Discovery Institute: Are humans simply meat machines?

New episode of Science Uprising challenges such claims

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Jun 11, 2019, 15:01 ET

SEATTLE, June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

Humans are just machines made up of hundreds of thousands of tiny cellular robots. That claim may sound scientific but is it?
Does the mind exist at all? Is it explainable as just matter? Or is it possible there is an immaterial mind?
Materialism is an ideological and philosophical viewpoint. But it is not a scientific viewpoint.

Discovery Institute: Are humans simply meat machines?

"Such intriguing questions go to the heart of how we think about the value of individual human beings," says John G. West, a co-creator of the new Science Uprising video series from Discovery Institute. "Our series exposes and challenges the increasingly evident relationship between the scientific materialism popularized by activists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill "the science guy" Nye, and the devaluing and demonizing of human beings."

About Science Uprising Episode 2 Mind: The Inescapable I

The latest episode of Science Uprising challenges claims by materialists like Steven Pinker, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett that humans are simply robots without free will. Be sure to visit https://scienceuprising.com/ to find more videos and explore related articles and books.

People featured in this episode include Michael Egnor, MD, a Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at Stony Brook University; and Jeffrey Schwartz, MD, a Research Psychiatrist at UCLA.

About Dr. Michael Egnor, a brain expert and neurosurgeon

Michael Egnor, MD (from Columbia University), neurosurgeon and professor of neurological surgery at Stony Brook University. Dr. Egnor is renowned for his work in pediatric neurosurgery. His practice includes patients diagnosed with Arnold Chiari deformity, hydrocephalus, cranio-synostosis, brain tumors, and spina bifida, as well as children with severe head trauma. He has an international reputation for research on hydrocephalus, and he is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hydrocephalus Association in the United States. Read about how he used a 3D printed skull to save a child's life and learn more about his research at https://www.stonybrook.edu/experts/profile/michael-egnor.

About Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz, an expert and lecturer on neuroplasticity

Jeffrey M. Schwartz is a research psychiatrist and one of the world's leading experts in neuroplasticity. Decades ago, he began to study the philosophy of conscious awareness, the idea that the actions of the mind have an effect on the workings of the brain. Jeff's breakthrough work in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) provided the hard evidence that the mind can control the brain's chemistry. He has lectured extensively to both professional and lay audiences in the US, Europe, and Asia. Jeff's books include The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force and the bestseller Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the seminal book on OCD. Learn more about his research and writing on the brain and neuroplasticity at https://jeffreymschwartz.com/about/

SOURCE Discovery Institute