The "God" Part of the Brain: A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God is a very good book that explores why humans adopted the concept of magic and dieties... it is about the evolution of our brain and the intellect. [amazon.com]
I'm not sure about the "god part" of our brain but for many years I thought I had a guardian. An invisible presence that would help and protect me. As time goes on I find that this and the god concept itself comes out of our brain. It is human nature to make up a god in the same way that you made up that invisible friend as a child.
I listen to books using Audible. I would like to listen to Matthew Alper. It seems to me that spiritualism is merely an increase in awareness of being alive.Someone said that the best activities in life are the ones that increase our awareness of being alive. I dunno.
It's difficult to come to terms with the idea that our life is played out sort of on a screen and is projected in our minds for us to watch. Sam Harris is very good at describing this phenomenon. Consciousness is an illusion.As neuroscience progresses, I think we will increase our view of a reductionist view of consciousness.
I wonder what the future holds for criminals as we begin to approach the idea of a deterministic brain. "My brain made me do it" may one day be an excuse for criminals. Our control over our brains is limited at best. Try to sit still with closed eyes and think of nothing for one minute.
Most humans somehow feel that there must be a creator. This is understandable when we view the cosmos. However, to believe there is a God that watches everything we do, especially when we are naked seems ridiculous to me. Why would the God of the universe like to write books?
I love good books. I belong to a book club that is part of our Omaha Metropolitan Area Humanists Association. We read a variety of books, but this looks like it would be a good fit for us. I'm reading a book right now that I also want to recommend to our club, Fantasyland, How America Went Haywire - A 500 Year History by Kurt Andersen. Explains how the influences of dreamers, zealots, hucksters, and superstitious groups shaped America's tendency toward a rich fantasy life, citing the roles of individuals from P.T. Barnum to Donald Trump in perpetuating conspiracy theories, self-delusion, and magical thinking. I take the book to work with me and read at lunch. One of the managers comes by, sees the cover, takes my book and says "follow me." We have just moved into a new building. He takes me to one of the conference rooms which is the Andersen room, with the author's picture on the wall. The conference rooms in this building are named for local celebrities. The author is from Omaha. Another conference room is the Brando room. And I did get my book back.
I read that. It's very good, and also depressing. It helps to explain a lot.
all these writers, which try to explain the human condition, just skate around the proven fact that sociopaths rise to the top in politics/business, religion, etc, etc.
once this is understood then it has to follow that ordinary ppl are pretty well fcked.
@callmedubious This seems to be so. A sociopath with self-control is a dangerous creature. Add intelligence and resources to the mix and The Devil is born!
I haven’t read that book, but I am guessing how it goes. Neuroscientists have learned that when a person is having a spiritual experience a certain part of the brain becomes more active. Therefore spirituality is nothing but the firing of neurons, a rote mechanical process of no meaning or significance. There is no mystery involved—everything is well understood and under control. No questions please.
If I am wrong please advise me and maybe I’ll get the book. I don’t want to spend time and money on something stupid and bogus.
Not correct - he writes more about the evolution of our prehistorical brain and the development of intellect and how this concept relates to survival of our species in a communal family clan or tribal society... and through the development of civilization. He presents the concept that the development of religion can be a process of Darwin's natural evolution of the human brain.
@FrostyJim I’ve read some reviews, and while the book sounds interesting I am very skeptical.
If you are going to explain away spirituality by saying that our brains evolved to be spiritual as a survival tool, what’s to keep you from doing the same with every other human creation? Mathematics, art, communism, atheism, etc.?
Maybe our brains did evolve in that way through mutation and natural selection, but the deep questions about reality and existence remain. The mystery of conscious awareness and personal identity is not explained. And even if everything gets explained away as brain-stuff, we still are in total darkness because the basic parameters of our perception are illusions.
@powder Good point. We sometimes experience emotion in connection with some deeply inspiring thought. Emotion must surely be something produced by our brains and bodies. But that doesn’t invalidate what is behind the emotion.
Behind everything is a spark of conscious awareness.
@WilliamFleming A good way to remain skeptical is to not read things you might not agree with. Cognitive bias rocks!
@JacobMeyers There’s a limit to what a person can read, plus it costs money. If from reviews a person can get the drift I see it as perfectly rational to not read certain books. For example, if someone recommended that you read “Paradise Lost”, knowing that it is based on Christian theology would you feel obligated to read it anyway?
It works both ways. If you are touting this book because it reinforces your materialistic world view, then that is also cognitive bias.
@Grecio For me spirituality begins with awareness that the world as we perceive it is illusory—awareness that there is an ultimate reality beyond the senses. Some people think of the spiritual realm as something ethereal and supernatural but actually ultimate reality is basic, primary, and substantial. One comes to realize that the very concept of existence is an abject mystery and that we do not know what we ourselves are. We seem to have conscious awareness, but what that is and how it arises is not understood.
Following that awareness there arises a sense of deep awe and reverence. Those are just emotional, bodily reactions to our conscious awareness. I guess I would say that awe and reverence are spiritual experiences. Others might use different words.
unlike most other mammals we have a very long childhood.
due to this we expect that there are powerful controlling beans that will provide for our every need. of course is our parents, as we get older we realize that our parents are flawed people like ourselves. the need is great the god-shaped vacuum is there, so we create a all powerful parent without human frailties. we can assign the attributes to the God as we see fit. the Roman assigned to their gods based on the values of their society.
the Jews and Hindus selected gods with attributes that reflected their society.
clearly if horses had a god it would look like them and reflect the values of their society.
knowing this does not free us from the god-shaped vacuum, it's still there.
it is my belief we will fill it with something, science, or The voices in your head.