^Tagsoul

Double multiply exposure abstract portrait of a dreamy cute young woman face with galaxy universe space inside head. Human spirit, astronomy, life zen concept Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

^{Type
post

Author
News

Date
May 6, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
__featured, Angus Menuge, mind, mind-body problem, Near-death experiences (evidential), Rene Descartes, Robert J. Marks, soul}

How Do We Know We Are Not Just Physical Bodies?

_{The mind–body problem is one of the most difficult issues in modern philosophy} _{News

May 6, 2021

Philosophy of Mind}

In this week’s podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews Concordia University philosopher Angus Menuge on the notoriously difficult mind–body problem. Dr. Marks asks, “Is there a part of you that is not physical? Are we meat puppets limited to scientific analysis described totally by the laws of nature? “ That’s the mind–body problem! It’s more complex today because some claim we will build computers that have minds like humans (but not bodies like humans). But first, how do we know we are not just bodies? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-133-Angus-Menuge.mp3 This portion begins at 04:06 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Angus Menuge (pictured): Well, the real question is how two such different realms can relate. If…

Creative background, the human brain on a blue background, the hemisphere is responsible for logic, and responsible for creativity. different hemispheres of the brain, 3D illustration, 3D render

^{Type
podcast

Author
Michael Egnor

Date
April 22, 2021

Tagged
Aristotelianism, Aristotle, Idealism, metaphysics, Near-death experiences, Neuroscience, out-of-body experiences, Plato, soul, Thomas Aquinas, Thomism}

Bruce Gordon on the Meaning of Neuroscience (Part III)

_{Michael Egnor

April 22, 2021}

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…

World Alzheimer’s day concept. Human hands holding brain of earth over blurred blue nature background. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

^{Type
post

Author
News

Date
October 2, 2020

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Tagged
__featured, Animal Intelligence, Cell intelligence, Crows, Dogs, Geoffrey Simmons, Hit Refresh, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks, Roger Penrose, Satya Nadella, Shadows of the Mind, soul, Spirit, split-brain surgery}

Why a Science Fiction Writer Thinks Life Is More Than Just Matter

_{Many animals and even bacteria show behavior that smacks of thinking, he says} _{News

October 2, 2020

Arts & Culture, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience}

Science fiction author and retired internist Geoffrey Simmons talks about the amazing intelligence that life forms, even cells, show. Read More ›

Asian women travel relax in the holiday. Standing on the mountain. Thailand

^{Type
podcast

Author
Michael Egnor

Date
August 20, 2020

Tagged
Aristotle, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, decomposition problem, dissociative identity disorder, endogenous, Michael Egnor, mind, Panpsychism, Physics, Quantum Physics, Sabine Hossenfelder, Sense of smell, Sense of touch, senses, soul, Thomas Aquinas}

Bernardo Kastrup on Panpsychism and Cosmopsychism

_{Michael Egnor

August 20, 2020}

How do we know what happens around us? Is the whole universe conscious? Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Bernardo Kastrup discuss panpsychism, cosmopsychism, and conciousness. Show Notes 00:35 | Introducing Dr. Bernardo Kastrup 01:29 | Panpsychism and cosmopsychism 02:42 | Using your senses to convey information to the mind 04:24 | Communicating feelings 05:33 | Differentiating complex internal states from…

Incognito warrior in iron helmet and red cloak.

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor

Date
August 3, 2020

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, __featured, Aristocracy, Aristotle, Darwinism, democracy, Edward Feser, government, Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx, Mob rule, Oligarchy, Plato, Republic (book), soul, Spirit, Timocracy, totalitarianism, Tyranny}

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 reading} _{Michael Egnor

August 3, 2020

Ethics, Philosophy of Mind}

In 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…

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor

Date
July 27, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
__featured, Accidental form, Aristotle, Form, Personal continuity, pre-Socratic philosophers, Problem of change, Ship of Theseus, soul, Substantial form, Susan Blackmore}

Interview With a Woman (or Women) Formerly Called Susan Blackmore

_{A professor of psychology argues that there is no continuity between our present selves and our past selves} _{Michael Egnor

July 27, 2020

Philosophy of Mind}

Much of modern philosophy of mind is a compendium of New Age gibberish. An exemplar of this mess is Susan Blackmore, a Visiting Professor (Psychology) at the University of Plymouth. She is an atheist, a “skeptic,” and a prolific author. When she was interviewed in 2016 about her philosophy of mind, remarkably, in addition to the usual atheist denial of immortality of the soul and of free will, she denied personal continuity over time. How does Blackmore account for the doggedly persistent sense we have of personal continuity? “Parallel processing” is her explanation. Blackmore points out that there are many brain pathways that are active simultaneously when we perceive, think, and act. What does that have to do with personal…

^{Type
post

Author
News

Date
February 26, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks, soul, Spirit}

What Is the Difference Between “Soul” and “Spirit”?

_{Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor explains the subtle distinction between the meaning of the two, often confused, terms} _{News

February 26, 2020

Philosophy of Mind}

Loosely speaking, the soul is the principle of life in a body and the spirit refers more to the immaterial aspects of the soul, which are the ability to reason and the ability to make decisions based on reason.

Michael Egnor: Is There Evidence for a Soul?

_{Robert J. Marks and Michael Egnor

February 20, 2020}

From the perspective of a brain surgeon, is there evidence for a soul? Is there evidence for a spirit? Robert J. Marks discusses neuroscience, brain surgery, the soul, and the spirit with Dr. Michael Egnor. Show Notes 00:46 | Introducing Dr. Michael Egnor, Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook 01:18 | Non-overlapping magisteria…

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks

Date
February 13, 2020

Tagged
Cartesian dualism, Dualism, eliminative materialism, Emergence, hylemorphism, hylomorphism, immateriality, Materialism, Michael Egnor, mind, mind-body dualism, Mind-Brain Distinction, Neuroscience, Panpsychism, qualia, Roger Scruton, soul}

Michael Egnor: Is Your Brain the Same as Your Mind?

_{Robert J. Marks and Michael Egnor

February 13, 2020}

Is the mind an emergent property of the brain? Or is there something else going on? Robert J. Marks discusses the different theories of the mind — including materialism, panpsychism, and dualism — with Dr. Michael Egnor. Show Notes 00:37 | Introducing Dr. Michael Egnor, Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook 01:32 |…

^{Type
podcast

Author
JP Moreland

Date
January 30, 2020

Tagged
anti-depressants, brain, brain trauma, catastrophism, dopamine, Finding Quiet (book), grooves, immateriality, J. P. Moreland, Materialism, Neurons, panic attack, refocusing, serontonin, soul, spirituality}

Bingecast: JP Moreland on Changing the Pathways of Your Brain

_{JP Moreland and Michael Newton Keas

January 30, 2020}

Philosopher JP Moreland shares how twice he was incapacitated for months by panic attacks and anxiety. His new book, Finding Quiet, seeks to make the most of his suffering, condensing the crucial lessons learned from his research. He and guest host Mike Keas address the relative evidence for the soul and the brain, the integration of faith with knowledge from…

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway

Date
August 12, 2019

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Human exceptionalism, Macaques, Querius, soul, Transgenics}

Are Monkeys with Some Human Genes Partly Human?

_{If they are somewhat smarter than other macaques, do they have minds and souls?} _{Eric Holloway

August 12, 2019

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

In my ongoing dialogue with Querius, I say no; a human is not reducible to a handful of genes.

Chinese Technocracy Surges Ahead with AI Surveillance

_{So what do the reservations expressed, about “the soul” and “love,” really mean?} _{Denyse O'Leary

July 22, 2019

Data Privacy, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Technocracy}

Both big tech entrepreneurs Kai-Fu Lee and Jack Ma seem to believe in souls but do not believe that souls can be trusted with freedom, the way governments can.

Is Your Brain More a Muscle or a Cloud?

_{JP Moreland discusses the habits of anxiety and depression and how to defeat them} _{JP Moreland and Michael Newton Keas

July 11, 2019}

With guest host Mike Keas, JP Moreland discusses his new book, Finding Quiet. He addresses the relative evidence for the soul and the brain, the integration of faith with knowledge from the social and natural sciences, and biblical and practical ways to retrain your brain and body to defeat habits of anxiety and depression. Show Notes 01:15 | Knowledge of…

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor

Date
May 30, 2019

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
hylomorphism, Jeffrey Shallit, soul}

Can Animals “Reason”? My Challenge to Jeffrey Shallit

_{He believes that animals can engage in abstract thinking. What abstractions do they reason about?} _{Michael Egnor

May 30, 2019

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Dr. Jeffrey Shallit is an atheist mathematician who holds to the odd belief that animals, like humans, are capable of reason. It would seem that a highly intelligent man who makes his living by doing mathematics would understand that animals don’t, and can’t, do mathematics. But Dr. Shallit remains confused on this point, as he makes clear in his response to my recent post on that inability of animals to think abstractly or to reason (“An atheist argues against reason”). I observed that reason is defined traditionally in a very straightforward manner as the capacity for abstract thought. Shallit comments, Whenever Egnor talks about something being “accepted” or “simple and straightforward”, you can be pretty sure that the opposite is…

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway

Date
November 29, 2018

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Agency, Alex Rosenberg, Determinism, Featured, free will, intentionality, Longform, Mind-Brain Distinction, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Reductionism, soul}

Has Neuroscience Disproved Thinking?

_{A philosopher argues that Nobel Prize-winning research shows that the theory of mind is just another illusion, useful for survival and success} _{Eric Holloway

November 29, 2018

Philosophy of Mind}

We've all seen this sort of argument before in many other guises. It is commonly called “reductionism.” The reductionist claims that, because an object can be construed as made up of parts, the object is just the parts. It is like saying that because an article like this one is constructed from letters of the alphabet, the article is only rows of letters. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor

Date
October 12, 2018

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Aristotle, brain, chariot analogy, free will, Human Ability, Human Nature, human uniqueness, Karen Reilly, Plato, soul, Wilder Penfield}

Does brain stimulation research challenge free will?

_{If we can be forced to want something, is the will still free?} _{Michael Egnor

October 12, 2018

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

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. Read More ›