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 | We can use our minds to understand our minds
• 01:55 | What defines a good theory of the mind?
• 02:26 | The mind vs. the soul
• 03:51 | The self-refuting theory of eliminative materialism
• 07:12 | A reasonably good explanation that fits the facts
• 08:09 | What theories of the mind make sense?
• 08:32 | A materialist perspective of the mind
• 10:04 | The idea of emergence
• 11:26 | The wetness of water
• 13:27 | Qualia — the way things feel
• 14:17 | Two problems of explaining consciousness
• 15:40 | Panpsychism
• 17:49 | Dualist theories of the mind
• 18:29 | Cartesian dualism
• 20:00 | Hylomorphism
• 21:17 | Comparing theories of the mind
• 25:32 | The emerging field of neuroscience and its effect on theories of the mind

Additional Resources

• Michael Egnor at Discovery Institute
• Michael Egnor’s articles at Mind Matters News
• Michael Egnor’s podcast with Edward Feser
• “Michael Egnor Demolishes the Myth of Materialism” video
• Eliminative materialism at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Emergence at Wikipedia
• Qualia at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• David Chalmers’ website
• Panpsychism at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Are Electrons Conscious? by Michael Egnor at Mind Matters News
• Hylomorphism/Hylemorphism at Encyclopædia Britannica