Saturday, October 22, 2011

God's Brain, by Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire

I can’t get enough of these books about the cognitive science behind spirituality. Let’s face if, if there’s a God, He is happening in our brains. If there isn’t a God, something is happening in our brains that makes us believe in one, or at least want to believe in one.

What exactly is going on when we believe? Is there a reason for it, speaking in terms of evolution? Does a belief in God and religion serve a positive brain function? It would seem so, think Tiger and McGuire.

Basing their theories on the latest in neuroscience, brain chemistry and primate behavior, they find that God IS in and He/She/It serves a very important role -- something they call brain soothing. In living our lives, our brains endure stress,The brain needs to be satisfied chemically and, God beliefs and interacting with other people with such beliefs performs that need. They do a great job developing this interesting theory and show how it works.

Whether one believes in God or not, one will come away with a deeper respect for human belief and all but the most dogmatic believers from either camp will find some illumination here.

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