eternal Realm?
Whether Platonism is the only possible approach or not, positions like anti-realism seem like an effort to evade the reality of immaterial things.
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Ancient Greek Philosophy and Modern Blockbuster Graphics
The amazing computer-generated effects you see in almost every blockbuster today are only possible thanks to ideas proposed over 2300 years ago.Ancient philosophy can be extremely useful, and entertaining, even when contrary to modern science! See it in the movies!
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Literature and Personal Consciousness: Why AI Can’t Speak to You
AI can never intend meaning like a human author canOne non-computable aspect of great literature is evident: a personal consciousness was responsible for creating it.
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What Students Lose by Embracing Easy Tech Like ChatGPT
AI systems not only pose a problem for teachers, but will compromise intellectual excellence and moral virtueWe’ve heard a lot about ChatGPT and its wonders and gaping pitfalls. Among the dangers it poses is academic cheating and corner-cutting. It’s no secret that the new bot makes Comp 1 a whole lot easier for a typical incoming freshman. Some universities and schools are banning the AI system outright. Teachers wonder how they will be able to discern plagiarism. Other voices chide the alarmists and call for students and teachers to use ChatGPT as a classroom aid. But one area that has gone a bit underdiscussed in the conversation is ethics. Dr. Anthony Bradley of The King’s College tweeted this a few days ago, Students are writing papers using AI. Colleges are scrambling to combat it. We Read More ›
Hinduism and the Beginning of the Universe
Does the universe have a beginning, or is it eternal? Are the creation stories found in Hinduism meant to be taken literally, or are their texts meant to be understood another way? Dr. Michael Egnor and Arjuna Gallagher discuss these issues and much more as they explore Hinduism’s understanding of the creation of the universe. Show Notes 00:05 | Introducing Read More ›
Hinduism, Reincarnation, and the Mind-Body Problem
Arjuna Gallagher is the host of the YouTube Channel called Theology Unleashed and a Hindu. He discusses Hinduism, reincarnation, karma, and other religious subjects as they pertain to the relationship between the mind and the body with Michael Egnor. Show Notes 00:05 | Introducing Arjuna Gallagher 01:33 | What is Hinduism? 03:03 | Central Themes of Hinduism 04:09 | Is Read More ›
Neuroscience, Quantum Physics, and the Nature of Reality
Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Bruce Gordon discuss quantum mechanics, the nature of reality, idealism and how to interpret the finding of modern neuroscience. Prepare to cover a lot of ground on this Mind Matter News Bingecast. Show Notes 00:00:43 | Introducing Dr. Bruce Gordon 00:02:00 | Idealism 00:03:37 | Plato’s theory of forms 00:05:08 | Kantian idealism 00:09:17 | Read More ›
2. A Neurosurgeon’s Ten Proofs for the Existence of God
First, how did a medic, formerly an atheist, who cuts open people’s brains for a living, come to be sure there is irrefutable proof for God?“Does God exist?” On September 17, in a dramatic debate, Christian neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty squared off on the question at Theology Unleashed. The debate hosts are Arjuna Das for Theology Unleashed and Nathan from Digital Gnosis as the moderator. A partial transcript and notes follow. Egnor has been a guest at Theology Unleashed, before, debating materialist philosopher David Papineau. The ten proofs of God that he presents as his opening argument below are not drawn from sacred texts but from philosophical reasoning: Michael Egnor: There are, broadly speaking, two different kinds of theology. There’s natural theology and there’s revealed theology. Revealed theology is the use of scripture, personal experiences, or relationships to God. And that’s Read More ›
Bruce Gordon on the Meaning of Neuroscience (Part III)
In this third and final episode with Dr. Bruce Gordon, host Michael Egnor picks Gordon’s brain on the overlaps between historical metaphysical perspectives and modern neuroscience. What does St. Thomas Aquinas have to say about metaphysical realities, and how does that compare to Plato’s idealism? Who is right? And what can near-death experiences and other phenomena tell us about the Read More ›
Why Idealism Is Actually a Practical Philosophy
Not what you heard? Philosopher of science — and pianist — Bruce Gordon says, think againIn last week’s podcast,,” our guest host, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, interviewed philosopher of science Bruce Gordon on “Idealism and the Nature of Reality.” Idealism is “something mental (the mind, spirit, reason, will) is the ultimate foundation of all reality, or even exhaustive of reality” – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Gordon thinks that idealism is defensible, reasonable, and too easily discarded: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-129-Bruce-Gordon.mp3 A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Michael Egnor: At its most fundamental level, is reality more like a mind? Or is it more like a physical object? That question — and questions like that — are fundamental to our understanding of nature and our understanding of ourselves, and our understanding of God. I should point out Read More ›
Bruce Gordon On Idealism and the Nature of Reality (Part I)
What is the fundamental nature of reality? Is reality more like a mind, or more like a physical object? What is panpsychism? Tune in to this week’s podcast to hear guest host Michael Egnor interview Dr. Bruce Gordon on idealism. Gordon explores different varieties of idealism, the insights of past philosophers, and the theories of contemporary thinkers. Show Notes Additional Read More ›
What would Plato Say About Antifa? Or Darwin?
A careful reading of Plato and Arendt goes a long way toward explaining the current scene—but it is unsettling readingIn college, I hated Plato. We read his Republic, and, as a patriot and an idealistic young (small “d”) democrat, I was appalled at the hegemony of the Guardians and at Plato’s disdain for democracy. It seemed to me that his Guardians were the archetypal totalitarians, and that it was a fundamental human right — enshrined in the Constitution — to be ruled only by consent of the governed. In my dotage, I am more sympathetic to Plato — it’s remarkable how much smarter the old philosopher has gotten in the past 40 years! I am still uncomfortable with Guardians, at least of the secular sort. But I think John Adams got it right when he observed that “our Constitution Read More ›
Nominalism: The Stubble Left by Ockham’s Razor
Ockham was a methodological minimalist, not a philosophical minimalistOckham did not say that complex metaphysical realities don’t exist. He said that we should trim our understanding of reality to the use of as few concepts as possible for reasons of efficiency, even at the cost of absolute precision. Ockham may thus be said to be a methodological minimalist.
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Does brain stimulation research challenge free will?
If we can be forced to want something, is the will still free?The materialist interpretation of Reilly’s work is a misunderstanding of what the research actually shows. The stimulations did not evoke complex abstract intentions and acts—the patients didn’t reflexively decide to do integral calculus or donate to Amnesty International.
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AI is indeed a threat to democracy
But not in quite the way historian Yuval Noah Harari thinksRapid, wide dissemination of ideas we don’t understand is the prime threat AI poses to humanity. It is an existential threat to human dignity and flourishing. And this threat is made graver, not less grave, by our democracy, which, as Plato understood, is the necessary soil of tyranny.
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