In this episode of The Mind and the Machine, philosopher Dr. Michael Augros explores what Thomas Aquinas can teach us about artificial intelligence, consciousness, and human thought.

Can AI truly think or understand, or does it merely simulate intelligence? Drawing on Aquinas’s philosophy of mind, Aristotle’s theory of cognition, and careful analysis of cognitive acts vs computational processes, this video examines whether machines can ever possess real understanding, awareness, or consciousness.

We investigate:

Whether thinking is fundamentally different from computation

Why sensation and understanding may require life itself

The difference between cognitive acts and mechanical processes

How medieval philosophy sheds new light on modern AI debates

This lecture is part of a 10-part series on artificial intelligence, philosophy, and the nature of mind, produced in collaboration with Thomas Aquinas College.

If you’re interested in AI ethics, philosophy of mind, consciousness, cognition, neuroscience, and classical philosophy, this series offers a rigorous and thought-provoking exploration of what it truly means to think.