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Ch 5 The Neurosciences of Religion

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  • Metanexus Institute

Abstract

In the last chapter, we learned how humans evolved as hunter-gatherers and how our genetic, mental, and behavioral nature was conditioned by and for this kind of life, even as we now live in a very different artificial environment created by agriculture, economic markets, and technology. We considered how evolution had shaped our predispositions for religion and what functions and dysfunctions religion might have played in our species’s history. We were introduced to the idea that the human mind was modular, that there were instinctive dispositions that then developed in conjunction with social and environmental factors into various inference systems in our brains. Religion, we were told, could be understood as a potent combination of these different inference systems in our evolved brains—agency detection, ontological categories, intuitive physics, intuitive psychology, pollution-contagion templates, memory-recall patterns, and so forth, all assembled and accessed as independent mental modules.1 This was one of several evolutionary approaches to understanding religion.
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The New Sciences of Religion
Copyright ©William Grassie
Please send corrections, comments, and feedback to
grassie@metanexus.net
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Metanexus Imprints
New York, NY
All rights reserved.
First published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2010.
Re-released as a Metanexus Imprint in 2019.
ISBN: 9781070628325
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Cover!image:!The!dome!of!the!Church!of!the!Holy!Sepulcher,!
Jerusalem.!Photograph!by!Jeff!Lefever!©!2009.!
https://www.lefever.com!
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Table of Contents
Preface'to'the'2019'Edition'........................................................................................'iii!
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Acknowledgements'.........................................................................................................'ix!
Permissions'......................................................................................................................'xiii!
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Introduction'........................................................................................................................'1!
PART'ONE:''Religion'from'the'Outside'In'............................................................'19!
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Chapter!1:!!The!Challenge!of!!Comparative!Religion!................................!21!
Chapter!2:!The!Old!Sciences!of!Religion!........................................................!41!
Chapter!3:!The!Economics!of!Religion!...........................................................!65!
Chapter!4:!The!Evolution!of!Religion!..............................................................!99!
Chapter!5:!!The!Cognitive!Neurosciences!of!Religion!...........................!127!
Chapter!6:!!The!Medicine!of!Religion!...........................................................!153!
PART'TWO:''Religion'from'the'Bottom'Up'.......................................................'181!
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Chapter!7:!!The!Narratives!of!Religion!........................................................!183!
Chapter!8:!!The!New!Religion!of!Science!....................................................!219!
Chapter!9:!God-By-Whatever-Name!............................................................!257!
Chapter!10:!!Reiterations!and!Reflections!.................................................!289!
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About'the'Author'.........................................................................................................'301!
Bibliography'..................................................................................................................'303!
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Chapter 5:
The Cognitive Neurosciences of Religion
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In!the!last!chapter,!we!learned!how!humans!evolved!as!hunter-
gatherers!and!how!our!genetic,!mental,!and!behavioral!nature!was!
conditioned!by!and!for!this!kind!of!life,!even!as!we!now!live!in!a!
very!different!artificial!environment!created!by!agriculture,!
economic!markets,!and!technology.!We!considered!how!evolution!
had!shaped!our!predispositions!for!religion!and!what!functions!and!
dysfunctions!religion!might!have!played!in!our!species’!history.!We!
were!introduced!to!the!idea!that!the!human!mind!was!modular,!
that!there!were!instinctive(dispositions!that!then!developed!in!
conjunction!with!social!and!environmental!factors!into!various!
inference(systems!in!our!brains.!Religion,!we!were!told,!could!be!
understood!as!a!potent!combination!of!these!different!inference!
systems!in!our!evolved!brainsagency!detection,!ontological!
categories,!intuitive!physics,!intuitive!psychology,!pollution-
contagion!templates,!memory-recall!patterns,!and!so!forth,!all!
assembled!and!accessed!as!independent!mental!modules.
151
!This!
was!one!of!several!evolutionary!approaches!to!understanding!
religion.!
In!this!chapter,!we!are!going!to!examine!the!human!brain!
directly!to!see!how!the!cognitive!neurosciences!try!to!understand!
and!explain!religious!and!spiritual!experiences.!There!has!been!a!
tremendous!amount!of!new!research!and!new!insights!into!the!
working!of!the!human!brain!in!the!last!few!decades.!Powerful!new!
tools!also!allow!us!to!examine!the!function!of!healthy!human!
brains,!and!these!tools!have!recently!been!used!to!study!the!brain!
functions!of!Buddhist!monks,!Catholic!nuns,!Pentecostals!speaking!
in!tongues,!and!others.!
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151
Boyer, Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought (New York: Basic
Books, 2001).
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128!
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Inside'the'Brain'
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If!you!look!inside!the!human!brain,!you!do!not!actually!see!
these!mental!modules!previously!referred!to.!There!is!no!piece!of!
the!brain!that!one!could!label!the!“agency-detection!module”!or!the!
“pollution-contagion!module.”!In!dissecting!a!human!cadaver,!we!
first!see!large-scale!structures.!On!the!outside!is!the!cerebral!
cortex,!or!neocortex,!including!areas!labeled!the!frontal!lobe,!the!
parietal!lobe,!the!occipital!lobe,!and!the!temporal!lobe;!and!of!
course,!these!are!divided!into!two!hemispheres,!right!and!left,!with!
a!broad!band!of!nerve!fibers!known!as!the!corpus!callosum!
connecting!the!two!halves.!If!we!peel!away!the!neocortex,!we!
discover!the!mesocortex!and!subcortical!structures!in!the!limbic!
system,!including!the!thalamus,!the!amygdala,!the!hippocampus,!
and!the!cerebellum,!all!connected!to!the!brain!stem!and!the!spinal!
cord.!This!much!you!probably!already!know.!Images!of!the!human!
brain!have!become!iconic!in!the!modern!world.!
A!lot!of!what!we!know!about!the!specialized!functions!of!
different!areas!of!the!brain!comes!from!observing!survivors!of!
traumatic!brain!injuries!or!stroke!victims.!In!both!cases,!
neuroscientists!correlate!the!destruction!of!certain!brain!regions!
due!to!hemorrhaging!or!injury!with!the!loss!of!particular!mental!
functions,!for!instance,!the!loss!of!motor!control,!speech,!or!even!
particular!parts!of!speech!or!sets!of!word!concepts,!the!latter!
known!as!aphasia.!!
Curiously,!memory!seems!to!be!distributed!throughout!the!
brain!and!is!not!located!in!any!particular!region.!I!recall!a!colleague!
at!Oxford!University,!whom!I!visited!in!the!hospital!shortly!after!he!
had!had!a!stroke.!He!could!point!to!Paris!or!London!on!a!map,!but!
he!could!not!say!the!word!“Paris”!or!“London.”!Nor!could!he!speak!
the!names!of!any!number!of!other!common!items!and!places,!
though!he!certainly!knew!what!they!were!and!could!directly!point!
to!any!of!them.!When!I!said!“wallet,”!he!reached!into!his!back!
pocket,!pulled!out!the!wallet,!but!he!just!could!not!say!the!word.!
Our!brains!are!strange!indeed,!though!we!take!them!for!granted!
until!something!goes!wrong.!Fortunately,!my!friend!was!able!to!
recover!his!speech!fully!but!did!so!by!training!new!regions!of!the!
brain!to!compensate!for!the!loss!of!the!one!region!destroyed!by!the!
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129!
stroke.!This!is!an!example!of!another!curious!characteristic!of!the!
brain!called!neuroplasticity,!something!that!we!progressively!lose!
as!we!grow!older.!This!neuroplasticity!explains!in!part!why!young!
children!can!effortlessly!learn!foreign!languages,!while!adults!must!
struggle!with!the!drudgery!of!repetition!and!memorization.!
When!we!examine!a!brain!under!powerful!microscopes,!we!
see!that!it!is!made!up!of!neurons.!There!are!different!types!of!
neurons!in!the!brain!and!throughout!our!central!nervous!system!in!
the!rest!of!the!body,!but!they!all!share!a!basic!structure.!The!cell!
body!contains!the!nucleus!and!organelle.!Extending!out!from!the!
cell!body!are!lots!of!dendrite!“trees”!and!axon!“arms.”!These!
connect!to!other!neurons.!This!maze!of!connections!ends!in!
synapses,!linking!each!neuron!with!hundreds!or!thousands!of!
others.!The!neurons!fire!electrical!charges!in!the!form!of!chemical!
ions,!which!are!mediated!by!a!variety!of!neurochemicals!produced!
endogenously!by!the!brain.!The!chemicals!produced!and!present!in!
different!areas!of!the!brain!are!very!important!to!how!the!brain!
functions.!
There!are!a!lot!of!neurons!in!the!human!brain,!estimated!at!
1011!(100!billion).!Each!neuron!has!on!average!about!7!x!103!(seven!
thousand)!synaptic!connections.!A!three-year-old!child!has!about!
1016!synapses!(10!quadrillion),!but!this!happily!decreases!with!age!
to!a!more!manageable!number!between!1015!to!5!x!1015!synapses!
(15!quadrillion).
152
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Here!are!a!few!comparisons!to!help!you!remember!these!big!
numbers.!The!number!of!neurons!in!your!brain!is!approximately!
the!same!as!the!number!of!stars!in!our!Milky!Way!galaxy,!which!
turns!out!to!be!conveniently!also!the!number!of!galaxies!in!the!
observable!universe,!that!is,!100!billion.!Or!if!you!prefer,!there!are!
more!neurons!in!your!brain!than!the!number!of!hamburgers!served!
at!McDonalds,!before!they!stopped!counting.!And!it!takes!a!lot!of!
hamburgers,!or!other!food,!to!keep!our!neurons!firing.!The!1.5!
kilograms!of!your!brain,!give!or!take,!represents!only!2!percent!of!
your!body!weight!and!yet!it!consumes!15!percent!of!your!cardiac!
output,!20!percent!of!your!body!oxygen,!and!about!25!percent!of!
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152
F. A. Azevedo et al., “Equal Numbers of Neuronal and Nonneuronal Cells Make the Human
Brain an Isometrically Scaled-up Primate Brain,” Journal of Comparative Neurology 513, no. 5
(2009); R. W. Williams and K. Herrup, “The Control of Neuron Number,” Annual Review of
Neuroscience 11 (1988).
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your!body’s!glucose!consumption.!Even!when!you’re!just!sitting!
around,!the!brain!needs!about!0.1!calories!per!minute;!with!
intellectual!activity,!this!can!increase!to!as!high!as!1.5!calories!per!
minute.!From!a!biophysical!and!evolutionary!point!of!view,!the!
human!brain!is!an!expensive!item.!In!birth,!the!head’s!size!makes!it!
difficult!for!it!to!pass!through!the!female!pelvis,!often!resulting!in!
the!death!of!the!infant!or!the!mother.!In!life,!it!requires!a!lot!of!
extra!food!and!care.!!
The!brain!is!best!understood!as!a!kind!of!Rube!Goldberg!
machine.!Goldberg!was!an!American!cartoonist!who!was!famous!
for!depicting!complex!devices!that!performed!simple!tasks!in!
convoluted!ways.!One!such!cartoon!depicts!a!man!eating!his!soup.!
The!spoon!is!attached!to!a!string!that!flips!a!cracker!to!a!parrot!that!
then!activates!water!pouring!into!bucket!that!pulls!a!string!that!
activates!a!lighter!that!launches!a!rocket!attached!to!a!knife!that!
cuts!a!string!that!turns!on!a!clock!with!a!pendulum!that!swings!
back!and!forth!moving!a!napkin!that!now!wipes!clean!the!soup-
eating!man’s!mustache.!The!entire!contraption!is!worn!on!the!head!
of!the!mustached!man!as!a!kind!of!hat.!Our!brains!are!like!this!Rube!
Goldberg!machine,!except!that!the!complex!machine!is!worn!inside!
our!heads!instead!of!outside.!Neuroscientists!today!are!developing!
algorithmic!flow!charts!that!map!out!neural!processes.!Something!
simple!like!engaging!in!meditation!sets!off!an!impossibly!complex!
series!of!actions,!reactions,!and!feedback!loops.
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!We!can!be!
thankful!that!we!do!not!need!to!be!the!least!bit!aware!of!any!of!
these!processes!to!have!wonderfully!functional!brains!allowing!us!
to!mindlessly!perform!lots!of!simple!and!complex!mental!activities!
every!day.!It!is!worth!stopping!a!moment,!however,!to!reflect!that!
the!most!complicated!object!in!the!known!universe!is!sitting!right!
here!between!our!ears.!
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The'Explanatory'Gap'
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It!is!hard!to!recognize!ourselves—our!subjective!experiences,!
thoughts,!emotions,!and!daily!activitiesin!this!neurological!
description!of!our!brains.!Normally,!we!have!no!conscious!
awareness!of!the!cognitive!modules!and!Rube!Goldberg!machines!
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153
Andrew Newberg, “Religious and Spiritual Practices: A Neurochemical Perspective,” in Where
God and Science Meet, ed. Patrick McNamara (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006).
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131!
in!our!head.!Cognitive!neuroscientists!and!philosophers!of!mind!
refer!to!this!as!the!“explanatory!gap.”!Our!physical!descriptions!of!
the!way!the!brain!works!at!the!level!of!neurons,!brain!anatomy,!and!
neurological!processes!bear!no!resemblance!to!our!subjective!
experiences!as!people!with!brains!having!complex!mental!and!
emotional!states.!Nor!is!there!any!neurological!definition!of!
consciousness!as!such.!We!have!no!device!that!can!measure!
presence!or!absence!of!consciousness.!This!is!also!referred!to!as!
the!“hard!problem”!in!consciousness!studies.!We!can!study!brains!
and!learn!all!kinds!of!interesting!and!practical!things!about!them,!
their!functions!and!dysfunctions,!but!this!does!not!get!us!nearer!to!
understanding!what!subjective!conscious!experience!is!or!how!the!
brain!creates!it.!We!know!that!a!diseased!or!damaged!brain!may!
lose!function!or!consciousness,!ultimately!resulting!in!death,!but!
we!do!not!know!what!consciousness!per!se!is!at!the!level!of!the!
“neural!code.”!
Some!are!optimistic!that!we!are!closing!this!explanatory!gap,!
that!we!will!soon!come!to!understand!the!“neural!code”!and!be!able!
to!translate!the!“machine!language”!of!the!brain!into!the!“software!
applications”!of!human!consciousness.!Indeed,!a!lot!of!progress!has!
been!made!in!understanding!how!the!brain!functions.!Scientists!
have!probed,!prodded,!tested,!measured,!dissected,!and!scanned!
lots!and!lots!of!brains,!both!human!and!animal.!Scientists!have!also!
developed!a!remarkable!pharmacology!of!new!drugs!to!treat!
depression,!schizophrenia,!and!other!disorders.!!
Progress!in!the!neurosciences!raises!other!interesting!
philosophical!questions,!which!necessarily!overlap!with!religious!
and!theological!concerns.!First,!there!is!the!question!of!
reductionism!and!how!far!it!can!go.!If!we!can!reduce!certain!mental!
phenomena,!say,!mystical!experiences!of!enlightenment,!to!
neurological!processes,!does!that!mean!that!we!have!adequately!
explained!the!experience!and!can!dismiss!it?!What!happens!if!we!
invent!ways!to!stimulate!these!peak!experiences!at!will?!If!the!
brain!is!a!deterministic!system,!then!how!can!we!talk!about!free!
will,!moral!responsibility,!and!creative!choice?!If!personality!is!
intrinsically!linked!to!brain!chemistry,!should!we!reject!the!dualism!
between!brain!and!mind,!body!and!soul?!In!treating!mental!illness,!
should!we!“waste!time”!with!talk!therapy!or!simply!treat!these!
illnesses!with!medications?!Do!the!cognitive!neurosciences!import!
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assumed!values!and!perspectives!that!are!more!ideological!than!
empirical?!And!what!of!bioethical!issues!that!arise!in!the!context!of!
neuromedicine?!This!is!just!a!short!list,!and!we!are!going!to!revisit!
some!of!these!questions!below!and!in!the!discussion!to!follow.!The!
hard!question!remains:!What!is!consciousness?!Can!we!fill!in!the!
explanatory!gap!between!the!neurosciences!and!subjective!
experience?!And!what!in!particular!is!the!nature!of!religious!
experience!from!the!perspective!of!the!neurosciences?!
Science!does!not!need!to!solve!all!these!philosophical!
problems.!That,!I!would!argue,!is!not!the!job!of!science,!but!rather!
the!task!of!scientifically!informed!philosophers!and!theologians.!
Science!can!and!does!continue!to!plod!along!in!its!methodical!
manner.!The!neurosciences!move!ahead!by!formulating!small!
questions!and!then!constructing!experiments!to!try!to!answer!
them.!The!neurological!basis!of!religious!and!spiritual!experiences!
is!certainly!an!interesting!question,!and!it!has!recently!been!the!
subject!of!fascinating!research!in!laboratories!and!debate!in!
academe!and!in!the!media.!There!are!a!number!of!ways!to!tackle!
the!question:!
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1. disease!and!injury-based!studies!
2. surgical!studies!
3. functional!imaging!studies!
4. psychotropic!drug!studies!
5. developmental!studies!
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1.'Disease'and'Injury-Based'Studies'
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As!already!mentioned,!many!insights!about!the!brain!are!
derived!from!the!study!of!brain!disease!and!injury.!There!may!be!a!
link!between!mental!illness!and!religiosity,!for!instance,!in!the!case!
of!schizophrenia,!in!which!psychotic!episodes!often!have!religious!
content.!Indeed,!for!many!decades,!the!psychiatric!community!
classified!all!religious!content!as!delusional!or!neurotic!in!its!earlier!
versions!of!the!Diagnostic(and(Statistical(Manual(of(Mental(
Disorders!(DSMMD).
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!That!is!happily!no!longer!the!case.!The!
psychiatric!community!has!slowly!come!around!to!recognizing!that!
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154
David B. Larson et.al., “Religious Content in the Dsm-Iii-R Glossary of Technical Terms,
American Journal of Psychiatry 150 (1993).
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religious!experiences!among!patients!may!be!a!sign!of!strength,!a!
resource!in!healing,!not!necessarily!pathological.
155
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There!is!a!lot!of!interest!in!the!role!of!the!frontal!lobes!in!
religious!experience.!Traumatic!injuries!to!the!frontal!lobes!have!a!
profound!effect!on!a!person’s!personality,!impulse!control,!and!
complex-thought!processes.!The!seat!of!cognition,!however,!does!
not!work!alone.!It!is!part!of!a!complex!network,!left,!right,!inside!
out,!and!all!around.!V.!S.!Ramachandran,!a!neuroscientist!at!UC!San!
Diego,!has!focused!on!left!temporal!lobe!epilepsy,!which!is!
frequently!associated!with!religious!visions!during!seizures!and!a!
preoccupation!with!religious!issues!between!seizure!episodes.!
Ramachandran!speculates!that!Saint!Paul,!Mohammad,!and!other!
prophets!and!sages!were!afflicted!with!left!temporal!lobe!
epilepsy.
156
!He!notes!that!“God!may!be!the!ultimate!confabulation!
of!the!Left!Hemisphere!of!the!brain.”
157
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There!are!other!mental!defects!that!manifest!themselves!in!
otherwise!mentally!healthy!individuals.!For!instance,!with!Charles!
Bonnet!syndrome,!people!have!complex!visual!hallucinations!of!
people,!animals,!or!objects!not!actually!present.!With!Capgras!
syndrome,!otherwise!mentally!healthy!individuals!have!delusions!
that!people!around!them!have!been!replaced!by!imposters.!
Another,!much!more!common!mental!disorder!is!known!as!sleep!
paralysis!Probably!many!of!you!have!had!the!experience!of!waking!
up!at!night!unable!to!move!and!with!the!strong!sense!of!someone!
else!in!the!room.!The!presence-in-the-room!is!typically!perceived!
to!be!a!demon!of!some!sort,!and!the!experience!is!generally!
terrifying.!This!is!such!a!common!experience!that!it!has!many!
names,!folk!stories,!and!mythological!explanations!in!diverse!
cultures!around!the!world.!Neuroscientists!now!have!an!etiology!
for!sleep!paralysis,!but!one!could!easily!imagine!how!this!
experience!or!others!would!help!give!rise!to!religious!beliefs!in!
demons,!ghosts,!or!the!devil.
158
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155
David J. Hufford, “An Analysis of the Field of Spiritual, Religion, and Helath,” Metanexus
Online (2005), https://metanexus.net/analysis-field-spirituality-religion-and-health-david-j-
hufford/
156
V. S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee, Phantoms in the Brain (New York: HarperCollins,
1998).
157
V. S. Ramachandran, “Beyond Belief 2006 Conference Lecture,” TSN: The Science Network,
http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-science-religion-reason-and-survival.
158
David J. Hufford, The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of
Supernatural Assault Traditions (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982).
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134!
There!is!one!other!neurological!disorder!that!is!worth!
mentioning.!Synesthesia!is!a!condition!that!might!be!thought!of!as!
metaphoric!thought!on!steroids.!It!typically!involves!things!like!
hearing!sounds!and!seeing!colors,!reading!numbers!and!seeing!
colors,!seeing!colors!and!hearing!sounds.!Perhaps!one!in!a!
thousand!humans!has!some!form!of!synesthesia!in!varying!degrees.!
It!is!not!necessarily!unpleasant.!Indeed,!far!from!being!a!disorder,!it!
can!be!seen!as!a!mental!strength.!As!we!would!expect,!many!
creative!artists!have!synesthesia.!!
Synesthesia!may!be!linked!to!a!much!more!common!mental!
functions!that!all!of!us!employ!every!day,!the!ability!to!make!and!
use!metaphors,!of!which!both!religion!and!science!are!important!
subsets.
159
!A!metaphor!is!the!combination!of!two!unlike!things!to!
create!a!new!meaning.!Shakespeare!writes!that!“time!is!a!beggar,”!
and!now!we!have!a!new!insight!into!time.!You!may!have!noticed!
that!I!have!used!several!metaphors!from!the!computer!sciences!to!
illuminate!the!neurosciencesneural!“code,”!neural!“machine!
language,”!mental!“software,”!neural!“networks,”!and!so!on.!Science!
also!uses!metaphors.!In!some!sense,!all!human!language!is!derived!
from!metaphors.
160
!Religion!can!be!thought!of!as!something!like!the!
metaphoric!confabulations!of!synesthesia,!where!people!observe!
nature!and!hear!the!voice!of!God!or!see!the!Buddha-nature!in!all!
things.
161
!These!confabulations,!however,!are!not!necessarily!
devoid!of!insight!and!value,!truth!and!profundity.!
!
2.'Surgical'Studies'
!
Surgical!studies!are!much!more!limited!because!doctors!
cannot!ethically!open!up!someone’s!brain!and!start!poking!around,!
like,!say,!a!mechanic!fixing!a!car!or!a!technician!fixing!a!computer.!
The!occasion!to!do!surgery!on!live!humans!is!typically!to!remove!a!
brain!tumor,!a!risky!operation.!Because!the!brain!has!no!sensory!
nerves!and!cannot!feel!pain,!brain!surgery!is!typically!done!on!
conscious!humans,!which!means!you!can!ask!them!questions!
during!the!surgery.!In!the!1950s,!Wilder!Penfield,!a!Canadian!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
159
See Ian Barbour, Myths, Models, and Paradigms (New York: Harper and Row, 1974).
160
Paul Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning (Fort Worth: Texas
Christian University Press, 1976).
161
Ramachandran and Blakeslee, Phantoms in the Brain.
!
!
135!
neurosurgeon,!electrically!stimulated!different!regions!of!patients’!
brains!during!surgery!and!asked!patients!to!describe!any!
sensations.!Stimulation!of!the!right!temporal!lobe!caused!patients!
to!hear!voices!and!see!apparitions.!Around!the!same!time,!Robert!
Heath!of!Tulane!University!induced!intense!pleasure!in!psychiatric!
patients!with!electrodes!implanted!in!the!septum,!a!minute!region!
just!above!the!hypothalamus.!He!also!induced!multiple!orgasms!in!
a!female!patient!by!injecting!the!neurotransmitter!acetylcholine!
directly!into!her!septal!region.!These!kinds!of!studies!would!not!be!
allowed!today!by!internal!review!boards!at!medical!schools,!and!
rightly!so,!but!they!were!illuminating!and!suggestive.!Certainly,!
every!neuroscience!course!and!textbook!today!still!present!the!
work!of!Penfield!and!Heath.!
Based!in!part!on!these!kinds!of!studies,!Julian!Jaynes!proposed!
a!unique!theory!of!religion!in!his!1976!book!The(Origin(of(
Consciousness(in(the(Breakdown(of(the(Bicameral(Mind.!Jaynes!
speculated!that!there!were!structural!changes!in!the!human!brain!
some!ten!thousand!years!ago.!He!suggested!that!the!bundle!of!
nerves!connecting!the!two!hemispheres!of!the!brain,!the!corpus!
callosum,!may!not!have!been!as!developed!as!it!is!today.!In!our!
ancestors’!brains,!the!left!hemisphere,!acting!as!the!primary!seat!of!
language!and!identity,!would!misattribute!signals!originating!from!
the!right!hemisphere!to!an!external!source!and!thus!imagined!
ghosts!or!gods.
162
!
Brain-surgery!research!continues!on!nonhuman!animals;!but,!
alas,!lab!rats,!dogs,!and!monkeys!cannot!verbally!report!to!us!on!
their!subjective!experience.!Nevertheless,!we!learn!a!lot!about!how!
their!brains!function,!information!that!is!then!correlated!with!
human!brain!function.!We!are!also!embarking!upon!a!new!era!of!
electrical-implant!machines!to!help!patients!with!Parkinson’s!or!
other!brain!disorders,!as!well!as!electrical!implants!to!help!
quadriplegics!to!control!computers!with!their!thoughts!alone.!All!
this!will!have!implications!for!our!understanding!of!religious!and!
spiritual!phenomena,!some!of!which!may!have!been!best!
prefigured!in!science!fiction!novels.!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
162
Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (New
York: Houghton Mifflin, 1976).
!
!
136!
3.'Functional'Imaging'Studies'
!
New!noninvasive!technologies!now!allow!us!to!look!inside!the!
brains!of!humans!without!adverse!risks!to!the!patient.!
Improvements!in!these!technologies!measure!actual!brain!
functions!while!the!patient!is!performing!limited!tasks!or!having!an!
experience!and!compare!these!states!to!some!baseline!image.!
These!are!referred!to!as!functional!brain-imaging!studies.!The!
earliest!form!of!such!techniques!used!electroencephalographs!of!
brain!waves,!as!well!as!measures!of!autonomic!activities!such!as!
heart!rate!and!blood-pressure!changes,!for!instance,!as!used!in!
early!meditation!studies.!You!are!probably!familiar!with!the!term!
“biofeedback!device,”!which!was!popular!in!the!1970s.!This!
approach,!however,!has!been!compared!to!trying!to!understand!
human!speech!by!listening!to!the!sound!of!a!sports!stadium.
163
!The!
new!technology!is!much!more!powerful,!but!not!without!its!
limitations.!There!are!three!new!techniques!for!functional!brain!
imaging,!and!each!has!different!strengths!and!weaknesses.!
PET!scans,!or!positron!emission!tomography,!use!a!radioactive!
tracer!injected!into!the!bloodstream!of!the!subject!to!measure!
oxygen!flow,!glucose!consumption,!blood!utilization,!or!
neurotransmitters!in!different!regions!of!the!brain.!This!indicates!
which!areas!of!the!brain!are!most!active!during!any!given!
experience!or!activity.!The!injection!provides!a!freeze!frame!at!a!
particular!moment!and!is!followed!by!the!actual!scan!of!the!brain.!
The!problem!with!the!PET!scan!is!that!the!tracers!are!present!for!
only!a!few!minutes,!so!the!patient!needs!to!be!already!in!the!
scanning!device!before!the!injection!occurs.!Hospital!scanning!
devices!are!not!particularly!conducive!to!having!profound!mystical!
experiences!that!can!then!be!measured!by!the!machinery.!
Another!category!of!imaging!technology!is!fMRI,!which!stands!
for!functional!magnetic!resonance!imaging.!The!advantage!of!fMRI!
is!that!it!does!not!involve!injecting!radioactive!tracers!into!the!
bloodstream!of!the!patient.!The!disadvantage!is!that!it!involves!
placing!the!patient!inside!a!claustrophobia-inducing!machine!that!
makes!loud!banging!noises,!only!slightly!more!tolerable!than!
listening!to!a!jackhammer.!Again,!this!is!not!an!atmosphere!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
163
John Horgan, Rational Mysticism (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003).
!
!
137!
particularly!conducive!to!contemplative!practice!or!religious!
devotion.!
The!functional!imaging!technology!most!suited!to!research!on!
religious!and!spiritual!phenomena!may!be!the!SPECT!scan,!which!
stands!for!“single!photon!emission!computed!tomography.”!This!
uses!a!longer-lasting!radioactive!tracer.!Typical!research!design!
has!the!patient!outfitted!with!an!IV!and!a!button!so!he!can!self-
inject!the!tracer!at!what!he!subjectively!considers!to!be!the!peak!
experience!in!meditation!or!prayer.!This!can!be!done!in!a!
comfortable!room!in!the!hospital!near!the!SPECT!scan!machine!and!
can!involve!the!use!of!ritual!objects,!incense,!chanting,!prayer,!and!
so!on.!After!the!peak!experience!and!the!tracer’s!“snapshot”!record!
of!brain!activity!at!the!time!of!injection,!the!subject!can!then!be!put!
into!the!scanning!machine!to!measure!brain!metabolism!from!the!
tracer!“snapshot”!some!minutes!earlier.!!
Andrew!Newberg!and!Eugene!D’Aquili!pioneered!this!research!
with!religious!subjects.!Their!first!study!involved!eight!American!
Buddhists!trained!in!Tibetan!meditation!and!three!Franciscan!
nuns.!They!observed!increased!neural!activity!in!the!prefrontal!
cortex!and!decreased!activity!in!the!posterior!superior!parietal!
lobe.!The!latter!is!connected!with!the!ability!to!navigate!the!
physical!self!in!an!external!world.!They!hypothesized!that!the!
decreased!activity!in!posterior!superior!parietal!lobe!was!linked!to!
the!experience!of!nonduality!described!by!the!subjects.!Newberg!
and!D’Aquili!call!this!experience!“Absolute!Unitary!Being.”
164
!They!
maintain!that!“mystical!experience!is!biologically,!observably,!and!
scientifically!real’”!rather!than!wishful!thinking”!and!go!on!to!
speculate:!
!
[We]!saw!evidence!of!a!neurological!process!that!has!evolved!
to!allow!humans!to!transcend!material!existence!and!
acknowledge!and!connect!with!a!deeper,!more!spiritual!part!of!
ourselves!perceived!of!as!an!absolute,!universal!reality!that!
connects!us!to!all!others.
165
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
164
Andrew Newberg and Eugene D’Aquili, The Mystical Mind (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press,
1999); Newberg and D’Aquili, “The Neuropsychology of Religious and Spiritual Experience,”
Journal of Consciousness Studies 7, nos. 11-12 (2000).
165
Andrew Newberg and Eugene D’Aquili, Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the
Biology of Belief (New York: Ballantine Books, 2001).
!
!
138!
4.'Pharmaceutical'Interventions'
!
Psychotropic!or!psychedelic!drugs!have!long!been!part!of!
human!religious!practices!in!diverse!parts!of!the!world.!The!
authors!of!the!Hindu!Vedas!received!inspiration!from!the!drug!
soma,!which!is!thought!to!be!derived!from!psychedelic!mushrooms,!
such!as!psilocybin-containing!mushrooms!or!fly!agaric,!perhaps!in!
combination!with!cannabis!or!other!substances.!The!ancient!Greek!
Eleusinian!mysteries!also!involved!the!use!of!some!kind!of!
psychedelic!drug.!Tribal!shamans!from!Africa,!Asia,!and!the!
Americas!used!psychotropic!drugs!as!part!of!their!rituals.!The!
Native!American!Church!in!the!United!States!won!a!Supreme!Count!
case!to!ensure!its!right!to!use!peyote!in!its!religious!observances.!
The!urge!for!intoxication!is!not!limited!to!humans.!Chimpanzees,!
elephants,!parrots,!and!other!species!deliberately!ingest!fermented!
fruit!and!other!intoxicants.!The!UCLA!psychopharmacologist!
Ronald!Siegel!speculates!that!the!desire!for!intoxication!is!“the!
fourth!drive”!after!hunger,!thirst,!and!sex.
166
!The!suggestion!in!this!
line!of!research!is!that!perhaps!religion!is!founded!on!this!desire!to!
“get!high.”!
Ergot,!a!fungus!that!contaminates!rye,!wheat,!and!barley,!also!
has!psychotropic!properties!and!was!probably!used!intentionally!
as!part!of!the!Eleusinian!mysteries.!It!has!also!caused!many!
accidental!poisonings!in!human!history.!Ergot!epidemics!were!
known!as!St.!Anthony’s!Fire!in!the!Middle!Ages!and!may!be!linked!
to!incidents!of!mass!hysteria!and!hallucinations.!The!synthesis!of!
LSD!(lysergic!acid!diethylamide)!in!1942!by!the!Swiss!chemist!
Albert!Hoffman!was!based!on!an!ergot!derivative.!
In!addition!to!LSD,!modern!science!has!synthesized!a!large!
number!of!new!psychotropic!and!psychedelic!compounds.!Some!
prefer!to!use!the!term!entheogens,!meaning!“God-inducing,”!to!
describe!this!class!of!chemicals,!because!of!their!ability!to!induce!
intense!mystical!experiences.!The!most!common!and!quite!potent!
drugs!are!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
166
Ronald Siegel, Intoxication (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1989).
!
!
139!
mescaline––3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine!!
LSDlysergic!acid!diethylamide!!
DMT—5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine!!
MDMA3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine,!
commonly!known!as!Ecstasy!
!
All!these!chemicals!bear!some!resemblance!to!endogenous!
neurochemicals!in!the!brain!such!as!dopamine,!norepinephrine,!
serotonin,!and!opiates.!DMT,!a!powerful!psychedelic!drug,!can!also!
be!produced!naturally!in!the!human!brain.!The!ritual!use!of!these!
drugs!and!others!in!religious!ceremonies!is!quite!extensive.!In!the!
1950s!and!1960s,!mescaline!and!LSD!were!used!to!treat!more!than!
forty!thousand!patients!for!a!variety!of!illnesses,!and!over!one!
thousand!papers!describing!these!treatments!were!published!in!
peer-review!journals.!But!then!came!the!excesses!of!Timothy!Leary!
and!the!hippies,!and!the!drugs!became!controlled!substances,!their!
use!illegal!in!most!countries.
167
!
It!is!not!clear!what!we!learn!about!religion!and!spirituality!by!
using!and!studying!these!drugs.!Are!they!a!shortcut!to!
enlightenment!or!simply!a!drug-induced!experience!with!no!
greater!significance?!Are!other!kinds!of!religious!rituals!and!
practice!simply!different!methods!for!inducing!these!kinds!of!
experiences!that!basically!harness!the!brain’s!capacity!to!
hallucinate?!It!is!worth!noting!that!we!do!discover!some!“form!
constants”!in!these!drug-induced!experiences,!for!instance,!the!
recurrence!of!mandala-like!geometric!patterns!in!hallucinations.
168
!
Psychopharmacology!is!powerful!stuff,!so!we!should!not!be!too!
dismissive.!A!lot!of!drugs!provide!powerful!relief!for!clinical!
depression,!schizophrenia,!and!other!ailments.!Drug!companies!
continue!to!research,!discover,!and!invent!new!compounds.!The!
prospects!for!new!spiritual!drugs!are!intriguing!and!disconcerting.!
One!thought!experiment!proposed!by!my!colleague!Jeremy!
Sherman!involved!an!imagined!compound!that!would!disrupt!the!
somatic!nervous!system,!such!that!if!you!did!not!pay!attention!to!
and!consciously!will!your!breathing,!you!would!soon!die.!This!
imagined!drug!would!have!no!side!effects!and!would!last!for!only!a!
few!hours.!No!longer!would!a!person!need!to!spend!years!learning!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
167
Horgan, Rational Mysticism.
168
Ibid.
!
!
140!
meditation!techniques!in!a!monastery.!A!few!hours!under!the!
influence!of!this!pill!and!you!would!achieve!instant!satori!(or!
die).
169
!Maybe!mysticism,!enlightenment,!whatever!you!want!to!call!
it,!is!just!a!neurochemical!state!that!can!be!induced!by!rigorous!
training!in!a!meditative!tradition!or!a!simple!pill!taken!on!a!Sunday!
afternoon.!
!
5.'Brain'Development'
!
Brains!grow!and!evolve!throughout!life,!but!especially!in!
childhood.!In!the!second!year!of!life,!the!brain!of!a!human!baby!is!
only!about!50!percent!developed.!The!maximum!size!of!a!brain!is!
reached!in!adolescence!around!the!age!of!sixteen.!Different!parts!of!
the!brain!mature!at!different!stages.!There!are!periods!of!high!
dendrite!and!synapse!formation!and!other!periods!of!pruning!in!
which!the!number!of!neurons!and!synaptic!connections!is!reduced.!
Some!neuronal!connections!are!enhanced!through!the!formation!of!
lipid!sheaths!around!the!axions!that!speed!and!strengthen!neural!
transmissions.!This!process!is!known!as!myelination,!the!
conversion!of!gray-matter!neurons!into!white-matter!neurons.!
Myelinated!neural!connections!play!a!much!more!important!role!in!
mental!processes!than!do!unmyelinated!neural!connections.!
Humans!have!universal!dispositions!to!learn!language,!music,!
and!religion;!but!the!specific!language,!genre!of!music,!and!religious!
tradition!are!matters!of!the!geography!and!culture!of!birth.!All!
religions!also!use!music!and!language,!so!these!connections!may!be!
more!than!incidental!to!the!development!of!brains!and!religions.!!
There!appear!to!be!developmental!biases!that!predispose!
humans!to!believing!in!God!or!other!supernatural!personalities.!
Young!children!tend!to!assume!that!all!objects!in!the!world!are!
manufactured!for!a!purpose,!and!that!these!objects!also!have!a!
creator.
170
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
169
Jeremy Sherman, “Meditation and Future Pharmaceuticals: A Short Science Fiction,”
Metanexus Global Spiral (1999),
http://www.metanexus.net/Magazine/tabid/68/id/3062/Default.aspx.
170
D. Kelemen, “Are Children “Intuitive Theists”?: Reasoning About Purpose and Design in
Nature,” Psychological Science 15 (2004); Justin L. Barrett, Why Would Anyone Believe in
God? (Lanham, MD: Altamira, 2004); Paul Bloom, “Is God an Accident?” Atlantic Monthly,
December 2005, http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/god-accident.
!
!
141!
It!may!be!that!adolescence!is!a!particularly!important!time!for!
the!transmission!of!religion,!that!there!is!a!neurological!disposition!
and!evolved!expectation!that!cultures!utilize.!This!can!be!seen!in!
the!prevalence!of!rites!of!initiation.!Seventy!percent!of!the!cultures!
studied!by!anthropologists!have!some!formal!adolescent-initiation!
practice.!Some!are!for!males!only,!some!for!females!only,!and!some!
for!both.!These!rites!of!passage!generally!involve!separation!from!
family!and!community,!seclusion,!physical!hardship,!psychological!
stress,!deprivation!of!food!or!water!or!sleep,!and!sometimes!also!
torture!and!body!mutilation.!These!initiation!rites!precede!
marriage,!reproduction,!and!adult!responsibilities!and!rights!within!
the!social!group.
171
!!
It!may!be!that!those!cultures!that!do!not!have!a!formal!
adolescent-initiation!ceremony!do!so!at!great!risk!to!their!well-
being!and!survival.!Adolescents!have!a!way!of!initiating!themselves!
in!the!manner!of!Lord(of(the(Flies!or!the!“ragging”!rituals!at!
universities!in!the!absence!of!a!formal!adult!initiation.!!
!
Problems'and'Issues'
!
There!are!a!number!of!problems!inherent!in!these!
neuroscientific!studies!of!religious!and!spiritual!phenomena.!First!
and!foremost,!religion!is!a!complex!neurocognitive!experience!that!
includes!rituals,!social!groups,!and!a!variety!of!other!dimensions!
that!are!not!easily!replicated!in!a!laboratory!setting!or!isolated!in!
individual!human!minds.!Nor!is!it!clear!that!all!religious!
experiences!are!neurologically!comparable.!Talmudic!studies,!
involving!reading,!analysis!of!text,!and!lively!debate,!may!not!be!the!
least!bit!comparable!to!a!Pentecostal!experience!of!speaking!in!
tongues.!The!contemplative!practices!of!a!Sri!Lankan!Buddhist!may!
not!be!comparable!to!Hindu!Bhakti!devotions.!Practicing!Hatha!
yoga!asanas!in!India!may!not!be!the!same!as!Catholic!self-
flagellations!at!Good!Friday!observances!in!the!Philippines.!
Listening!to!Bach!cantatas!at!a!Protestant!church!in!Leipzig!may!
not!be!the!same!as!listening!to!Gamelan!music!played!at!a!village!
temple!in!Bali.!None!of!these!phenomena!is!easily!replicated!in!a!
laboratory.!Science!necessarily!tries!to!simplify!in!order!to!pursue!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
171
Candace S. Alcorta, “Religion and the Life Course: Is Adolescence An 'Experience Expectant'
Period for Religious Transmission?” in McNamara, Where God and Science Meet.
!
!
142!
manageable!research.!Most!of!the!neuroimaging!studies!focus!on!
some!kind!of!meditative!or!contemplative!practice!simply!because!
it!would!be!hard!to!study!anything!else!in!a!hospital!radiology!
department.!
A!fuller!taxonomy!of!religious!experience!needs!to!be!
developed,!detailed,!and!correlated!with!different!brain!states!and!
cognitive!theories!of!religion.!Note!that!the!list!below!does!not!
necessarily!indicate!discrete!experiences!and!can!be!combined!in!
any!number!of!ways!in!actual!religious!persons:!
!
1. Interpretative!experiences:!understanding!some!event!or!
circumstance!to!be!religiously!significant,!as!in!serendipity,!
synchronicity,!good!or!bad!fortune;!
!
2. Quasi-sensory!experiences:!auditory!or!visual!experiences!of!
the!divine;!
!
3. Revelatory!experiences:!receiving!some!insight!about!ultimate!
reality;!
!
4. Regenerative!experiences:!a!healing!or!catharsis!in!which!
problems!or!anxiety!dissipate;!
!
5. Ethical-moral!experiences:!grasped!by!moral!obligation!to!act!
in!the!face!of!suffering!or!injustice;!
!
6. Aesthetic!experiences:!an!intense!spiritual!experience!of!beauty!
in!nature!or!art,!music,!or!ritual;!
!
7. Intellectual!experiences:!an!intense!engagement!in!learning!and!
problem-solving!that!takes!on!a!spiritual!dimension,!for!
instance,!in!the!moment!of!discovery!or!comprehension;!
!
8. Ecstatic!experiences:!as!in!energetic!devotional!prayer,!
particularly!in!group!context,!perhaps!not!unlike!a!rock!
concert;!
!
9. Numinous!experiences:!an!encounter!with!Spirit!that!is!Wholly-
Other,!being!in!the!presence!of!God;!
!
!
!
143!
10. Oneness!experiences:!loss!of!distinction!between!self!and!
world,!nondual!sense!of!unity!with!God!and!the!universe.
172
!
!
Another!problem!in!the!neuroscientific!study!of!religious!and!
spiritual!phenomena!is!the!tendency!to!draw!ontological!
conclusions!from!these!studies,!typically!either!to!validate!or!
disprove!some!religious!doctrine.!This!is!philosophically!bogus;!
one!cannot!prove!or!disprove!the!existence!of!God!by!studying!
someone’s!brain.!A!neurological!correlation!does!not!equal!
causation!or!ultimate!explanation.!So!what!if!Mohammad!or!Saint!
Paul!had!temporal!lobe!epilepsy?!If!God!wants!to!use!that!
mechanism!to!transmit!His!revelation,!then!so!be!it.!Every!thought!
we!have,!including!scientific!thoughts,!also!has!measurable!brain!
states.!We!can!use!a!SPECT!scan!to!study!the!brain!of!a!physicist!
while!he!works!on!equations.!We!would!learn!lots!of!interesting!
things!about!the!brain!of!a!physicist,!maybe!generalizable!to!all!
physicists,!perhaps!also!to!all!equations,!but!we!would!learn!
nothing!about!whether!the!physics!is!true.!
Let!us!use!a!playful!analogy!and!imagine!what!the!
neurosciences!of!sports!might!look!like.!There!are!a!lot!of!different!
sports!and!we!cannot!study!them!all,!so!we!are!going!to!simplify!by!
looking!only!at!cricket.!Still,!cricket!turns!out!to!be!really!
complicated,!so!we!are!going!to!need!to!simplify!some!more.!We!
are!not!going!to!pay!attention!to!the!business!of!cricket,!to!the!rules!
of!the!game,!to!the!social!practices!and!enculturation!of!cricket!as!a!
sport!among!the!youth,!to!the!fanatical!fans!in!former!British!
colonies,!or!to!the!complicated!numerology!of!the!sport.!It!is!just!
too!much;!so!we!are!going!to!focus!on!the!neurological!correlates!of!
cricket.!But!whose!cricket!brain!are!we!going!to!study,!that!of!one!
of!the!boys!from!the!Sunday!pickup!game!in!the!village!where!I!
taught!in!Sri!Lanka!or,!perhaps!better,!that!of!a!professional!player!
of!cricket!on!the!national!team?!We!assume!that!a!neuroscientific!
study!of!a!cricket!exemplar!will!be!more!revealing,!so!we!select!
Sanath!Jayasuriya!of!the!Sri!Lankan!National!Team!to!be!our!
subject!for!a!neuroimaging!study!of!cricket,!assuming!that!this!is!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
172
This is a compilation of different typologies of religious experience. See Ian Barbour, Religion
in an Age of Science: The Gifford Lectures 1989-1991, vol. 1 (San Francisco: Harper, 1990),
36-38; Carolyn F. Davis, The Evidential Force of Religious Experience (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1989), ch 2; and James Fowler, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human
Development and the Quest for Meaning (San Francisco: Harper, 1981).
!
!
144!
generalizable!in!some!way!to!all!cricket!players,!indeed!to!all!
sports.!Before!the!big!match,!we!outfit!Jayasuriya!with!a!remote-
control!IV,!so!that!we!can!inject!him!with!radioactive!tracers!in!the!
midst!of!batting!one!of!his!cut-short!shots!during!a!big!game.!He!
swings!the!bat!and!hits!a!big!one;!unfortunately,!now!we!have!to!
stop!the!game,!in!order!to!whisk!Jayasuriya!away!to!the!laboratory!
and!put!him!into!the!SPECT!scan.!Don’t!worry:!the!game!can!
resume!in!half!an!hour!because!we!will!have!finished!the!scan!and!
can!begin!our!analysis!comparing!his!base-state!brain!with!his!
cricket-state!brain.!No!doubt!we!would!learn!something!interesting!
about!Jayasuriya’s!brain,!but!we!would!be!nowhere!near!
understanding!the!phenomenon!of!cricket.!We!would!not!know!
whether!his!brain!is!the!same!as!other!cricket!players’!brains!or,!for!
that!matter,!the!brains!of!other!athletes!playing!other!sportssay,!
tennis,!golf,!or!baseball.!It!might!be!that!brain!scans!of!the!fans!
watching!the!match!would!reveal!the!same!neurological!correlates,!
given!the!phenomenon!of!mirror!neurons,!but!we!would!need!to!
test!this.!!
From!a!strictly!neuroreductionist!point!of!view,!we!would!not!
really!know!whether!cricket!was!“real”!or!merely!a!“subjective”!
experience.!It!seems!that!the!object!of!cricket!is!more!concrete!and!
objective!than!the!objects!of!religion,!but!is!that!really!so?!You!can!
take!the!neuroscientist!to!a!cricket!stadium!and!tell!her,!“Behold,!
here!is!cricket.”!As!an!outsider,!she!probably!has!not!acquired!an!
appreciation!of!the!game!and!will!not!understand!the!complicated!
rules.!The!object!of!cricket!is!to!have!fun,!you!might!explain.!Our!
neuroscientist!would!then!have!to!ask,!“What!is!fun?”!Similarly,!I!
could!also!take!the!neuroscientist!to!the!monastery,!the!temple,!the!
church,!the!synagogue,!or!the!mosque,!and!say,!“Behold,!here!is!
religion.”!But!she!would!still!ask,!“What!is!the!object!of!all!this!
activity?!God,!enlightenment,!what’s!that?”!There!is!no!“objective”!
reason,!in!either!case,!to!divert!so!much!time!and!energy,!passion!
and!skill,!into!either!activity,!whether!cricket!or!religion.!So,!the!
neuroscientist!postulates!that!maybe!it!has!something!to!do!with!
the!brain!states!of!cricket!players!and!fans!or!the!brain!states!of!the!
religious!believers,!as!the!case!may!be.!!
Let’s!push!this!reductio!ad!absurdum!one!step!farther.!What!is!
the!objective!reality!of!the!brains!of!a!neuroscientist!while!they!do!
neuroscience?!The!British!geneticist!J.!B.!S.!Haldane!(18921964)!
!
!
145!
came!to!the!same!conclusion!in!thinking!about!the!brains!of!
scientists!in!general:!!
!
It!seems!to!me!immensely!unlikely!that!mind!is!a!mere!by-
product!of!matter.!For!if!my!mental!processes!are!determined!
wholly!by!the!motions!of!atoms!in!my!brain,!I!have!no!reason!
to!suppose!that!my!beliefs!are!true.!They!may!be!sound!
chemically,!but!that!does!not!make!them!sound!logically.!And!
hence!I!have!no!reason!for!supposing!my!brain!to!be!composed!
of!atoms.!In!order!to!escape!from!this!necessity!of!sawing!
away!the!branch!on!which!I!am!sitting,!so!to!speak,!I!am!
compelled!to!believe!that!mind!is!not!wholly!conditioned!by!
matter.
173
!
!
As!the!Buddhist!philosopher!Alan!Wallace!points!out!in!his!
book!The(Taboo(of(Subjectivity((2000),!we!still!do!not!understand!
the!mind:!
!
Despite!centuries!of!modern!philosophical!and!scientific!
research!into!the!nature!of!the!mind,!at!present!there!is!no!
technology!that!can!detect!the!presence!or!absence!of!any!kind!
of!consciousness,!for!scientists!do!not!even!know!what!exactly!
is!to!be!measured.!Strictly!speaking,!at(present(there(is(no(
scientific(evidence(even(for(the(existence(of(consciousness!!All!
the!direct!evidence!we!have!consists!of!nonscientific,!first-
person!accounts!of!being!conscious.
174
!
!
Uncorroborated!first-person!accounts!of!anything!do!not!count!
as!adequate!evidence!in!a!court!of!law!or!in!the!sciences.!These!
need!to!be!correlated!and!corroborated!by!other!evidence.!The!“I”!
cannot!be!trusted.!Science!leaves!us!with!something!like!the!
Buddhist!doctrine!of!anatman!or!no-self,!a!subtle!and!paradoxical!
doctrine!in!Buddhism.!We!have!sawn!off!the!branch!on!which!we!
sit.!Perhaps!we!need!to!rethink!science!and,!with!it,!the!
neurosciences!from!the!bottom!up.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
173
John B. S. Haldane, “When I Am Dead,” in Possible Worlds and Other Essays (London: Chatto
and Windus, [1927] 1932).
174
B. Allan Wallace, The Taboo of Subjectivity: Towards a New Science of Consciousness (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2000).
!
!
146!
!
The'Emergence'of'Mind'
!
The!problem!is!that!science!lacks!an!adequate!metaphysics!for!
incorporating!both!mind!and!matter.!While!this!is!an!issue!I!will!
explore!in!more!detail!in!chapter!eight,!it!is!useful!to!discuss!some!
of!these!metaphysical!and!philosophical!issues!in!our!present!
context.!Today,!an!informed!metaphysics!and!philosophy!of!science!
needs!to!go!beyond!reductionism!and!materialism.!We!cannot!
really!talk!about!science!anymore!without!discussing!emergent!
properties!of!phenomena!and!different!levels!of!organization.!The!
human!brain!is!only!one!example!of!emergence!in!nature,!but!an!
extraordinary!one!to!be!sure.!A!single!neuron!may!be!beautiful!to!
the!discerning!eye!of!a!neuroscientist,!but!it!is!pretty!stupid!all!by!
itself.!
The!concept!of!emergence!says!simply!that!the(whole(is(more(
than(the(sum(of(its(parts.!We!can!learn!a!lot!of!interesting!things!
about!a!brain!cell!by!studying!its!parts!and!its!chemistry.!A!quick!
perusal!of!the!typically!heavy!undergraduate!textbook!on!
neurosciences!should!be!adequate!to!demonstrate!just!how!much!
we!have!learned!in!the!last!century!through!this!kind!of!
reductionist!approach.!That!being!said,!the!neuron!itself!could!not!
be!predicted!or!adequately!described!solely!on!basis!of!its!
constituent!components.!Nor!can!a!brain!be!adequately!understood!
by!listing!its!parts.!The!human!brain!is!an!emergent!phenomenon,!
both!in!its!ontogenydevelopmental!biologyand!its!
phylogeny—evolutionary!biology.!!
Mind!is!also!an!emergent!phenomenon.!Mind!cannot!exist!
without!a!functional!brain,!but!you!could!never!predict!
consciousness!on!the!basis!of!an!exhaustive!reductionistic!
description!of!the!brain.!Nor!does!mind-brain!really!do!anything!by!
itself.!An!isolated!mind-brain!would!be!a!terrible!waste.!To!reach!
its!potential,!a!mind-brain!requires!an!entire!body,!vocal!chords,!
oppositional!thumbs,!tools,!languages,!families,!societies,!cultures,!
and!nature.!!
It!is!not!just!“soft”!concepts!like!mind-from-brain!that!burst!
the!reductionist!dream!of!a!mechanistic!account!of!complex!
phenomena.!There!are!ample!examples!of!emergent!properties!
throughout!the!sciences.!From!the!surface!tension!of!water!in!a!
!
!
147!
glass!to!superfluidity!and!superconductivity!in!a!physicist’s!lab,!the!
behavior!of!huge!numbers!of!particles!cannot!be!deduced!from!the!
properties!of!a!single!atom!or!molecule.!
!
A'Musical'Interlude'
!
Let!us!imagine!a!scientific!study!of!music,!in!this!case,!classical!
choral!music.!Our!case!study!will!be!Johann!Sebastian!Bach.!We!will!
examine!in!scientific!detail!one!of!Bach’s!Cantatas,!BMV!99—“Was!
Gott!tut,!das!ist!wohlgetan.”!!
Our!first!approach!will!be!to!examine!carefully!the!paper!on!
which!this!cantata!was!written.!We!will!study!the!chemical!
composition!of!the!paper!and!the!ink!in!which!the!score!was!
written.!We!can!also!study!the!semiotic!development!of!the!
notation!system!used!and!the!music!theory!behind!it.!This!is!all!
relevant!to!the!subject!matter,!but!it!is!not!likely!we!will!discover!
much!of!interest!about!Bach,!his!cantata,!or!our!experience!of!
listening!to!it.!!
Another!approach!will!be!to!study!the!physics!of!acoustics!and!
the!instrumentation.!This!cantata!calls!for!string!and!wind!
instruments!and,!of!course,!a!choir.!This!is!going!to!lead!us!into!
some!interesting!directions,!including!questions!about!how!the!
human!ear!and!vocal!cords!function,!but!we!are!still!not!going!to!
learn!much!about!Bach!or!this!cantata.!!
Another!approach!will!be!neurological.!We!will!place!you!
under!an!fMRI!or!PET!scan!to!try!to!ascertain!through!
neuroimaging!analyses!the!effect!on!your!brain!of!listening!to!this!
cantata.!Technically,!we!are!also!going!to!have!to!do!a!lot!of!
comparative!work!here!with!other!sound-perception!and!music-
perception!studies!to!isolate!what!is!unique,!if!anything!at!all,!to!
listening!to!this!particular!work,!as!opposed!to!other!sounds,!
musical!pieces,!and!genres!of!music.!No!doubt!we!might!learn!lots!
of!interesting!things,!at!least!about!your!brain,!because!it!is!not!
clear!yet!that!another!subject,!say,!a!Chinese!or!Indonesian!person!
unfamiliar!with!the!genre!or!even!the!tonal!structure,!would!have!
!
!
148!
the!same!neurological!experience!when!listening!to!this!Bach!
piece.
175
!
Another!approach!would!be!to!employ!a!mathematical!analysis!
of!the!music!itself.!With!Bach,!in!particular,!there!is!clearly!not!only!
a!musical!genius!composing,!but!also!a!mathematical!genius.!This!
might!lead!to!some!interesting!insights,!including!computer!
programs!that!can!generate!“original”!scores!in!Bach’s!style.!
We!could!also!take!a!historical!approach,!considering!Bach’s!
life!and!time,!his!musical!influences,!his!biography,!and!his!musical!
and!perhaps!mathematical!genius.!This!may!be!more!instructive!
than!studying!the!chemical!properties!of!the!paper!on!which!the!
cantata!was!written!or!the!physics!and!physiology!of!acoustics.!
Here,!the!level!of!analysis!better!fits!the!topic,!not!that!the!physics!
and!physiology!are!wrong!or!uninteresting!in!themselves.!!
A!truly!“scientific”!study!of!the!cantata!would!surely!also!
reflect!on!the!philosophical,!religious,!and!theological!significance!
of!this!work,!compare!it!to!the!other!two!hundred!cantatas!that!
Bach!wrote!for!the!liturgical!calendar,!and!wonder!about!Bach’s!
own!religious!beliefs.!What!does!it!mean!to!assert!“Was!Gott!tut,!
das!ist!wohlgetan”(“What!God!does!is!done!well”)?!How!does!the!
music!reinforce!the!message?!What!influence!does!Bach’s!music!
and!theology!have!on!us!today?!How!do!we!feel!when!we!listen!to!
this!song!or!perform!it?!
Our!scientific!analysis!of!a!single!composition!by!Bach!can!be!
posed!on!many!different!levels!and!can!lead!us!in!many!different!
directions,!including!into!interpretative!humanistic!disciplines!not!
normally!thought!of!as!scientific.!Furthermore,!none!of!these!
directions!and!levels!of!analysis!necessarily!conflicts!with!each!
other.!The!only!problems!arise!when!we!insist!on!a!single,!valid!
level!of!analysis!to!the!exclusion!of!others.!For!instance,!a!
neuroscientist!might!insist!that!brain!science!is!the!only!valid!level!
of!understanding!the!phenomenon!of!Bach’s!music.!
In!this!discussion!of!a!new!science!of!music,!we!see!many!
intriguing!parallels!and!problems!common!to!the!proposed!new!
sciences!of!religion.!This!is!why!I!keep!coming!back!to!the!necessity!
and!wisdom!of!a!non-reductive!functionalist!study!of!religion.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
175
Petr Janata is conducting these kinds of studies at UC Davis with funding from the Metanexus
Institute and the John Templeton Foundation. Petr Janata, Center for Mind and Brain, UC
Davis, http://atonal.ucdavis.edu.
!
!
149!
!
Dangers'and'Opportunities'
!
There!is!a!lot!of!exciting!research!still!to!be!done!and!some!
brilliant!people!devoting!themselves!to!this!research.!There!are!
enormous!benefits!to!be!realized!on!the!road!ahead.!For!instance,!
all!traditions!recognize!that!there!is!religious!deviance,!but!they!do!
not!agree!on!how!to!classify!it.!Neuroscientific!research!may!give!us!
better!tools!for!distinguishing!between!pathological!religious!
persons!and!normal,!healthy!religious!persons.!!
There!are!also!some!dangers!that!we!should!recognize.!The!
neurosciences!can!be!used!ideologically!to!denigrate!religion,!as!
was!the!case!in!the!psychiatric!community!in!the!early!years!of!the!
profession.!More!worrisome!is!that!the!neurosciences!may!provide!
insights!that!might!make!religious!euphoria!easily!obtained!or!
religious!brain-washing!easily!manipulated.!This!danger!applies!
not!just!to!drugs!but!any!foolproof!technique!that!can!guarantee!
religious!ecstasy!or!obedience.!The!notion!that!someone!might!take!
a!pill!and!achieve!eternal!bliss!without!any!side!effects!might!well!
spell!the!end!of!our!species’s!evolution!and!quite!possibly!
inaugurate!the!beginning!of!our!extinction.!It!is!not!clear!what!we!
would!do!if!everyone!were!happy!and!euphoric!all!the!time,!one!
with!the!universe,!what!Newberg!and!D’Aquili!called!Absolute!
Unitary!Being.!What!would!motivate!us!to!struggle!and!be!
creative?
176
!!
Sometimes!getting!what!we!want!is!really!bad.!I!take!comfort,!
and,!of!course,!some!pain,!in!a!faith!that!we!will!never!really!
understand!the!human!mind-brain,!certainly!not!in!a!way!that!we!
can!mechanistically!control!or!easily!transform!it!to!some!desired!
end.!The!mind-brain!is!just!too!complicated!with!too!many!
feedback!loops!to!expect!certain!results.
177
!The!mind-brain!is!an!
example!of!a!complex!distributed!system,!extremely!powerful!and!
creative,!but!because!of!its!complexity,!not!something!that!can!be!
understood!and!controlled.!In!the!end,!we!will!be!saved!from!
ourselves!by!this!very!complexity,!which!does!not!mean!that!people!
will!not!try!to!discover!or!invent!the!fountain!of!youth!and!the!key!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
176
Horgan, Rational Mysticism.
177
William J. Grassie, “Useless Arithmetic and Inconvenient Truths: A Review,” Metanexus
Global Spiral (2007), https://metanexus.net/useless-arithmetic-and-inconvenient-truths/
!
!
150!
to!eternal!happiness.
178
!Buddhism,!for!instance,!claims!to!be!such!a!
foolproof!technique,!but!after!over!2,500!years,!samsara!continues.!
We!have!not!all!achieved!nirvana!and!are!unlikely!to!do!so.!It!is!
perhaps!the!questing!after!enlightenment!or!God,!rather!than!the!
actual!achievement!of!enlightenment!or!finding!God,!that!is!the!
most!wholesome!and!transformative!aspect!of!religion.!In!that!
quest,!there!is!no!reason!not!to!invite!science,!including!the!
neurosciences,!along!for!the!ride.!We!have!a!lot!to!learn!from!each!
other.!
In!closing,!it!is!worth!recalling!the!words!of!William!James:!
!
Let!empiricism!once!become!associated!with!religion,!as!
hitherto,!through!some!strange!misunderstanding,!it!has!been!
associated!with!irreligion,!and!I!believe!that!a!new!era!of!
religion!as!well!as!philosophy!will!be!ready!to!begin.!.!.!.!I!fully!
believe!that!such!an!empiricism!is!a!more!natural!ally!than!
dialectics!ever!were,!or!can!be,!of!the!religious!life.
179
!!
!
Empirical!research!on!religious!and!spiritual!phenomena!is!not!
only!healthy!for!each!of!our!traditions!separately,!but!it!will!also!
help!us!better!understand!each!other!in!an!increasingly!globalized!
religious!world.!James!writes!that!a!science!of!religion!“can!offer!
mediation!between!different!believers,!and!help!to!bring!about!
consensus!of!opinion.”
180
!Instead!of!religion’s!being!something!that!
divides!us,!more!and!better!religion!can!be!something!that!unites!
us,!here!in!our!increasingly!diverse!communities!and!throughout!
our!increasingly!globalized!world.!The!neurosciences!of!religion!
can!certainly!help!us!along!that!road.!
It!may!also!be!that!religions!can!teach!science!a!few!interesting!
tricks.!Buddhism,!for!instance,!has!been!studying!the!mind!for!a!
long!time!and!has!its!own!taxonomy!of!mental!states.!What!are!the!
neurological!correlates!to!these!states?!Might!this!be!a!useful!
taxonomy!in!other!religious!traditions?!Would!this!Buddhist!
taxonomy!be!useful!in!the!cognitive!neurosciences?!Not!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
178
Jaron Lanier, “One-Half of a Manifesto: Why Stupid Software Will Save the Future from Neo-
Darwinian Machines,” WIRED 8, no.12 (1999).
179
William James, A Pluralistic Universe (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, [1909]
1977), 142.
180
William James, Varieties of Religious Experience (New York: Macmillian, [1902] 1961), 456.
!
!
151!
coincidentally,!many!Western!neuroscientists!turn!out!to!be!
practicing!Buddhists.!!
Given!the!profound!connection!between!embodied!self!and!
personality,!is!it!appropriate!to!use!metaphysical!dualisms!such!as!
body!and!soul!or!atman!and!anatman?!What!happens!to!our!
theologies!and!philosophies!if!we!reject!these!dualisms,!as!science!
seems!to!suggest!we!must?!We!will!return!to!these!questions!in!
later!chapters.!
!
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Article
This book takes a bold new look at ways of exploring the nature, origins, and potentials of consciousness within the context of science and religion. It draws careful distinctions between four elements of the scientific tradition: science itself, scientific realism, scientific materialism, and scientism. Arguing that the metaphysical doctrine of scientific materialism has taken on the role of ersatz-religion for its adherents, it traces its development from its Greek and Judeo-Christian origins, focusing on the interrelation between the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. It also looks at scientists' long term resistance to the firsthand study of consciousness and details the ways in which subjectivity has been deemed taboo within the scientific community. In conclusion, the book draws on William James's idea for a "science of religion" that would study the nature of religious and, in particular, contemplative experience.