Freethought & Rationalism Archive

djmullen · 09-24-2002, 01:48 AM

CRDBulldog wrote:

Quote:

This theory [on which part of the brain is responsible for some religious experiences] was presented a while back by Newberg and D'Aquili. They wrote a book for the public. You can find it on Amazon.com

here

And an amazing book it is, too. They studied skilled meditators (yoga and nuns, IIRC) with brain scanning equipment and found that the areas of the brain that distinguish the limits of the body and differentiate it from the rest of the universe are starved of inputs when the meditators report a peak experience of the "merging with the universe" variety.

But what's truly amazing is that after showing which parts of the brain malfunction to produce this religious experience, they then go on to claim that these religious experiences are evidence for the existence of God anyway!

Marduk · 09-24-2002, 06:10 AM

"But what's truly amazing is that after showing which parts of the brain malfunction to produce the religious experience"

What makes you think this is a malfunction? That is what it's for. The meditative state is quite pleasant and relaxing. The next step in evolution, being one with the Godhead,
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

lpetrich · 09-24-2002, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by djmullen:
 ...
But what's truly amazing is that after showing which parts of the brain malfunction to produce this religious experience, they then go on to claim that these religious experiences are evidence for the existence of God anyway!

Which is a remarkably inefficient method of communication. Consider that Buddhists, for example, do not claim to experience some Universe-controlling anthropomorphic superbeing in their experiences.

Praxiteles · 09-24-2002, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Plebe:
<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353578,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353578,00.html</a>
Scientists "Hit The O-Spot For Out-Of-Body" This was released today at Time.com
It would not surprise me if we see more articles which mention this part of the brain in relation to mystical experiences.

<img src="graemlins/notworthy.gif" border="0" alt="[Not Worthy]" />

Plebe, thanks very much for that link. It is quite a fascinating article, and confirms my belief that eventually we shall be able to identify physical reasons for all alleged supernatural experiences.

I have forwarded it to my credulous (and sad to say, gullible) new-age parents. Probably they'll view it as another example of my "closed mindedness", but it can't hurt to try to reaquaint them with the real world, can it?

Cheers,
Prax

Kosh · 09-25-2002, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by djmullen:

But what's truly amazing is that after showing which parts of the brain malfunction to produce this religious experience, they then go on to claim that these religious experiences are evidence for the existence of God anyway!

The thing is, theists who feel these very religious experiences have always been held as a sort of elite within the theist community. Like they were special. And now we see that they're just malfunctioning....

cartman · 09-25-2002, 06:53 AM

Massimo Pigliucci, who teaches evolutionary biology (among other things) at the University of Tennessee, has an <a href="http://fp.bio.utk.edu/skeptic/Essays/neuro-theology.html" target="_blank">essay</a> that might interest you on his site.

One of the last sane · 09-25-2002, 05:08 PM

Search for stuff posted on this message board by Fiach 3-4 months ago for some really interesting posts on temporal lobe epilepsy and religious experience.

Corey Hammer · 09-26-2002, 04:33 AM

I know what Vampyric is asking.

There's a part of the brain that activates during religious experiences of all sorts. I can't recall it right now though.

Sorry. IIRC, it was somewhere in the midbrain, but I'm probably wrong.

NoDeity · 12-07-2002, 03:47 AM

For a Wired article on Michael Persinger's fascinating work on temporal lobe epilepsy, <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/persinger.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=" target="_blank">go here</a>.

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09-24-2002, 06:10 AM	#12
Marduk Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: the 10th planet Posts: 5,065	"But what's truly amazing is that after showing which parts of the brain malfunction to produce the religious experience" What makes you think this is a malfunction? That is what it's for. The meditative state is quite pleasant and relaxing. The next step in evolution, being one with the Godhead, Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

09-25-2002, 06:53 AM	#16
cartman Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: USA Posts: 175	Massimo Pigliucci, who teaches evolutionary biology (among other things) at the University of Tennessee, has an <a href="http://fp.bio.utk.edu/skeptic/Essays/neuro-theology.html" target="_blank">essay</a> that might interest you on his site.

09-25-2002, 05:08 PM	#17
One of the last sane Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: hereabouts Posts: 734	Search for stuff posted on this message board by Fiach 3-4 months ago for some really interesting posts on temporal lobe epilepsy and religious experience.

09-26-2002, 04:33 AM	#18
Corey Hammer Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 368	I know what Vampyric is asking. There's a part of the brain that activates during religious experiences of all sorts. I can't recall it right now though. Sorry. IIRC, it was somewhere in the midbrain, but I'm probably wrong.

12-07-2002, 03:47 AM	#19
NoDeity Regular Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 480	For a Wired article on Michael Persinger's fascinating work on temporal lobe epilepsy, <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/persinger.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=" target="_blank">go here</a>.

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