ID the Future Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast
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Michael Egnor

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Image of book cover of Truth, by Michael Shermer.

Egnor vs. Shermer: God, Science, and the Search for Truth

ID The Future listeners now get to enjoy two episode a month from our sister podcast Mind Matters News, a production of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The Mind Matters News podcast features interviews from experts in computing, engineering, science, and philosophy who bring sanity to the conversation about natural and artificial intelligence. And although the Mind Matters News podcast will not often explicitly discuss intelligent design, it regularly explores the nature of intelligence, the origin of information, and the things that make us uniquely human, concepts that are central to the theory of intelligent design. On this episode of Mind Matters News, host and neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor welcomes Michael Shermer, historian of science and founder of Skeptic magazine, to discuss Shermer's new book Truth: What It Is, How to Find It, and Why It Still Matters. The conversation quickly evolves into a deep philosophical debate between Egnor and Shermer over whether truths about morality and the universe are created by humans or discovered as objective features of reality. Read More ›
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Family, Support, Elderly Care, Assistance, Seniors Concept. Grandmother In Bed.
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Mind and Soul at the Threshold of Death

Does the brain explain the mind completely? And what can phenomena like terminal lucidity and near-death experiences reveal about the relationship between mind and brain? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his two-part conversation exploring those questions with neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor, co-author with Denyse O’Leary of the recent book The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul, and Alexander Batthyany, a leading researcher on terminal lucidity and author of Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border Between Life and Death. In the first half of the conversation, we defined terminal lucidity and explored why it’s so puzzling. Today, we look at how it relates to near-death experiences, and we ask a deeper question: what does this phenomenon suggest about the nature of the human mind? This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
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MRI of head of elderly woman in hands of doctor standing in medical ward near senior patient with relative and nurse. Recovery after a stroke
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Terminal Lucidity: When the Mind Outlasts the Brain

Why would the human mind sometimes appear strongest when the brain is weakest? On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes to the show neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor, co-author with Denyse O’Leary of the recent book The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul, and Alexander Batthyany, a leading researcher on terminal lucidity and author of Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border Between Life and Death. The trio begins a two-part conversation discussing the phenomenon of terminal lucidity: what it is, what the evidence shows, and how it relates to debates about consciousness, mind, and human identity. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
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Profile of a young man with mental activity
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Denyse O’Leary: Why Materialism Can’t Explain the Mind

Is the soul a myth? Does your mind really just boil down to brain function? On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with journalist Denyse O'Leary about surprising findings out of neuroscience that shatter materialist assumptions. O'Leary is co-author with Dr. Michael Egnor of The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul. In this conversation, O'Leary reports on recent findings about the origin of consciousness, the challenge that near-death experiences present to materialism, and why the only way to move past materialism is to reject it fully as a model. Read More ›
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Michael Egnor Reads From His New Book The Immortal Mind

On this ID The Future, Dr. Michael Egnor reads the Introduction to his new book The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul, now available from Worthy Books. In this reading, Dr. Egnor shares his journey from being a medical student who believed science could explain everything, including how consciousness emerges from the brain and whether we have a soul, to a neurosurgeon who questioned the conventional materialist view. He discusses how years of operating on and examining patients with brain damage led him to wonder how large parts of the brain could be removed without affecting a person's mind or their ability to think, reason, believe, and desire. His personal story, including a profound experience in a hospital chapel during a family crisis, became a turning point that challenged his atheism and led him to believe that the immaterial aspects of our minds are real and that nature is an open system, not a closed one. Read More ›
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Creative background, the human brain on a blue background, the hemisphere is responsible for logic, and responsible for creativity. different hemispheres of the brain, 3D illustration, 3D render
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A Neurosurgeon Pulls Back the Curtain on the Soul

On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid is thrilled to welcome back renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor to continue discussing his new book The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul. The book tackles provocative ideas, making a case that the human soul exists and that the mind is immortal. In this compelling conversation, we unpack some of the powerful arguments and evidence Dr. Egnor has marshaled. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
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Brain head human mental idea mind 3D illustration background
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The Immortal Mind: How Neuroscience Points Beyond Materialism

Is your mind more than just your brain? Does the soul actually exist? These questions have been pondered for millennia. What does the latest scientific research suggest? On this ID The Future, renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor begins a conversation with host Andrew McDiarmid about his new book The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul. Egnor makes a powerful case that our capacity for thought, reason, and free will points to something beyond mere brain function. After defining important terms, Egnor begins exploring the compelling evidence he has gathered across four decades of practice in neurosurgery. Along the way, Dr. Egnor also boldly challenges the Darwinian view of the mind's evolution, arguing that abstract thought and free will are immaterial and could not have arisen through natural selection. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
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human anatomy drawing, old, canvas
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The Miracle of Man: Reflections on The Westminster Conference

Is mankind an error-prone accident of nature or a masterpiece of engineering and intention? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid invites physicist Brian Miller to discuss highlights of the 2023 Westminster Conference on Science & Faith. If you didn't get to attend this year's event in person or via live-stream, Dr. Miller's got you covered! The theme was The Miracle of Man, and speakers explored the uniqueness of human beings in the fields of physiology, biology, paleontology, and genetics, as well as theology and philosophy. Dr. Miller reviews his own talk on the intelligent design of human vision. He also recaps other highlights of the event, including talks from Michael Denton on the fitness of the planet for human life, Michael Egnor on the experimental evidence showing our minds are different than our brains, and more. He concludes by reminding us of the benefits of in-person events. "The presentations spark ideas and present new evidence," says Miller. "Then people will take that and talk about it over dinner, over lunch, or over coffee. And it's just a beautiful time to make new connections." Read More ›
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sunrise in the sea
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Ann Gauger on Her New Book, God’s Grandeur: The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design

Today’s ID the Future spotlights the richly stimulating new book, God’s Grandeur: The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design. Edited by biologist Ann Gauger, the anthology explores the evidence for intelligent design from a Catholic perspective, with contributions from an impressive range of Catholic scientists, philosophers, and theologians, including Gauger; internationally renowned paleontologist Günter Bechly; philosopher Jay Richards; molecular biologist Michael Behe; Rector of the European University in Rome Fr. Pedro Barrajón, LC; Aquinas and Evolution author Michael Chaberek; philosopher J. Budziszewski; professor of neurosurgery Michael Egnor; and noted Dante scholar Anthony Esolen. Listen in as Gauger gives a quick flyover of the book’s content, tells how she found her way into the intelligent design fold, and explains why Catholics should Read More ›

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Evolution: How Darwin’s Four Causal Factors Fail

On today’s ID the Future, Your Designed Body co-author and systems engineer Steve Laufmann continues his conversation with host and neurosurgeon Michael Egnor. In this episode, Laufmann reviews four causal factors involved in Darwin’s theory of evolution, and explains why they lack the power to generate life’s great variety of forms. To dive deeper into his argument, check out Laufmann’s new book co-authored with physician Howard Glicksman.