The Immortal Mind

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Pre-Order The Immortal Mind

The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul will be released on June 3, 2025. Pre-order by May 31 and get these free downloadable extras:

A pre-publication digital excerpt from The Immortal Mind
Minding the Brain: a full digital anthology edited by Angus J. Menuge, Brian R. Krouse, and Robert J. Marks, including a chapter by Michael Egnor.

Plus, you’ll get a free subscription to Nota Bene, a weekly email packed with free articles and resources about intelligent design, Mind Matters, a monthly email with articles and resources about artificial intelligence, as well as a subscription to occasional announcements from the Center for Science and Culture and the Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

Book Summary

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 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 argues that scientists can locate the parts of the brain that control the body or sensations or emotions, but they can’t find the seat of reason or free will. He uses fascinating case studies to show how cutting-edge brain surgery on patients who are awake, how research on conjoined twins who share parts of their brains, on patients in deep coma who are still able to communicate with people around them, on near-death experiences, and on artificial intelligence all make a scientific case for the existence of the spiritual human soul.

Engaging, thought-provoking, and groundbreaking, The Immortal Mind shows here that some aspect of who we are is spiritual and immortal, transcending the physical body. Using science, he proves the existence of the human soul.

Reviews

An informative and rich exploration of the reality of the human soul’s immortality. Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and journalist Denyse O’Leary present a compelling synthesis of neuroscience and metaphysical inquiry, challenging the dogmas of scientific materialism… This work is not only timely but also stands as a testament to the enduring quest for truth in both science and faith. I highly recommend this book to intellectuals and laypeople interested in the realities about God, objective morality, and the soul’s eternal destination.
Scott D. G. Ventureyra Ph.D. is a theologian, philosopher and author of On the Origin of Consciousness and Making Sense of Nonsense

Based on compelling scientific evidence as well as an unstoppable philosophical argument, The Immortal Mind constitutes a masterful demonstration of why the materialist worldview is wrong. In addition, this provocative and inspiring book convincingly explains why we humans are immortal spiritual beings temporarily inhabiting physical bodies during our short time on Earth.
Dr. Mario Beauregard, Ph.D., is neuroscientist and co-author of The Spiritual Brain (with Denyse O’Leary) and The Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science; author of Brain Wars and Expanding Reality

Courageous. Drawing from 40 years in neurosurgery, they argue that real people don’t fit into tidy physicalist categories, they are far more complex than that. Egnor and O’Leary make the case for the mind being more than simply the brain not by stepping outside of neuroscience, but by pointing to evidence within it. They show that clinical neuroscience itself points to the reality that we are so much more than just our brains. The Immortal Mind is an important and well-argued addition to the conversation on mind, brain and soul and I highly recommend that you read it.
Dr. Sharon Dirckx Ph.D. Speaker, broadcaster and author of Am I Just My Brain?

A must-read book not just for anyone grappling with the mind-body problem but also for anyone trying to understand what it truly means to be human.
William A. Dembski Ph.D., mathematician, philosopher and author of The Design Inference

A fascinating and insightful examination of the scientific evidence for the continuity of consciousness after the death of our body, because our mind transcends the brain.
Pim van Lommel Ph.D., cardiologist and author of Consciousness Beyond Life

Who better to tell us about the mind than a highly experienced brain surgeon who has performed surgery on literally thousands of brains, probed deep into the brain with electrodes, and treated people with brain injuries?… The Immortal Mind makes a compelling scientific case against a purely materialistic view of the human person.
Nancy Pearce Ph.D.y, professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University, and the author of bestselling books Total Truth, Love Thy Body, and The Toxic War on Masculinity

This book blew me away. As I read it, I shared many of the stories with my wife. Why? While I have studied the philosophy of mind since graduate school in the early 2000s, Dr. Egnor makes some fresh insights because of his training and experience as a neurosurgeon. If you want to know if there’s good evidence for the existence of the soul, The Immortal Mind book is a must-read.
Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, an author or editor of over 20 books, and a popular YouTuber

Following the pioneering work of the late Wilder Penfield, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and science writer Denyse O’Leary revolutionize the study of the human mind as radically separate from the brain. Materialism collapses in the face of their remorseless evidentiary assault on the unclothed emperors of neuroscience.
George Gilder, Senior Fellow and Director of Discovery Institute’s Technology and Democracy Project and author of numerous books including The Israel Test, Life After Google, and Scandal of Money

Dr. Egnor speaks as a neurosurgeon who has performed over seven thousand brain operations, a medical school professor who has taught medical students and aspiring neurosurgeons for forty years, and as a diligent researcher who has applied the rigorous methods of science to discoveries about how the brain works. In eloquent language Michael Egnor and Denyse O’Leary present compelling scientific evidence alongside extracts from 2,000 years of philosophy to give conclusive evidence that the human soul is real and that human beings are not mere machines made of meat… This book is essential reading for seekers of Truth who desire to know the real meaning of life.
The Reverend Lee Kenyon, a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, serves as the Parochial Administrator of St John Henry Newman Catholic Church

In engaging and easy-to-read prose, Michael Egnor brings his many years of experience with actual patients to back up claims that the human mind is not just an aspect of the brain but a spiritual reality. The reader will come away with faith in his common sense restored by looking at the evidence from science that the authors present. Science, rather than materialistic assumptions current in academia, points to our being persons capable of knowing and choosing freely, which is what the Judeo-Christian tradition maintained all along. An important and timely contribution.
Fr Martin Hilbert, The Oratory / Holy Family Church and author of A Catholic Case for Intelligent Design

Authors

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. 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.

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 forthcoming 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.