Category Archives: consciousness

Dan Dennett on our Consciousness (TED talk of the week)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Last week, I linked to Antonio Damasio’s TED talk in which he spoke about his theory for how “self comes to mind” to generate consciousness. This week, we get a different picture of consciousness, from Dan Dennett. Dennett has two … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Mind, Philosophy, TED talks | Leave a comment

Antonio Damasio: The quest to understand consciousness (TED talk of the week)

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

This week’s TED talk is by Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist who is most well known for his book, Descartes Error, and his research on the importance of emotions to cognition.  In the talk, Damasio describes consciousness as the combination of your mind, which … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Human nature, Mind, TED talks | 8 Comments

Can Evangelical Theology Evolve with Science

Posted on September 30, 2011 by

I just saw this post by Brandon Withrow on the Huffington Post. It’s a nice recap of what’s been in the news regarding science and Evangelicalism in the last couple of months, but it’s the last paragraphs that I want to note. … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Evangelicalism, Evolution, Human nature, Mind, science vs. religion | 3 Comments

A rational argument for the existence of the soul

Posted on August 20, 2011 by

Has science ruled out the existence of the soul? Rabbi Adam Jacobs says no. In this discussion, many modern scientific thinkers have taken position that consciousness is an illusory faculty created by our neuronal activity. According to this position, our … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Reductionism, soul | 6 Comments

What does it all mean (I Think I Believe)

Posted on March 19, 2011 by

Arni Zachariassen of I Think I Believe has a wonderful post today entitled What does it all mean? So good I include it all here: Why do I find my daughter to be so darn cute? Why do I enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Human nature, Reductionism, Subjectivity | 2 Comments

Risk/reward of objectifying the personal

Posted on March 12, 2011 by

Can science address the personal? In studying the subjective objectively, have we reduced it beyond recognition? Two loosely related excerpts to ponder on this fine Saturday… one from philosophy, the other from biology. John Polkinghorne in Beyond Science: The Wider … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Evolution, Human nature, John Polkinghorne, Methods of science, Mind, Philosophy of science, Reductionism, Scientist-Theologians, Subjectivity | Leave a comment

The “mind” is a hot topic now, huh?

Posted on January 15, 2011 by

I just read this review of 3 new books that came out from a trio of leading neuroscientists on the brain and mind. I posted on Twitter: These books look interesting. Anyone reading and responding that engages with theology? Hmm… … Continue reading →

Posted in Book review, consciousness, Human nature, Mind | Leave a comment

The abstract and hard to adequately define word, ‘I’ (part 2)

Posted on August 4, 2010 by

Last week I put up a short post in which I asked readers how they would personally define the word ‘I’.  There was no real lead-in, just a couple of sentences followed by the question.  The link is below: http://scienceandtheology.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/the-abstract-concept-known-as-the-word-i/ … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Evolution, Human nature, Image of God, Science, Subjectivity, Supernatural vs. Natural | Leave a comment

Teaching, my spirit, and the swear word ‘materialism’

Posted on July 31, 2010 by

I just finished teaching a 4 week intensive summer school course (Microbiology).  This go-round was particularly grueling as I had enough students to need 2 lab sections which meant an extra ~2 hours there a day.  My wife (and child … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Human nature, Materialism, Reductionism, Subjectivity | Leave a comment

The abstract and hard to adequately define word, ‘I’

Posted on July 25, 2010 by

Let’s play a game.  An intellectual game, but a game nonetheless.  I know that I’m supposed to start us off with a short to medium length post that can promote a hopefully active and engaged discussion. One problem with that… … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Evolution, Human nature, Image of God, Science, Subjectivity, Supernatural vs. Natural | 12 Comments