Michael Egnor

Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, State University of New York, Stony Brook

Michael R. Egnor, MD, is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook, 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. His forthcoming book, The Immortal Mind: A neurosurgeon’s case for the existence of the soul, co-authored by Denyse O’Leary, will be published by Worthy on June 3, 2025.

He received his medical education at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. His research on hydrocephalus has been published in journals including Journal of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, and Cerebrospinal Fluid Research. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hydrocephalus Association in the United States and has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

Archives

How a Neurosurgeon Showed That Abstract Thought Is Immaterial

Wilder Penfield, one of the first neurosurgeons to split human brains in half to relieve epilepsy, found much more than a treatment
Michael Egnor
March 30, 2025
Of his 55,000 brain stimulations that “activated complex networks,” not one generated abstract thought — implying that it is not a “product” of the brain.

What Damaged Brains Tell Us About the Mind

They often provide mute evidence that the human mind is not simply the output of the brain
Michael Egnor
March 29, 2025
A recent research paper looks at the way minds work with what’s available, something I often encounter in my practice as a neurosurgeon.

Rethinking the Relationship Between Mind and Brain: Dr. Angus Menuge

Michael Egnor
February 27, 2025
On this episode of Mind Matters News, host Dr. Michael Egnor speaks with Dr. Angus Menuge to discuss the mind-brain problem and his work on the recent volume exploring this topic, Minding the Brain. Egnor and Menuge explore various perspectives on the relationship between the mental and the physical. They cover the problems with materialist and physicalist views, which seek to reduce the mind to the brain, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of dualist approaches such as Cartesian and Thomistic dualism. The discussion also touches on the insights from near-death experiences, the binding problem, and the importance of conceptual clarity in studying the mind. The conversation highlights the need for an open-minded exploration of alternative models that can better account for the …

How Can We Know If Patients With Split Brains Have a Single Mind?

Just ask them
Michael Egnor
February 22, 2025
Readers have brought to my attention a review article on the effect of split-brain surgery on consciousness. “Split-Brain: What We Know Now and Why This is Important for Understanding Consciousness” (2020) by Yair Pinto and his colleagues is an interesting open-access article, well worth reading for anyone interested in the topic. From the abstract: leads to a broad breakdown of functional integration ranging from perception to attention. However, the breakdown is not absolute as several processes, such as action control, seem to remain unified. Disagreement exists about the responsible mechanisms for this remaining unity. The main issue concerns the first-person perspective of a split-brain patient. Does a split-brain harbor a split consciousness or is consciousness unified? …

Does Surgically Splitting the Brain Make One Person Into Two?

A prominent neurosurgeon writes of his “amazement” at discovering that the patient with a split brain is still a single individual
Michael Egnor
February 20, 2025
Unity of self after brain splitting is not surprising. Each of us is a physical creature with a single spiritual soul. It is immaterial and can’t be severed.

What, Exactly, Does Your Brain Do? What Can’t It Do?

A surprising result of pioneering neurosurgery was the discovery that some mental processes could be stimulated in the brain but others could not be
Michael Egnor
December 16, 2024
Brain stimulation could cause movement or memories but no part of the brain, when stimulated, caused patients to think abstractly or exercise free will.

A Case for the Soul: An Interview with Joshua Farris

Michael Egnor and Joshua R. Farris
November 28, 2024
Is the mind the same thing as the brain? Recently, we’ve been tackling this question known as the mind-brain problem with several of the contributing authors to our recent book Minding the Brain. In a similar fashion, we can also ask if there’s more to the human person than just our bodies. This week we have neurosurgeon Michael Egnor talking about these very questions with philosopher Joshua Farris. In his book The Creation of Self: A Case for the Soul, Farris defends a view of personhood that requires human beings to be immaterial soul substances, or “neo-Cartesian” substance dualists. Farris situates this view in the broader context of ongoing debates about consciousness, personhood, and the nature of humanity in relation to artificial intelligence …

Alien Hand Syndrome? Relax. There Is No Alien Mind

The syndrome has been used to argue for the idea that split brain patients really have two separate minds and maybe wills afterward
Michael Egnor
September 20, 2024
Split minds doesn't make sense as a concept. To simultaneously pursue two abstract thought processes or moral choices is not a meaningful idea.

The Rational Soul: Rethinking Materialism with Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor

Michael Egnor and Pat Flynn
September 5, 2024
In this episode, Pat Flynn and Dr. Michael Egnor conclude their discussion of Dr. Egnor’s contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. Flynn and Dr. Egnor discuss Thomistic dualism and its relation to neuroscience and the soul. Thomistic dualism is the belief that the soul is a separate entity from the body and that the rational aspects of the soul, such as intellect and will, are immaterial and spiritual. The rational soul allows humans to think abstractly and have free will. The conversation also touches on the resurgence of Aristotelian and Thomistic thinking in philosophy and science. Dr. Egnor wraps things up with mention of his collaboration on an upcoming book titled The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Soul, which delves deeper into these ideas. …

Dr. Michael Egnor: Neuroscience, the Soul, and the Limits of Materialism

Michael Egnor
August 22, 2024
In this episode, Pat Flynn and Dr. Michael Egnor continue their discussion of Dr. Egnor’s contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. Flynn and Egnor discuss various criticisms of materialism in neuroscience. They touch on topics such as near-death experiences, the limitations of the computational theory of mind, and the nature of artificial intelligence. Dr. Egnor also addresses common questions related to consciousness, the mind-brain relationship, and the compatibility of Darwinism with the concept of the human soul. This is Part 2 of a three-part conversation. Additional Resources Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science Podcast TranscriptDownload …

The Science of Mind: Debunking Materialism, with Dr. Michael Egnor

Michael Egnor
August 15, 2024
On this episode, host Pat Flynn begins a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Michael Egnor about topics such as mind, brain, dualism, the nature of the human person, neuroscience, and the soul. Dr. Egnor argues for dualism, stating that there are aspects of the mind that are not generated by the brain. They also discuss research on split-brain patients and its implications for materialism and free will. Dr. Egnor critiques the scientists who misrepresent such research and suggests that materialism is disproven by the evidence. He also expresses skepticism about the future of materialism and the potential resurgence of dualism. Additional Resources Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science Podcast TranscriptDownload …

Caring for the Deeply Forgetful: An Interview with Dr. Stephen Post

Michael Egnor
July 25, 2024
How can we best compassionately relate to those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease? Is there more to the mind than just the brain? On this episode of Mind Matters News, neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor interviews Dr. Stephen Post. They discuss topics such as memory, consciousness, medical ethics, and the care of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Post emphasizes the importance of treating deeply forgetful people with dignity and recognizing their symbolic rationality. They also touch on the concept of paradoxical lucidity and the relationship between the mind and the brain. The conversation delves into the ethical implications of assisted suicide and the role of the medical profession in such practices. Dr. Post highlights the need for respecting individual conscience …