John Searle (1932–2025): A Titan Passes

Baylor University, brain, ChatGPT, Chinese Room argument, computation, Computational Sciences, conscious states, Daniel Vanderveken, digestion, Discovery Institute Press, epistemic objectivity, Expression and Meaning, Foundations of Illocutionary Logic, John Searle, language, Minding the Brain, Neuroscience & Mind, ontic dualism, ontological idealism, ontology, philosophy, prose, qualitativeness, Science and Culture Today, scientism, Speech Acts, subjectivity, The Construction of Social Reality, The Nature of Nature, Unity, William Dembski
Searle’s most famous argument is undoubtedly the Chinese Room argument, first presented in his essay “Minds, Brains, and Programs” (1980). Source
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Even in Mice, Decision-Making Is More Complex than We Thought

brain, brain activity, brain regions, decision-making, hindbrain, human thinking, Life Sciences, Live Science, Matteo Carandini, midbrain, motor regions, mouse study, muscle responses, neurons, Neuroscience & Mind, pop psychology, processing, R. J. Mackenzie, textbooks, visual cortex
If it’s this complex in mice, what are we to make of simplistic representations of human thinking in pop psychology textbooks? Source
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Investigation of Ancient Burials Yields Surprises

Archaeology, Associated Press, bones, brain, burial, Colin Barras, Evolution, Homo naledi, Homo sapiens, Human Origins and Anthropology, Melanie Lidman, Michael Egnor, Neanderthals, New Scientist, Rising Star Cave, skeletons, stereotype, teeth, The Immortal Mind, Tinshemet Cave, Yossi Zaidner
Archaeologists are reporting on a group culture around death from 100,000 years ago, maybe involving both Neanderthals and modern humans. Source
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Homelessness, Intelligent Design, and the Unseen Realm

1 percent myth, accountability, Annual Homeless Assessment Report, brain, Bruce Chapman, Casey Luskin, Center for Science and Culture, chimps, Culture, Denyse O'Leary, Donald Trump, Evolution, evolutionists, Executive Order, Faith & Science, Federal Government, Fix Homelessness, healing, homelessness, housing first, humans, Intelligent Design, Jonathan Choe, journalism, Michael Egnor, Michael Levin, Michael Medved, mind, near-death experiences, Plato's Revenge, public policy, recovery, Richard Sternberg, soul, The Immortal Mind, The Varieties of Religious Experience, treatment, William James
Compared with previous approaches, the new Executive Order reflects a fundamentally different picture of reality. What should we call it? Source
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Slime Mold: Thanks for the Memories

biology, brain, Cambridge University, cell, decision-making, detritus, food, French National Centre for Scientific Research, habituation, information, Intelligent Design, labyrinth, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, Matthew Sims, mazes, memory, navigation, Neuroscience & Mind, nuclei, Physarum polycephalum, Plasmodium, railway network, slime mold, Slime Mould and Philosophy, Tokyo, Toshiyuki Nakagaki, trails
In recent decades, researchers have been learning about memory in slime molds which have neither a brain nor neurons. Source
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Scientific Evidence for the Soul with Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor

brain, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Dr. Frank Turek, Dr. Michael Egnor, mind, morality, NDE, neuroscientist, philosophy, Podcast, religion, scientific evidence, soul, theology
 Is there scientific proof of the soul? And if science is all about what can be measured, how do we explain things like consciousness, free will, and near-death experiences? This week, we’ll explore one of the most profound questions of human existence: are we just matter, or something more? Joining Frank in this eye-opening podcast episode is Dr. Michael Egnor, a practicing neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Stony Brook University. In his new book, ‘The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul‘, co-authored with Denise O’Leary, Dr. Egnor draws from over 7,000 brain surgeries and decades of experience to challenge the popular materialist view of the human person. Together, Frank and Michael will tackle questions like: How did a spiritual experience involving his…
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Immortality of the Soul Is a Reasonable Belief 

animal, annihilationists, behavior, Boston College, brain, death, disintegration, dying, ethics, evil, Faith & Science, flame, Good, Human, human body, human soul, immortality, Justice, Medicine, mind, near-death experiences, Neuroscience & Mind, number 7, Peter Kreeft, philosophy, physical world, plant, rational soul, terminal lucidity
The annihilationists are being careless. They assume that the physical flame just disappears. Actually, it doesn’t. Source
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Dr. Michael Egnor on His Own Spiritual Journey

Atheism, brain, brain damage, brain operations, chapel, Faith & Science, family crisis, human beings, human soul, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Medicine, mind, neuroscience, Neuroscience & Mind, neurosurgeons, patients, Podcast, soul, The Immortal Mind, Worthy Books
His personal story, including a profound experience in a hospital chapel during a family crisis, became a turning point that challenged his atheism. Source
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