What makes mankind special? And what does it mean to flourish on the frontier of a technological future? Robert J. Marks discusses new technology, what artificial intelligence can and can’t do, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence with Gretchen Huizinga. This interview was originally published by the Beatrice Institute and is repeated here with their permission. Show Notes 01:32…
Mind Matters is published by the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, but who is Walter Bradley, and why does the Center bear his name? Listen in as Robert J. Marks and William A. Dembski discuss Bradley’s involvement in the Intelligent Design movement, share stories about his boldness of faith in academia, and talk about why they published…
Last December, Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger announced that he would be launching a free speech alternative to Wikipedia, a website that Sanger believes has lost its credibility as a neutral source of information. Sanger’s Encyclosphere is meant to be “an open encyclopedia network” (Sanger compares it to “the blogosphere”) with the goal of “build(ing) a network that … all of humanity owns and no one exclusively controls.” One of Wikipedia’s declared “fundamental principle(s)” is NPOV – neutral point of view. Wikipedia defines NPOV as “representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic.” “This policy is non-negotiable,” the website states. But according to Sanger, “Wikipedia’s ‘NPOV’ is dead.” …
In Thursday’s podcast, “The Life of Walter Bradley With William Dembski (Part II),” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks and design theorist William Dembski reflect on the biography they have written about a remarkable engineer, Walter Bradley, For a Greater Purpose: The Life and Legacy of Walter Bradley. In Part I, they discussed Bradley’s work in helping develop appropriate industries using sustainable technologies in the developing world. Here in Part II, they look at the way Bradley politely but effectively insisted on respect for the rights of religious students and faculty, as well as others. And got it. Robert J. Marks: When Walter Bradley was a professor, one of the things that he wanted to do was to talk…
In today’s episode, Robert J. Marks and William A. Dembski continue their discussion on the life of Walter Bradley, the subject of their new biography, For a Greater Purpose: The Life and Legacy of Walter Bradley. Listen in as they share stories from the book about Bradley’s boldness of faith in academia. Show Notes 00:27 | Introducing the new biography,…
In last week’s podcast, “The Life of Walter Bradley With William Dembski (Part I),” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks and design theorist William Dembski discuss the biography they have written about a remarkable engineer, Walter Bradley, For a Greater Purpose: The Life and Legacy of Walter Bradley. It also helps explain why we call ourselves the Walter Bradley Center, as we seek to extend Dr. Bradley’s work. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-121-William-Dembski.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This transcript begins at 02:55. Show notes and links follow. Before getting down to the main business, design theorist William Dembski, possibly the best known theorist of design in nature, told Robert Marks that he plans a second edition of his Cambridge University Press book, The…
In the Foreword to For a Greater Purpose, philosopher J. P. Moreland recalls an incident when both he and Walter Bradley were young football players: I had never suffered a concussion in my life, but there I was, laying on my back in the middle of a field, with a twilight wooziness that made me want to faint. Suddenly, I noticed a hand enter my cloudy visual field and a voice asked me how many fingers he was holding up. Three, I said, and as I did, I began to come out of it. I was able to see to whom the hand belonged: Butch (we used to call him that) Bradley! … Walter Bradley reached out his hand to…
Mind Matters News is published by the Walter Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence. And a natural question is, who is this guy, Walter Bradley? Find out in a new biography authored by design theorist William Dembski and myself, For a Greater Purpose. The Foreword is written by the extraordinary philosopher J. P. Moreland. From the book, here’s what others are saying about Walter Bradley: ● “Walter Bradley is one of the most extraordinary men I have ever known. I am in awe of him.” —William Lane Craig, PhD, DTh, ReasonableFaith.org ● “One of the great blessings God has granted me in my life is the opportunity to have co-ministered with [Walter Bradley] among faculty and students on university…
Mind Matters News is sponsored by the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Discovery Institute. A new biography is just out about Distinguished Fellow, Walter Bradley, after whom our center is named. Walter Bradley has been many things: scientist, professor, NASA researcher, proponent of reconciliation of faith and science, and a leader in empowering people in Africa with appropriate technologies. Walter Bradley is not a household name, but in a fairer world he would be. He’s sort of like George Bailey in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life: He has impacted many, many lives, and the world is a much better place because of him. Titled For a Greater Purpose: The Life and Legacy of Walter…
In a recent podcast, “Walter Bradley on Near-Death Experiences,” Center director Robert J. Marks discusses these experiences with Walter Bradley, after whom the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence is named. Dr. Bradley is an emeritus distinguished professor at Baylor University, formerly professor and mechanical engineering head at Texas A&M University. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-093-Walter-Bradley.mp3 Here are some selections from the transcript: (You can download the entire transcript here.) Marks and Bradley started with first principles: Is it reasonable to believe that there is anything out beyond the material world? Many people assume that science exists to defend materialism. But Walter Bradley has defended the idea that there is also an immaterial world, of which we are a part, in a…
Those who’ve survived near-death experiences often describe an otherworldly journey. Can near-death experiences shed light on the mind/body problem? Robert J. Marks discusses near-death experiences and the mind/body problem with Dr. Walter Bradley. Show Notes 0:00:45 | Introducing Dr. Walter Bradley, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Baylor University 0:01:10 | Beliefs and objectivity 0:03:35 | A priori assumptions 0:05:01 | What…
Paul's remarkable vision, described in 2 Corinthians 12:2, could well have been a near-death experience. He was once stoned and assumed to be dead, his body abandoned outside city walls. But he revived.
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Near-death experiences often include a look at a person’s impact on the lives of others and a meeting with an otherworldly figure. Do religious texts like the Bible talk about near-death experiences? Robert J. Marks discusses near-death experiences with Dr. Walter Bradley. Show Notes 00:26 | Introducing Dr. Walter Bradley, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Baylor University 00:37 | John Burke’s…
Those who’ve survived near-death experiences often describe an otherworldly journey. Robert J. Marks discusses near-death experiences and the afterlife with Dr. Walter Bradley. Show Notes 00:38 | Introducing Dr. Walter Bradley, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Baylor University 00:58 | A preponderance of stories about near-death experiences 03:25 | John Burke, Walter Bradley, and Imagine Heaven 08:51 | Why should we…
Near-death experiences are generally seen as real, even among hardcore skeptics, and research focuses on how to account for them.
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Can near-death experiences shed light on the mind/body problem? Robert J. Marks discusses near-death experiences and the mind/body problem with Dr. Walter Bradley. Show Notes 01:25 | Introducing Dr. Walter Bradley, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Baylor University 01:55 | Definition of a near-death experience 03:36 | Near-death experiences and the mind/body problem 05:20 | A blind woman sees 07:50 |…
Dr. Bradley also spoke about how near-death experiences are creating a challenge for skeptics of the reality of the mind.
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Are we simply matter and chemical reactions or are our minds separate from our bodies? Robert J. Marks discusses the mind/body problem with Dr. Walter Bradley. Show Notes 00:34 | Introducing Dr. Walter Bradley, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Baylor University 01:01 | Beliefs and objectivity 04:00 | A priori assumptions 04:36 | What is the mind/body problem? 05:45 | The…
The Bradley Center hopes to have a similar effect by promoting more general knowledge of fundamental issues around “thinking computers and the real effects of technology on human well-being.
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One of Walter Bradley’s longstanding goals as an engineer and materials scientist has been to harness advanced materials technology to help the world’s poor, most of whom are poor farmers.
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