Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagSplit brain research

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Businessman in split personality concept. High quality photo

Split Mind: The Strangest Theory in Neuroscience?

The idea that we might all have separate, undetected consciousnesses in each half of our brain supports materialism but there’s little evidence for it
he subtle abnormalities displayed by patients whose brains were split in half revealed an uncomfortable truth: The mind is a unity. Read More ›
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This experimental painting features swirls of black, grey, purple, and white paints.

The Nature of Mind, Body, and Soul

How do the mind, the body, and the soul interact? After years of studying the brain, there are still many questions. Dr. Joshua Farris discusses free will, consciousness, and philosophy on this bingecast with Dr. Michael Egnor. Additional Resources Dr. Joshua Farris Dr. Michael Egnor Buy Dr. Joshua R. Farris’ Book: The Soul of Theological Anthropology Cartesian Exploration What is Read More ›

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Man with conceptual spiritual body art

The Body and the Soul

Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Joshua Farris continue their conversation about the nature of the body and the soul, starting with whether or not Thomism and Cartesianism can be blended and ending with an exploration of the Aristotelian view of the mind/body relationship. Read More ›
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Colorful wooden alphabet letters  isolated on white background and texture, top view

How the Split Brain Emphasizes the Reality of the Mind

Fascinating research following up Roger Sperry’s work — which showed that the mind is not split when the brain is — has confirmed and extended his findings

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor did a recent podcast with Arjuna Das at Theology Unleashed, “where Eastern theology meets Western skepticism.” In the previous segment, they discuss the significance of the fact that there are aspects of the human mind that cannot be split into parts — as demonstrated by the work of Nobelist Roger Sperry (1913–1994). In this segment, they discuss the neuroscientists who followed up on and extended Sperry’s work — one of whom met a tragic end: Here is a partial transcript and notes for the 1 hour 6 minute mark through the 1 hour 12 minute mark: Michael Egnor: There has been some absolutely intriguing work done since Sperry that I think very clearly shows the existence of Read More ›