dr. egnor continues:
“consciousness is not a spot, a lobe, or even a process in the brain. . . . the widely accepted recent theory that consciousness resides in the prefrontal cortex . . . has come under serious challenge. scientists at the allen brain institute reported on a multi-year study testing . . . the two leading materialistic theories of consciousness. . . . materialistic theories of the mind that each posit a different kind of brain socket (or cpu or whatever) for consciousness, although both theories posit that the prefrontal cortex [is] the region of the brain . . . essential to consciousness. [these research scientists report that] the prefrontal cortex supports neither theory. . . . you don’t need a prefrontal cortex, or any cortex at all, or even brain hemispheres, to be conscious. you need brain parts to do some mental things - to see, to move, to feel, to remember, etc., but consciousness is not made of meat. you need a soul . . . to be conscious. . . . consciousness is the ability conferred by our . . . soul to have experience [or an awareness] - the means, not the object, of our thoughts. . . . the search for consciousness in the . . . prefrontal cortex or anywhere in the brain is, and will always be, a fool’s errand.”
Dr. egnor describes a “spiritual soul” in this article. i have chosen to delete “spiritual” since in my writings, my books and blog posts, i differentiate between the human soul (mind, will, emotion, conscience) and the human spirit “breathed into man at his creation which is the means for personal communion with the holy spirit of the triune god the father and his son jesus christ. it is the portal through which communion occurs with the human soul.
i look forward to discussing elements of the book by egnor and o’leary, the immortal mind: a neurosurgeon’s case for the existence of the soul, due to be released june 3, 2025. it should provide compelling support for dualist interaction between the immaterial mind of god and of man and the material components of the brain’s neural synaptic networks.