The Family Room - The Immortal Mind

Guest: Dr. Michael Egnor, neurosurgeon and Professor of NeurosurgeryMany scientists and doctors believe that there is no such thing as the soul, and we are completely controlled by our brain. Initially a functional atheist, Dr. Michael Egnor fell in love with the brain during college, believing that understanding the brain would help him understand what it meant to be human. In his groundbreaking book, “The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of a Soul,” Dr. Egnor now maintains science has gotten it all wrong.The human brain is mysterious and powerful, but it’s the soul that makes us who we are. Drawing on important research in neuroscience, Dr. Egnor presents evidence that the brain alone does not explain the mind. He explores, using modern neuroscience and his vast surgical experience, how inside every damaged brain there is a thinking, feeling person with a spiritual soul that transcends the brain. He also uses fascinating case studies showing research on conjoined twins who share parts of their brains, coma patients still able to communicate with loved ones, and near-death experiences which give abundant evidence that the mind survives physical death. If you want to know if there is good evidence for the soul, "The Immortal Mind" is a must-read.  Guest biography: Michael R. Egnor, MD is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook. He has served as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery and is an award-winning brain surgeon. He was named one of New York’s best doctors by the New York Magazine in 2005. He has practiced neurosurgery for 45 years and has performed more than 7,000 brain operations. His primary research is on brain blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid flow, and he has a strong interest in cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of the mind, and the mind-brain relationship. A former atheist and materialist, Dr. Egnor converted to Catholicism after an encounter with God while praying for his six-month-old son. Dr. Egnor has a strong interest in the work of St. Thomas Aquinas.Resources:"The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul" by Michael Egnor and Denyse O’LearyWebsite with interviews and articlesMichael Egnor's conversion story on YouTube