Michael Egnor Demolishes the Myth of Materialism (Science Uprising EP1) 

A viewer below requested more evidence. Hoping this helps others as well... Much more evidence is available and highly detailed in quite a number of different books by research scientists; such as (for starters): "Signature in the Cell" by Stephen Meyer, "Undeniable" by Douglas Axe, "Heretic" by Matti Leisola, "Darwin's Black Box" and "Darwin Devolves" by Michael Behe. And there are also some great philosophical treatises considering the merits of materialism versus theism such as: "The Devil's Delusion" by David Berlinski; and, "God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design is it Anyway?" by John C. Lennox. Wishing everyone all the best in their search and discovery!

Consciousness cannot be an illusion, because you need to be conscious in order to have illusions.

"Question everything" - says DeGrasse Tyson, Krauss, and Dawkins, with the caveatS "BUT NOT OUR MATERIALISM! NOT DARWIN!"

I was loving it until I realised my enjoyment was an epiphenomenal illusion created by sodium/potassium gradients in my neuronal circuits. Damn those gradients and their magical powers!

You need consciousness to deny consciousness

Richard Dawkins: login account CAPTCHA: are you a robot ? Richard Dawkins: yes, but no because i really want to login

If all of our thoughts are just an illusion because only material things or matter is all we know to be true, then how do we know THAT claim is true, since that claim itself is just an illusion?

Science uses "methodological materialism". That's just methods that explore matter (and energy) and the rules it follows only. People are free to explore anything, scientists included. If you are exploring things and going outside methodological materialism, cool, we just don't label that exploration as "science". Science is limited, and stuff outside those limits are called something else.

The argument for free will here is an appeal to consequences (argumentum ad consequentiam) Also, the debate over free will isn't just between theists and atheists. There's a theological devide among Protestants (put in terms of free will vs predestination) and Protestantism is just one of the three main branches of Christianity.

I'm really enjoying this series. I appreciate the high quality of your presentations. I'm sharing them as much as possible.

in the materialistic world there is no room for feelings, no love, no affection, no faith, no intelligence, no common sense and no hope, only death remains.

Romans 1:20-23 KJV [20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

“Materialism” isn’t science, it’s a philosophical proposition. Believing that there is more than the physical world we can interact with isn’t scientific or anti scientific. What _is_ anti scientific is believing that things outside the known universe can interact with, and affect, the known universe without good evidence.

Richard Dawkins: "When I think I have free will, I am deluding myself" Can anyone else spot the blatant self-contradiction?

I was genuinely happier when I believed this and wish I could walk away from materialism and embrace this way of thinking again.

Our Brain is the hardware but our mind is our software

Does one require free will to ask question and challenge established ideas?

lol. - "Isn't our reality more than just matter?" Good question, do you have any evidence for anything other than matter, and the forms of energy we know of? eg. solar, electrical, etc. I thought not. - "Most people and cultures around the world have a profound belief that the world extends beyond the physical." So? It isn't a popularity contest. Everyone can be wrong. Everyone used to think that heavy objects fell faster than lighter ones, until Galileo proved them all wrong. Similarly with Einstein and Relativity. What is your evidence? - "Compassion, ideas, joy, and sorrow aren't made of matter." Scientists think all these things are simply chemical reactions in the brain, and have evidence to support this, including drugs that can change your mood/emotions, and magnetic stimulation of the brain that can give you these experiences. So unless you have actual evidence otherwise, these things are simply complicated interactions of matter. - "If we believe this, are we anti-science." If you believe in something without evidence, or in spite of evidence to the contrary, then Yes. - "What, no free will?" That isn't what he said. Our perception of free will is an illusion, or "not what it seems", not that it doesn't exist. Brain scans have shown that our brains make a decision on a choice before we are conscious that we have made a choice. eg. Your brain has already decided to select heads, when you consciously still think you might choose tails, but then you select heads. - "Bigotry and intolerance of the scientific community" Requiring standards of evidence is not bigotry. If you, like Galileo, Einstein, Newton, and others, want to challenge the current scientific view of something, then you have to provide sufficient evidence. Wegener had the right idea of Continental Drift, but lacked sufficient evidence. It was only later that that evidence was discovered, and we now have the current Theory of Plate Tectonics. Scientists believed in Spontaneous Generation, until Pasteur proved it was wrong, but while Vitalism was popular, it does not have any evidence to support it and was discarded. So if you want to challenge scientific consensus on a topic, you need to have sufficient evidence to back up your views, and you might even win a Nobel Prize. If you don't, then don't cry bigotry or intolerance, go and get some evidence, or you are just a crank. - "Where the evidence leads" lol. Sorry, you may not like the conclusion, but it leads to materialism... - "Materialists are free to practice their religion, but they should stop pretending it is science." "That word you keep using (Science), I do not think it means what you think it means." In other words, Materialism is what Scientists have concluded after following the evidence. It is not a religion. There are no beliefs in supernatural beings, no holy texts that are above question, no prophets, etc. Perhaps I should have put Religion in brackets instead of Science. - "We are the quiet majority and we will be quiet no longer." So you have suffered in silence have you? How many over the centuries have been tortured or killed for daring to question your dogma? Can you get elected to high office in the U.S. without publicly expressing belief in a deity? Prayer in schools? Putting 'In god we trust' on currency? Billboards, tv evangelists, etc. You aren't a quiet majority, you are the vocal majority trying to silence those who have evidence that your beliefs are wrong. You have benefited from the discoveries of Science (Modern medicine, transportation, communication, etc.), but are trying to undercut it because you don't like the conclusions that the evidence is leading to.

it's stupid it's even an argument

The video is a bit hacky. The music and double plays and pig masks could / should've been left on the editing floor.

Science provides a way of knowing many things, it clearly doesn't provide the only way! To believe that it does, is when it becomes a form of fundamentalism.

If there is no answer to a question, just admit it. Don't pretend that there is. This is where science begin.

271 thumbs down=triggered

I really loved this. Got me thinking. The topic clearly gets people riled up. Don't let trolls tell you what to think. Opinions aren't facts.

it is amazing how a trillion cells can work in unison and create a creature with a neuron cluster that achieved an awareness of self, evolution is truly the most magnificent thing!

The video says "We follow the evidence" which purportedly leads to the conclusion that there is a soul and it castigates scientists for neglecting that evidence due to a commitment to materialism. But what evidence? The video presents some general ideas like that most people believe in the soul (majority opinion is hardly a good argument), or the fact that the denial of self is "nonsense" (not a very persuasive or precise term). It is far too simplistic a presentation to handle the question seriously. And it also unfairly paints most scientists as darkly materialistic and intolerant. That's just unfair and inaccurate. So is that all the evidence you got? Please tell me you have more evidence than "everyone believes it", "the opposite is nonsense", and "People who deny it are biased". I'm pretty sure there are some better arguments...

Lol. Yep, that's right, magic done it.

Michael Egnor and Jay Richards make a great 1-2 punch.

My own analogy: Scientists trying find direct material evidence for God is like looking with your eyes for direct evidence of the Invisible man. You can find and experience the signs of his presence: the carpet prints, the movement of the air, the sounds of his movement, his scent - but you cannot see him directly with your eyes.

Wow! This is terrific! Can't wait to see the next one!

"everything ... is mechanical and blind and purposeless at the bottom...". Well that is actually true for the material world on its own, when detached from mind and consciousness which gives it direction and purpose. Just like a car is blind and purposeless without a driver. And the mechanical side of the material, as well as the car, is that which makes it possible for mind and consciousness to utilize and control it. But just like a car won't drive without a driver, the material world will remain inactive (entropy) without minds that create activity (negentropy). "Materialism is the philosophy of the subject that forgets to take account of itself." - Arthur Schopenhauer

Using their logic: Materialism is an illusion

How does this prove the god of the bible? Why couldn't it prove Vishnu, or Odin, or Zeus, or Krishna, or Pinga, or Torngasoak, or... I could go on like that for a while. If there is one true god why are there so many different religions?

Well done! And I am glad you did not require a 'religion' in order to reject materialism.

Awesome!!! . . . Bring it!!!!

Great, simple way to reveal the self-contradiction of materialism!

How do you study a subject to determine cause and effect? You mention in multiple places that you don't agree with something because it feels wrong, is that the method you use to determine what is true and false?

I verily wish more thorough ie. Longer documentaries were done. If I'm just unaware , please link me?

Brilliantly done! Supports Alvin Plantinga's great book "Where the Conflict really lies" - quote from blurb: '... there is superficial conflict but deep concord between science and religion, in particular theistic religion, and superficial concord but deep conflict between science and naturalism.' Congratulations on an exciting presentation!

I believe it takes bravery to not think like the masses and confidence to speak your truth. The world is going to fear less popular beliefs and theories always, so stay strong! Thank you!

If there is no free will, then we wouldn't be able to delude ourselves.

This is excellent. I have been looking for a visual resource to speak to my students who struggle to grasp the issue of materialism abstractly; these videos seem to be just what I was looking for.

Great, but this series needs a real marketing push, with actual ads. These videos and word of mouth are fine, but until a certain threshold, it's just "preaching to the choir." Still, I'm sure the matter of origins weighs heavily on every mind out there. Most would probably challenge the prevailing evolution worldview, given the resources and a bit of (internal and external) courage.

What is matter?

Excellent video. The arguments are perfect.

This is really great!!

So beautiful! 👏👏

I love this so much. 😁💃❤️

Nicely done.

There are many shades of grey in this debate (not every materialist commits to things such as no free will and love being an "illusion") Just because you want to let off some steam doesn't mean you make straw men to fight against..

Great job by my colleagues. Can't wait to see all the videos. Hope that the message gets out broadly. I am not a materialist and I will be quiet no longer...

The equivocation is crippling….yikes

Ancient philosophy has it that the Cosmic Mind (God) divided itself into two parts, the energetic or spiritual and the material. The material form of God was considered feminine, from which all life physical forms are born. Hence the word "material" comes from the same root as "maternal." So now you know. Cheers

Most Excellent!!!!! RnMT

Much needed message for today’s youth. Thank you.

Neil Degrasse Tyson says question everything but don't try to question his beliefs

Very well done! Thank you for putting this together.

This video is good!👍

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Maybe I am just not getting it but what is the reason for the mask? I believe the presentation would be better without the mask and the background noise lowered.

GOD bless U 4 this! I am on your side of the Conflict!

Beautiful and thought-provoking - I look forward to hearing more. It is a terrible lie that materialism has disproved religion or that science has disproved God.

Excellent video. Just another example of the complete failure of Materialism to explain these unique human traits such as self sacrifice that comes from love of both family or strangers or the extreme risk that many will put themselves into save a stranger and 100's of other traits that are counter-intuitive to a theory that should show humans as selfish , disinterested to their fellow man unless theirs some specific self rewarding gain, or the lack of traits such as empathy , honesty , caring , humor that are nothing more then "Weaknesses" which have no use in the purpose specific "Survival of the Fittest" . Sam Harris's comment really shows the simplistic mindset when he states that it's just an illusion. Not a surprise though , since much of their explanations are in fact just an illusion.

Well done video!

Richard "two sisters can get married" Dawkins

"I don't like materialism, therefore it's not true!!" Theists always resort to emotional appeal and fear because they have no evidence for their beliefs.

We will be quiet no longer.

I love the sign. All matter matters!

Please fix the typos in the subtitles. Good stuff, but such a detail ought not to be left untended.

Great Video! I have had the discussion several times questioning how it is valid to believe in materialism when so much actual observation/experiment based science depends on math which is abstract. There is no geometric point in the physical world - no line, no equilateral triangle...

The production value here is great. Christians are stepping up their games. It’s almost as if our souls depend on it. ☦️🙏❤️

"How do they know the cosmos is all there is..." - the first question is the key, especially that little word, *know*.

Emergence and paradigm shift ~~~ keep dialogue

there's so much editing the video gets hard to watch

Testing. EDIT: Frickin cowards, not allowing any comments?! But I thought your beliefs had to be tested to prove to Yahweh that you love him more than anything.

At what point does this video not become sensationalist?

Outstanding work! This is an exciting new series. I'd call it: "Let's get real!" -DB

The sheer ability to say I or me requires consciousness.

It’s a good start. I hope subsequent episodes will put some meat on this endoskeleton. Perhaps we can get a die-hard materialist to attempt to explain consciousness or sentience.

It’s so perfect how Psalm 14:1 sums up all of these evidences of God’s creation.

WHO is the self an illusion to?

Self proclaimed skeptics will tell us "Question everything." Question everything unless it's invented history slamming religion. Time and time again Tyson has told cautionary tales against religion based on falsehoods. For example he tells us the Islamic Golden Age came to an end when Hamid al Ghazali wrote that math is the work of the devil. Except that Ghazali never wrote that. Nor did Islamic innovation end with Ghazali. The father of symbolic algebra was born three centuries after Ghazali's death, for example. These "skeptics" are perfectly happy to swallow bull shit if it seems to support their personal prejudices. Tyson has done more to discredit James Randi than a hostile challenger could ever hope to do. For more on Tyson see hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2016/01/fact-checking-neil-degrasse-tyson.html

This is why post materialistic science has to replace materialistic science a science that studies non physical phenomena

I will use this in my English class next year. For summer reading the students are assigned "Call of the Wild," a novel with a very materialist, Darwinian perspective. (Naturalism literary genre) When I follow with this video, it will generate great discussion and writing.

Don't fall into the first trap of materialism: asking whether or not there is anything beyond the material world. This is to already assume that there is some coherent or complete notion of what the material world is. But the fact is that no basis for something called 'matter' has ever been established and it's hard to even conceive of what such a foundation would consist of. Even if you were to conceive of such a foundation that conception would still be a subset of mind, the experience of which is immaterial.

I find materialism total gaslighting.

Anyone who defend materialism/physicalism/naturalism doesn't deserve to be called a human.

"The cosmos is about the smallest hole a man can stick his head in." G. K. Chesterton

Follow the truth where ever it may take you.

“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous decades of its existence.” - Nikola Tesla

Excellent start.

Count me in! Awesome.

"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good" - Psalm 14:1

It’s sad people being lead astray ☹️ I’m currently in yr12 learning biology and chemistry. I questioned the theory of evolution stating that wouldn’t it be impossible for a beneficial mutation to occur In a organism. I think it would be beneficial to learn about the For and against scientific arguments against evolution in school.

This is very interesting!

You guys needs to interview Bernardo Kastrup. Heavyweight idealism that knocks out materialism once and for all

we are the creators of words ~~~

I always smile inside myself , when I hear atheists argue , or justify their disbelief in God, utilizing science. I sit and think my heart "who do they think created Science?". I have NO DOUBT God is real. I have had two NDEs in my life. I have seen the Father and the Son sitting on their gold thrones, and both of them had brilliant crowns!

too much annoying sound effects... 😖

Still waiting for someone to hold and touch my mind.