Category: Neuroscience & Mind

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
September 10, 2026

Categories
Evolution
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, __featured1, brain, Carl Sagan, emotion, evolution, explainaway, falsified theories, Georgia Tech, human brain, limbic system, lizard brain, neuroscience, overthinking, Paul D. MacLean, physiology, pop psychology, reptilian brain, Science Daily, smarts, social anxiety, The Dragons of Eden, universe}

Return of the Lizard Brain? It Seems Not

_{Denyse O’Leary
September 10, 2026

Evolution, Neuroscience & Mind

3}

It’s easy to see why people might latch onto the idea of a reptilian brain as an explainer, or an explainaway, for complex topics. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
David Klinghoffer

Date
September 10, 2026

Categories
Arts
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, 9/11 attack, Amazon Prime, brain, Dan Brown, Darwinian theory, disaster preparedness, Geoffrey Simmons, George W. Bush, intelligent design, John Zmirak, meaning, medical, nihilism, novels, Oppenheimer’s Demon, physicians, purpose, Quran, Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, Science and Culture Today, Stephen Meyer, suspense, Terrell Clemmons, terrorism, United 93}

Oppenheimer’s Demon Is “9/11 Times a Thousand”

_{David Klinghoffer
September 10, 2026

Arts, Neuroscience & Mind

4}

For the 25th anniversary of 9/11 you may be wondering what to read or watch for the occasion. I have a few suggestions. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
September 4, 2026

Categories
Neuroscience & Mind
Philosophy of Science
Tagged
, Alex Rosenberg, behavior, consciousness, coworkers, David A. Oakley, Duke University, Edward Feser, eliminative materialism, folk psychology, Joe Gough, mental causation, mind-body problem, Newton’s Second Law, Patricia Churchland, Paul Churchland, philosophers, philosophy, souls, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, The Immortal Mind, Thomas Metzinger, University of Mainz}

Overhyping the Mind-Body Interaction Problem

_{Denyse O’Leary
September 4, 2026

Neuroscience & Mind, Philosophy of Science

5}

Eliminative materialism is best seen as a nice try at cementing materialism in a world where it faces mounting serious challenges. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 25, 2026

Categories
Biology
Life Sciences
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, animals, Annaka Harris, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, biochemists, caterpillar, cats, cells, cocooning, cognition, Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind, consciousness, Dogs, dying, environments, Epoch Times, evolution, glutamate, hierarchy, horses, human nervous system, iai.tv, James Shapiro, leaves, Makai Elías Calles, mating, natural selection, neurons, neurotransmitters, octopus, plant consciousness, plants, self-awareness, stripping fruit trees, Thomas Nagel, University of Chicago}

Evolutionary Lens Deterred Scientists from Considering Plant Cognition

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 25, 2026

Biology, Life Sciences, Neuroscience & Mind

6}

It’s a familiar concept: the long, slow march from mud to mind meant that only toward the upper tier would we find such developments as cognition. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
David Klinghoffer

Date
August 24, 2026

Categories
Intelligent Design
Medicine
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, academic freedom, adults, African-Americans, American Prometheus, bacterial flagellum, bio-warfare, Blue Angels, British Museum, Chicago, Christians, complex specified information, Dan Brown, Discovery Institute Press, emergency preparedness, fiction, Geoffrey Simmons, Hiroshima, intelligent design, Jews, Jonathan Witt, Kai Bird, Marcel Proust, Martin Sherwin, medicine, Michael Behe, Michael Crichton, Microsoft, Midwest, Mount Rushmore, Nagasaki, Neil deGrasse Tyson, neurosurgeons, novelists, Oppenheimer’s Demon, physicians, Redmond, Richard Dawkins, Robert Oppenheimer, Rosetta Stone, Seattle, Stephen Meyer, thrillers}

New Thriller Tackles Intelligent Design and Robert Oppenheimer

_{David Klinghoffer
August 24, 2026

Intelligent Design, Medicine, Neuroscience & Mind

5}

The pivotal ID element comes in because a beautiful African-American neurosurgeon is testing the limits of academic freedom. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 17, 2026

Categories
Life Sciences
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Behind and Beyond the Brain Symposium, brains, Christof Koch, Closer to Truth, cognition, David Chalmers, emotions, filter model, hard problem of consciousness, Human Immortality (book), Integrated information theory, J. L. Saver, J. Rabin, materialism, mental awareness, mind, near-death experiences, neuroscience, neuroscientists, paradoxical lucidity, Peter Kreeft, reality, receptors, reducing valve, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Science Daily, sensations, senses, terminal lucidity, thoughts, universe, William James}

What if the Brain Is a Filter?

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 17, 2026

Life Sciences, Neuroscience & Mind

5}

The idea would provides insight into one of the most significant characteristics of near-death experiences, the extraordinary lucidity that experiencers report. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Date
August 12, 2026

Categories
Medicine
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, American Society of Anesthesiologists, anesthesia, awareness, brain, brain activity, brain surgery, cognitive issues, cortex, drugs, EEG, electrochemical activity, environment, George Mashour, Jackie Rocheleau, Michael Egnor, Nautilus, neuroanesthesiologists, neurons, neurosurgeons, nightmares, older patients, patients, sensory information, stimuli, thinking, University of Michigan}

This Is Your Brain Under Anesthesia

_{Science & Culture
August 12, 2026

Medicine, Neuroscience & Mind

3}

Even with lighter anesthesia, the stuff of nightmares is unlikely. Your mind is still there, just not taking calls. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Casey Luskin

Date
August 12, 2026

Categories
Intelligent Design
Neuroscience & Mind
Paleontology
Tagged
, algorithmic specified complexity, Animal Algorithms, birds, brain hemispheres, Brian Miller, Cambrian Explosion, Cambrian phyla, Center for Science and Culture, complex programmed behaviors, Darwin's Doubt, Denyse O'Leary, Discovery Institute Press, Emily Reeves, evolutionary biology, fossil explosions, function, functional information, genetics, genomics, George Montañez, goal-directedness, Günter Bechly, Homo (genus), insects, intelligent design, Irreducible Complexity, Jonathan McLatchie, Kolmogorov complexity, land plants, mammals, marine invertebrates, Michael Behe, Michael Egnor, Michael Shermer, Minding the Brain, molecular biology, Nature Communications, Origin of Species, paleontology, Piers Morgan, protein science, purpose, Return of the God Hypothesis, Revolutionary: Michael Behe and the Mystery of Molecular Machines, split-brain surgery, Stephen Meyer, Taking Stock at 30 (series), teleology, The Design Inference, The Immortal Mind, Theistic Evolution (book), William Dembski, Winston Ewert}

Fossil Explosions Persist, and Other Confirmations of Intelligent Design

_{Casey Luskin
August 12, 2026

Intelligent Design, Neuroscience & Mind, Paleontology

11}

From 2016 until his tragic death in 2025, Bechly made many important contributions to ID literature on the topic of fossil explosions in the history of life. Read More ›

Glowing brain on computer motherboard with a central microchip, symbolizing artificial intelligence and advanced computing capabilities. AI technology

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 27, 2026

Categories
Computational Sciences
Medicine
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, behaviorism, binary logic, body chemistry, brainstem, cerebral cortex, computation, computers, consciousness, Dogs, Dorothea Olkowski, emotion, frogs, hemorrhage, human consciousness, hydrancephaly, hydrocephalus, Jaak Panksepp, language, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Mark Solms:, Michael Egnor, mistakes, near-death experiences, neocortex, neuromodulators, philosophers, reasoning, University of Colorado}

Could This Be One of Science’s Biggest Mistakes?

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 27, 2026

Computational Sciences, Medicine, Neuroscience & Mind

6}

Actually, computers aren’t even the sort of thing for which consciousness is relevant. Dogs are, and maybe frogs, but not computers. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 24, 2026

Categories
Neuroscience & Mind
Scientific Reasoning
Tagged
, brain, Bruce Greyson, cardiac arrest, Charlotte Martial, coma, dying brain, emergency room, evidence, evolution, evolutionary psychology, explainaway, Galileo Galilei, geocentric cosmology, Kristin French, Marieta Pehlivanova, Mark Johnson, Messiah University, Michael Egnor, Michael Zignarelli, Nautilus, near-death experiences, Netherlands, neuroscience, opossum, optical illusions, possum, Real Clear Science, stereotypical behavior, thanatosis, Venus, Washington Post}

What’s an Explainaway? Here Is an Example from the Debate on Near-Death Experiences

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 24, 2026

Neuroscience & Mind, Scientific Reasoning

5}

Explainaways, whether possum tales or optical illusions, exist to protect a system from unwanted evidence by ignoring or dismissing it. Read More ›