Freethought & Rationalism Archive

crazyfingers · 03-25-2003, 06:35 AM

From the II newswire.

God on the Brain

Quote:

Controversial new research suggests that whether we believe in a God may not just be a matter of free will. Scientists now believe there may be physical differences in the brains of ardent believers.

Inspiration for this work has come from a group of patients who have a brain disorder called temporal lobe epilepsy. In a minority of patients, this condition induces bizarre religious hallucinations - something that patient Rudi Affolter has experienced vividly.

* Snip *

"We found to our amazement that every time they looked at religious words like God, they'd get a huge galvanic skin response."

This was the very first piece of clinical evidence revealing that the body's response to religious symbols was definitely linked to the temporal lobes of the brain.

"What we suggested was that there are certain circuits within the temporal lobes which have been selectively activated in these patients and somehow the activity of these specific neural circuits makes them more prone to religious belief."

* snip *

They believe what happens inside the minds of temporal lobe epileptic patients may just be an extreme case of what goes on inside all of our minds.

For everyone, whether they have the condition or not, it now appears the temporal lobes are key in experiencing religious and spiritual belief.

Interesting. I'll be looking forward to seeing more research on this.

Shake · 03-25-2003, 06:56 AM

Well, from what I've read in the other threads, I think we may have some sort of tendency towards religious-type belief. Every culture seems to come up with its own supernatural myths and even gods. These myths seem to evolve with the people as they change with their environment, technology, etc. Look at the Raelians: how many previous religious groups had stories about aliens? (I know there is some debate over interpretations from ancient cave paintings, etc., but I don't think we'll get past mere speculation on those.)

IMO, one of the marks of intelligence is realizing what one still does not know! The more intelligent one is, the more intelligent questions one can ask. Early cultures didn't understand, for example, meteorology, so they believed in rain gods, wind gods, etc. Will science ever completely eliminate God? Hard to say. We'll probably keep coming up with things we don't understand and there'll be some folks who'll just give the ol' "Goddidit" response.

abe smith · 03-25-2003, 07:12 AM

YEAH! I remember a decade or so ago? (Could look-up in on-line NYT Index or on-line Readers Guide.) reading articles making this connexion; and also (forget where) assertion that JOAN of Arc appears (from the RC Church's records of her trial) to have evinced (>> her own descriptions ) the classic symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy which latter seems to be a "real" = diagnosable physically-demonstrable "disease entity".
For a whaddyecall, NON-dualist biologist like me, the possibility of this locatable-in-the-individual-human-brain connexion is certainly an appealing posit.
I wonder if any kind of "brain scans" have been done on (for example) people like the "three christs of Ipsilanti(?)" ---- a many decades-old nonfiction book.
I wonder if the guy who kidnapped the girl, Elisabeth Smart, could be persuaded to submit to scanning? He seems (is reported) to believe he is some sort of Messiah. ( Are some Mormons =LDS moved by such cerebral events? )
There're numerous (I'll call them >>>) "holy-touched" persons around; a woman in my city pays each week to print her personal "revealed" prophecies in the local daily paper; they're very tame stuff = she's wasting her money..... imo

Friar Bellows · 03-25-2003, 01:17 PM

Religion is definitely a brain condition ... the condition of not using it!

cricket · 03-25-2003, 01:26 PM

I recommend the book Phantoms in the Brain by VS Ramachandran.

echidna · 03-25-2003, 04:13 PM

While I think this could explain a physiological link towards much religious experience, I don�t see it as explaining all religion. I can well understand sufferers of various hallucinogenic disorders attributing their �visions� to divine experience or the paranormal for that matter, but not all religion stems from divine experience.

Answerer · 03-25-2003, 10:00 PM

So guys, is there any mind conditions for humanity conscience?

Calzaer · 03-25-2003, 10:12 PM

There's already a thread on this very subject, HERE

Shake · 03-26-2003, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Friar Bellows
Religion is definitely a brain condition ... the condition of not using it!

LOL!

:notworthy

secular-knight 69 · 03-30-2003, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cricket
I recommend the book Phantoms in the Brain by VS Ramachandran.

In addition to Ramachandran, one might be interested in Michael Persinger.

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03-25-2003, 06:56 AM	#2
Shake Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Folding@Home in upstate NY Posts: 14,394	Well, from what I've read in the other threads, I think we may have some sort of tendency towards religious-type belief. Every culture seems to come up with its own supernatural myths and even gods. These myths seem to evolve with the people as they change with their environment, technology, etc. Look at the Raelians: how many previous religious groups had stories about aliens? (I know there is some debate over interpretations from ancient cave paintings, etc., but I don't think we'll get past mere speculation on those.) IMO, one of the marks of intelligence is realizing what one still does not know! The more intelligent one is, the more intelligent questions one can ask. Early cultures didn't understand, for example, meteorology, so they believed in rain gods, wind gods, etc. Will science ever completely eliminate God? Hard to say. We'll probably keep coming up with things we don't understand and there'll be some folks who'll just give the ol' "Goddidit" response.

03-25-2003, 07:12 AM	#3
abe smith Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: springfield, MA. USA Posts: 2,482	YEAH! I remember a decade or so ago? (Could look-up in on-line NYT Index or on-line Readers Guide.) reading articles making this connexion; and also (forget where) assertion that JOAN of Arc appears (from the RC Church's records of her trial) to have evinced (>> her own descriptions ) the classic symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy which latter seems to be a "real" = diagnosable physically-demonstrable "disease entity". For a whaddyecall, NON-dualist biologist like me, the possibility of this locatable-in-the-individual-human-brain connexion is certainly an appealing posit. I wonder if any kind of "brain scans" have been done on (for example) people like the "three christs of Ipsilanti(?)" ---- a many decades-old nonfiction book. I wonder if the guy who kidnapped the girl, Elisabeth Smart, could be persuaded to submit to scanning? He seems (is reported) to believe he is some sort of Messiah. ( Are some Mormons =LDS moved by such cerebral events? ) There're numerous (I'll call them >>>) "holy-touched" persons around; a woman in my city pays each week to print her personal "revealed" prophecies in the local daily paper; they're very tame stuff = she's wasting her money..... imo

03-25-2003, 01:17 PM	#4
Friar Bellows Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: arse-end of the world Posts: 2,305	Religion is definitely a brain condition ... the condition of not using it!

03-25-2003, 01:26 PM	#5
cricket Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: St Louis MO USA Posts: 1,188	I recommend the book Phantoms in the Brain by VS Ramachandran.

03-25-2003, 04:13 PM	#6
echidna Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,832	While I think this could explain a physiological link towards much religious experience, I don�t see it as explaining all religion. I can well understand sufferers of various hallucinogenic disorders attributing their �visions� to divine experience or the paranormal for that matter, but not all religion stems from divine experience.

03-25-2003, 10:00 PM	#7
Answerer Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 3,956	So guys, is there any mind conditions for humanity conscience?

03-25-2003, 10:12 PM	#8
Calzaer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,762	There's already a thread on this very subject, HERE

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