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Gods Brains
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Download or read book God's Brain written by Lionel Tiger and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2017 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two distinguished authors, renowned anthropologist Lionel Tiger and pioneering neuroscientist Michael McGuire, elucidate the perennial questions about religion: What is its purpose? How did it arise? What is its source? Why does every known culture have some form of it?Their answer is deceptively simple, yet at the same time highly complex: The brain creates religion and its varied concepts of God, and then in turn feeds on its creation to satisfy innate neurological and associated social needs.Brain science reveals that humans and other primates alike are afflicted by unavoidable sources of stress that the authors describe as "brainpain." To cope with this affliction people seek to "brainsoothe." We humans use religion and its social structures to induce brainsoothing as a relief for innate anxiety. How we do this is the subject of this groundbreaking book.In a concise, lively, accessible, and witty style, the authors combine zoom-lens vignettes of religious practices with discussions of the latest research on religion's neurological effects on the brain. Among other topics, they consider religion's role in providing positive socialization, its seeming obsession with regulating sex, the common biological scaffolding between nonhuman primates and humans and how this affects religion, and evidence that the palliative effects of religion on brain chemistry are not matched by nonreligious remedies.This fascinating book provides key insights into the complexities of our brain and the role of religion, perhaps its most remarkable creation.
Book Synopsis Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods by : E. Fuller Torrey
Download or read book Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods written by E. Fuller Torrey and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.
Book Synopsis Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods by : Malcolm Jeeves
Download or read book Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods written by Malcolm Jeeves and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-05-14 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this hypothetical correspondence, Malcolm Jeeves urges Christian students to enter the brave new world of neuroscience ready to have their faith examined and their experiences of God put to the test. When we do this, he argues, being mindful of oversimplifications as we go, the integration of Christianity and psychology becomes possible.
Book Synopsis The God-Shaped Brain by : Timothy R. Jennings
Download or read book The God-Shaped Brain written by Timothy R. Jennings and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What you believe about God actually changes your brain. Psychiatrist Tim Jennings unveils how our brains and bodies thrive when we have a healthy understanding of who God is. This expanded edition now includes a study guide to help you discover how neuroscience and Scripture come together to bring healing and transformation to our lives.
Book Synopsis How God Changes Your Brain by : Andrew Newberg, M.D.
Download or read book How God Changes Your Brain written by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2010-03-23 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God is great—for your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Based on new evidence culled from brain-scan studies, a wide-reaching survey of people’s religious and spiritual experiences, and the authors’ analyses of adult drawings of God, neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and therapist Mark Robert Waldman offer the following breakthrough discoveries: • Not only do prayer and spiritual practice reduce stress, but just twelve minutes of meditation per day may slow down the aging process. • Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety and depression and increases feelings of security, compassion, and love. • Fundamentalism, in and of itself, can be personally beneficial, but the prejudice generated by extreme beliefs can permanently damage your brain. • Intense prayer and meditation permanently change numerous structures and functions in the brain, altering your values and the way you perceive reality. Both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health, How God Changes Your Brain is a first-of-a-kind book about faith that is as credible as it is inspiring.
Book Synopsis Why God Won't Go Away by : Andrew Newberg, M.D.
Download or read book Why God Won't Go Away written by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2008-12-10 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why have we humans always longed to connect with something larger than ourselves? Why does consciousness inevitably involve us in a spiritual quest? Why, in short, won't God go away? Theologians, philosophers, and psychologists have debated this question through the ages, arriving at a range of contradictory and ultimately unprovable answers. But in this brilliant, groundbreaking new book, researchers Andrew Newberg and Eugene d'Aquili offer an explanation that is at once profoundly simple and scientifically precise: the religious impulse is rooted in the biology of the brain. Newberg and d'Aquili base this revolutionary conclusion on a long-term investigation of brain function and behavior as well as studies they conducted using high-tech imaging techniques to examine the brains of meditating Buddhists and Franciscan nuns at prayer. What they discovered was that intensely focused spiritual contemplation triggers an alteration in the activity of the brain that leads us to perceive transcendent religious experiences as solid and tangibly real. In other words, the sensation that Buddhists call "oneness with the universe" and the Franciscans attribute to the palpable presence of God is not a delusion or a manifestation of wishful thinking but rather a chain of neurological events that can be objectively observed, recorded, and actually photographed. The inescapable conclusion is that God is hard-wired into the human brain. In Why God Won't Go Away, Newberg and d'Aquili document their pioneering explorations in the field of neurotheology, an emerging discipline dedicated to understanding the complex relationship between spirituality and the brain. Along the way, they delve into such essential questions as whether humans are biologically compelled to make myths; what is the evolutionary connection between religious ecstasy and sexual orgasm; what do Near Death Experiences reveal about the nature of spiritual phenomena; and how does ritual create its own neurological environment. As their journey unfolds, Newberg and d'Aquili realize that a single, overarching question lies at the heart of their pursuit: Is religion merely a product of biology or has the human brain been mysteriously endowed with the unique capacity to reach and know God? Blending cutting-edge science with illuminating insights into the nature of consciousness and spirituality, Why God Won't Go Away bridges faith and reason, mysticism and empirical data. The neurological basis of how the brain identifies the "real" is nothing short of miraculous. This fascinating, eye-opening book dares to explore both the miracle and the biology of our enduring relationship with God.
Download or read book God on the Brain written by Brad Sickler and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human brain is incredibly complex. Both Christian and secular scholars alike affirm this fact, yet the traditional view of humanity as spiritual beings made in the image of God has come under increased pressure from humanistic and materialistic thinkers who deny that humans are anything more than their physical bodies. Christians have long affirmed that humans are spiritual beings made by God to know and fellowship with him, while the humanist position views humans as merely evolved animals. Bradley Sickler provides a timely theological, scientific, and philosophical assessment of the human brain, highlighting the many ways in which the gospel informs the Christian understanding of cognitive science. Here is a book that provides a much-needed summary of the Bible’s teaching as it sheds light on the brain, with careful interaction with the claims of modern science, arguing that the Christian worldview offers the most compelling vision of the true nature of humanity.
Book Synopsis The Neurobiology of the Gods by : Erik D. Goodwyn
Download or read book The Neurobiology of the Gods written by Erik D. Goodwyn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where does science end and religion begin? Can "spiritual" images and feelings be understood on a neurobiological level without dismissing their power and mystery? In this book, psychiatrist Erik Goodwyn addresses these questions by reviewing decades of research, putting together a compelling argument that the emotional imagery of myth and dreams can be traced to our deep brain physiology, and importantly, how a sensitive look at this data reveals why mythic or religious symbols are indeed more "godlike" than we might have imagined. The Neurobiology of the Gods weaves together Jungian depth psychology with research in evolutionary psychology, neuroanatomy, cognitive science, neuroscience, anthropology, mental imagery, dream research, and metaphor theory into a comprehensive model of how our brains contribute to the recurrent images of dreams, myth, religion and even hallucinations. Divided into three sections, this book provides: definitions and foundations an examination of individual symbols conclusive thoughts on how brain physiology shapes the recurring images that we experience. Goodwyn shows how common dream, myth and religious experiences can be meaningful and purposeful without discarding scientific rigor. The Neurobiology of the Gods will therefore be essential reading for Jungian analysts and psychologists as well as those with an interest in philosophy, anthropology and the interface between science and religion.
Download or read book How "God" Works written by Marshall Brain and published by Union Square + ORM. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The founder of HowStuffWorks.com uses objectivity, logic, and critical thinking to explore the question of God’s reality in an honest way. Does God exist? Using an intellectually rigorous, scientific approach, Marshall Brain—the founder of HowStuffWorks.com and author of the How Stuff Works series—sets out to resolve the eternal debate once and for all. With a compelling sense of curiosity, he breaks down mankind’s search for a higher power, tackling such quandaries as: Who is God? What are his attributes? What is God doing and why? How does God interact with humanity? And ultimately, how can humans know with certainty whether God is real or imaginary? How “God” Works is an enlightening journey in critical thinking that challenges readers to boldly approach the subject of personal faith and put aside intuition in favor of objectivity and logic. “Takes readers on a journey of critical thinking . . . it is the combination of all the arguments made and the approach to those arguments that make this book so convincing.” —Skeptic Ink “Brain subjects Christianity to withering analysis . . . He is precise and convincing in his analytical process.” —TheHumanist.com
Book Synopsis The Believing Brain by : Michael Shermer
Download or read book The Believing Brain written by Michael Shermer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-05-24 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Believing Brain is bestselling author Michael Shermer's comprehensive and provocative theory on how beliefs are born, formed, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. In this work synthesizing thirty years of research, psychologist, historian of science, and the world's best-known skeptic Michael Shermer upends the traditional thinking about how humans form beliefs about the world. Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, Shermer argues, is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. Our brains connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen, and these patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive-feedback loop of belief confirmation. Shermer outlines the numerous cognitive tools our brains engage to reinforce our beliefs as truths. Interlaced with his theory of belief, Shermer provides countless real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and the paranormal. Ultimately, he demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not a belief matches reality.
Book Synopsis The "God" Part of the Brain by : Matthew Alper
Download or read book The "God" Part of the Brain written by Matthew Alper and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thought-provoking study of science and religion about our human need to believe in a higher power, for spiritual seekers and atheists alike. In The God Part of the Brain, Matthew Alper pioneers a radical theory: the human inclination toward spirituality and belief in a higher power can be attributed to a specific part of our brain. This bold hypothesis takes us on an exciting journey that merges science, philosophy, and spirituality in a unique way. Alper engages readers with compelling arguments based on neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and anthropology, provoking profound thought on the nature of existence and our inherent need for spiritual meaning as a coping mechanism that emerged in humans to help us survive our unique and otherwise debilitating awareness of death. His narrative is accessible yet deeply profound, providing insights that stimulate both intellectual curiosity and spiritual introspection. Key Features: Groundbreaking Hypothesis: Presents a bold new theory about the neuroscientific basis of human spirituality. Interdisciplinary Approach: Combines insights from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and anthropology to explore spiritual experiences. Intellectually Stimulating: Challenges readers to contemplate profound questions about existence, faith, and the human mind. Accessible Narrative: Engages readers with a narrative that is both informative and accessible, regardless of their scientific background. Provocative and Thoughtful: Invites deep introspection about our inherent need for spiritual meaning. Praise for The "God" Part of the Brain "This cult classic in many ways parallels Rene Descartes' search for reliable and certain knowledge...Drawing on such disciplines as philosophy, psychology, and biology, Alper argues that belief in a spiritual realm is an evolutionary coping method that developed to help humankind deal with the fear of death...Highly recommended."— Library Journal "I very much enjoyed the account of your spiritual journey and believe it would make excellent reading for every college student - the resultant residence-hall debates would be the best part of their education. It often occurs to me that if, against all odds, there is a judgmental God and heaven, it will come to pass that when the pearly gates open, those who had the valor to think for themselves will be escorted to the head of the line, garlanded, and given their own personal audience." — Edward O. Wilson, two-time Pulitzer Prize-Winner "This is an essential book for those in search of a scientific understanding of man's spiritual nature. Matthew Alper navigates the reader through a labyrinth of intriguing questions and then offers undoubtedly clear answers that lead to a better understanding of our objective reality." — Elena Rusyn, MD, PhD; Gray Laboratory; Harvard Medical School "What a wonderful book you have written. It was not only brilliant and provocative but also revolutionary in its approach to spirituality as an inherited trait."— Arnold Sadwin, MD, former chief of Neuropsychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania "A lively manifesto...For the discipline's specific application to the matter at hand, I've seen nothing that matches the fury of The 'God' Part of the Brain, which perhaps explains why it's earned something of a cult following." — Salon.com "All 6 billion plus inhabitants of Earth should be in possession of this book. Alper's tome should be placed in the sacred writings' section of libraries, bookstores, and dwellings throughout the world. Matthew Alper is the new Galileo...Immensely important...Defines in a clear and concise manner what each of us already knew but were afraid to admit and exclaim."— John Scoggins, PhD "Vibrant ... vivacious. An entertaining and provocative introduction to speculations concerning the neural basis of spirituality."— Free Inquiry Magazine
Download or read book God's Brain written by Lionel Tiger and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The joint effort [of two distinguished authors and scholars] is impressive. It manages to bring the experience and energy of both men together in one, pithy, provocative package.-Washington TimesWith economy, evidence and no little wit and elegance, Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire look for the answer to religion''s ubiquity and persistence in the only place possible: the human brain. To say more would be to give away their answer, and that would spoil a great read and a serious and informative argument. This is easily the best book on the nature of religion to appear for a long time.-Robin Fox, University Professor of Social Theory, Rutgers UniversityIf God''s Brain sounds whimsically paradoxical, it is only because the authors believe that most people of faith have been looking for God in all the wrong places. The authors suggest that religious believers should look inward, rather than outward, to find God. The book is a well-written, easy to read, unique perspective on religion. Yes, God has a brain. The book will captivate all but the piously religious faint-of-heart.-Jay R. Feierman, Editor, The Biology of Religious Behavior: The Evolutionary Origins of Faith and ReligionTwo distinguished authors radically alter the fractious debate on the existence of God and the nature of religion. Taking a perspective rooted in evolutionary biology with a focus on brain science, renowned anthropologist Lionel Tiger and pioneering neuroscientist Michael McGuire-a primary discoverer of serotonin''s crucial role in brain chemistry-elucidate the perennial questions about religion: What is its purpose? How did it arise? What is its source? Why does every known culture have some form of it?Their answer is deceptively simple, yet at the same time highly complex: The brain creates religion and its varied concepts of God, and then in turn feeds on its creation to satisfy innate neurological and associated social needs.Brain science reveals that humans and other primates alike are afflicted by unavoidable sources of stress that the authors describe as brainpain. To cope with this affliction people seek to brainsoothe. We humans use religion and its social structures to induce brainsoothing as a relief for innate anxiety. How we do this is the subject of this groundbreaking book.In a concise, lively, accessible, and witty style, the authors combine zoom-lens vignettes of religious practices with discussions of the latest research on religion''s neurological effects on the brain. Among other topics, they consider religion''s role in providing positive socialization, its seeming obsession with regulating sex, creating an afterlife, how religion''s rules of behavior influence the law, the common biological scaffolding between nonhuman primates and humans and how this affects religion, a detailed look at brain chemistry and how it changes as a result of stress, and evidence that the palliative effects of religion on brain chemistry is not matched by nonreligious remedies.Concluding with a checklist offering readers a means to compute their own brainsoothe score, this fascinating book provides key insights into the complexities of our brain and the role of religion, perhaps its most remarkable creation.Lionel Tiger (New York, NY) is the bestselling author of Men in Groups, The Imperial Animal (with Robin Fox), The Pursuit of Pleasure, Optimism: The Biology of Hope, and The Decline of Males. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Harvard Business Review, and Brain and Behavioral Science. He is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University.Michael McGuire, MD (Cottonwood, CA), is the author or editor of ten books, including Darwinian Psychiatry (with A. Troisi). He is the president of the Biomedical Research Foundation, director of the Bradshaw Foundation and the Gruter Institute of Law and Behavior, and a trustee of the International Society of Human Ethology. Formerly, he was a professo
Book Synopsis Your Brain Is God by : Timothy Leary
Download or read book Your Brain Is God written by Timothy Leary and published by Ronin Publishing. This book was released on 2001-06-15 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays, written by the poster boy of 1960s counterculture, describes the psychological journey Timothy Leary made in the years following his dismissal from Harvard, as his psychedelic research moved from the scientific to the religious arena. He discusses the nature of religious experience and eight crafts of God, including God as hedonic artist. Leary also examines the Tibetan, Buddhist, and Taoist experiences. In the final chapters, he explores man as god and LSD as sacrament.
Book Synopsis Where God Lives in the Human Brain by : Carol Rausch Albright
Download or read book Where God Lives in the Human Brain written by Carol Rausch Albright and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Walking the fine line between religious belief and recent scientific discoveries, "Where God Lives in the Human Brain" explores the way humans have sought meaning in the world, to humanize their environment and connection with the divine. This book shows how readers can understand this impulse toward divinity by understanding the intricacies of the brain and its capacity to grapple with the complexity of the universe.
Book Synopsis The Mind of God by : Dr. Jay Lombard
Download or read book The Mind of God written by Dr. Jay Lombard and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For fans of Deepak Chopra, Rudy Tanzi, and Andrew Newberg. A renowned behavioral neurologist provides insights to some of the most curious spiritual questions we all face. Is there a God? It’s a question billions of people have asked since the dawn of time. You would think by now we’d have a satisfactory, universal answer. No such luck…Or maybe we do and we just need to look in the right place. For Dr. Jay Lombard that place is the brain, and more importantly the mind, that center of awareness and consciousness that creates reality. In The Mind of God, Dr. Lombard employs case studies from his own behavioral neurology practice to explore the spiritual conundrums that we all ask ourselves: What is the nature of God? Does my life have purpose? What's the meaning of our existence? Are we free? What happens to us when we die? For Lombard, these metaphysical questions are a jumping-off point for exploring the brain in search of the seat of the soul. It is neuroscience, the author contends, and how we and our brains interpret what’s going on around us that can lead us to a deeper and more fulfilling faith. Mixing his personal experiences in the medical field (including compelling cases such as the male patient who really thought he was pregnant and a woman who literally scared herself to death) along with his own visionary insight into spiritual experience, Lombard has much to tell us about the nature and power of belief—and what we can do to focus our beliefs in a positive direction. If you want to find more meaning in your life or are searching for a deeper understanding of why we believe what we believe, then this book can lead to an exciting transformation in the way you see and understand the world around you. With cutting-edge research and provocative case studies, renowned behavioral neurologist provides insights to some of the most curious spiritual questions of mortality.
Download or read book Mind of God written by P. C. W. Davies and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1993-03-05 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploration of whether modern science can provide the key that will unlock all the secrets of existence.
Book Synopsis God and the Brain by : Kelly James Clark
Download or read book God and the Brain written by Kelly James Clark and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does cognitive science show that religious belief is irrational? Kelly James Clark brings together science and philosophy to examine some of humanity’s more pressing questions. Is belief in God, as Richard Dawkins claims, a delusion? Are atheists smarter or more rational than religious believers? Do our genes determine who we are and what we believe? Can our very creaturely cognitive equipment help us discover truth and meaning in life? Are atheists any different from Mother Teresa? Clark’s surprising answers both defend the rationality of religious belief and contribute to the study of cognitive science. God and the Brain explores complicated questions about the nature of belief and the human mind. Scientifically minded, philosophically astute, and reader-friendly, God and the Brain provides an accessible overview of some new cognitive scientific approaches to the study of religion and evaluates their implications for both theistic and atheistic belief.
