Denyse O’Leary

Denyse O’Leary is a freelance journalist based in Victoria, Canada. Specializing in faith and science issues, she is co-author, with neuroscientist Mario Beauregard, of The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul; and with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor of The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul (Worthy, 2025). She received her degree in honors English language and literature.

Archives

Panpsychist Philosopher Espouses “Heretical” Form of Christianity

_{The fine-tuning of the universe for life was a key factor in Philip Goff's decision that there must be some sort of God}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 22, 2025}

Goff’s eclectic philosophical journey is not likely over. But, generally, it is best to assume that the New Testament authors meant what they said.

“Nature of the Universe” Questions That Still Puzzle Physicists

_{What would go wrong if we just accepted that we live in a universe designed by a Mind far greater than ours? Would that really be the end of science?}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 21, 2025}

Or just an end to conundrums that aren’t really conundrums if that fact is faced. There is a lot we could be doing with the same expenditure of time, energy, and intellectual skill.

Arguments Against Free Will Viewed as Junk Science?

_{“No free will” used to be taken for granted as “what science says” but incisive critiques are beginning to pop up}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 20, 2025}

Perhaps the fact that Sapolsky opposes free will somehow makes his viewpoint more "scientific" in the eyes of many than the viewpoint of someone who, with equally good arguments, supports it.

Weighing Whether Matter Itself Is Conscious

_{Denyse O'Leary
June 20, 2025}

To say that consciousness is real is to say that the immaterial world is, in principle, real.

Philosopher Asks at Nautilus, Is Matter Conscious?

_{To say that consciousness is real is to say that the immaterial world is, in principle, real. That is a very big admission for neuroscience to make. But the alternative is the void.}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 19, 2025}

The growth of panpsychism is likely to change the nature of the science problems that are considered hard. But we shall see.

Immortality of the Soul Is a Reasonable Belief

_{Some may think that immortality of the rational soul is not possible in the physical world in which we live. But they are mistaken}_{Michael Egnor and Denyse O'Leary
June 17, 2025}

Nothing in this universe simply dissipates; it is always transformed. The immaterial world is similar.

Immortality of the Soul Is a Reasonable Belief

_{Michael Egnor and Denyse O'Leary
June 17, 2025}

The annihilationists are being careless. They assume that the physical flame just disappears. Actually, it doesn’t.

A Conscious Universe?

_{Denyse O'Leary
June 17, 2025}

Annaka Harris seems to be fleeing eliminative materialism — the snake that eats its own tail.

Science Writer: The Self Is Part of a Conscious Universe

_{Annaka Harris seems to be fleeing eliminative materialism — the snake that eats its own tail}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 16, 2025}

Harris is the wife of well-known New Atheist neuroscientist Sam Harris, at one time one of the Four Horsemen of the New Atheist apocalypse.

Denyse O’Leary: Why Materialism Can’t Explain the Mind

_{Denyse O'Leary
June 16, 2025}

Is the soul a myth? Does your mind really just boil down to brain function? On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with journalist Denyse O'Leary about surprising findings out of neuroscience that shatter materialist assumptions. O'Leary is co-author with Dr. Michael Egnor of The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul. In this conversation, O'Leary reports on recent findings about the origin of consciousness, the challenge that near-death experiences present to materialism, and why the only way to move past materialism is to reject it fully as a model.

What (If Anything) Physics Can Say About Consciousness

_{Denyse O'Leary
June 13, 2025}

What about objects? If we want to argue that they have consciousness too, we need to define the term differently from the experiential way we usually do.

A Physicist Ponders the Nature of Consciousness

_{Ethan Siegel fears that we abandon science when we think that consciousness is not a material thing}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 12, 2025}

If science, as interpreted by some, can’t address immaterial realities like our ability to reason and thus do science, so much the worse for that interpretation

Near-Death Experiences Are Being Taken More Seriously Now

_{Denyse O'Leary
June 11, 2025}

We are seeing a growth in genuine curiosity, which is a welcome change, and likely to be a fruitful one.

Near-Death Experiences Are Taken More Seriously Now

_{After reading a recent news article on NDEs, I revisited a book published in 2007 to get some sense of the change}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 10, 2025}

Many researchers would still like to explain them away via a purely physical cause but the last thirty years of research are an argument for caution.

Excerpt: As Death Approaches, a Sudden Light

_{Michael Egnor and Denyse O'Leary
June 10, 2025}

Needless to say, such lucid episodes imply that the mind is more than the disjointed activities of a failing brain.

Wesley J. Smith: Why Is Assisted Suicide So Popular So Suddenly?

_{Smith argues that the purpose of society itself is shifting for many people}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 5, 2025}

In Canada, many stories attest that euthanasia is now routinely offered to those requesting medical care.

Two Neuroscientists on Life, Death, Eternity, and What Really Matters

_{Denyse O'Leary
June 5, 2025}

Lee Warren interviews Michael Egnor on his book. It's a lively and accessible chat about how the human mind is not simply the brain and can even survive death.

Two Neurosurgeons on Life, Death, Eternity and What Truly Matters

_{Lee Warren interviews Michael Egnor on the just-released book, The Immortal Mind}_{Denyse O'Leary
June 3, 2025}

The two doctors turned out to share a bond of personal pain as well as immortal hope.

New Book, The Immortal Mind, Out Today — The Brain Can Be Split, but Not the Mind

_{Michael Egnor and Denyse O'Leary
June 3, 2025}

Even when the brain is split in half, many important aspects of the mind remain unified. Thus, the mind is something that the brain isn’t.

The Immortal Mind

_{A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul}_{Michael Egnor and Denyse O’Leary
June 3, 2025}

Is there scientific proof of the soul? Many scientists and doctors believe that there is no such thing as the soul. That there is no part of us that persists beyond death. We are not spiritual in any respect. We are made up of cells and tissue, and completely controlled by a material organ in our heads: the brain. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Michael Egnor, practicing neurosurgeon, neuroscientist and Professor of Neurosurgery at Stony Brook University, makes the case — based on 40 years of practice and over 7,000 brain surgeries — that science has gotten it all wrong. The human brain is incredible, mysterious, and powerful. But it’s not what makes us who we are. The soul does that. Drawing on the most important research studies in neuroscience, Dr. Egnor presents …