About this title: When advanced imaging scans were done on the brains of meditating monks and nuns (from both Eastern and Western religions) the results showed the same highly unusual electromagnetic activity. The authors (a psychiatrist and a radiologist) conducted many such studies and assembled their findings for this informative and engaging entry in the annals ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2002-03-26
ISBN-13:9780345440341ISBN:034544034X
Description: Good. Tight, bright and shiny, uncreased spine, pages tanning, shelf and edge wear, corners bumped and curled, a little pencil underlining, former owners address sticker on front end paper. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2001-04-03
ISBN-13:9780345440334ISBN:0345440331
Description: Very Good. Hardcover! Clean unmarked pages, some normal wear, no remainder marks, tight binding, sealed in plastic, exact artwork as listed, expertly packed, fast shipping. read more
Description: Acceptable. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Description: Brand New. Paperback. Even today, long after He was declared dead, 70% of Americans claim to believe in God. The research in this book proves that this impulse to believe is hard-wired into the biology of the human brain. Using high-tech imaging techniques to peer into the brains of meditating Buddhist monks and Franciscan nuns at prayer, the authors observed and photographed a chain of distinct neurological events that interprets transcendent religious experiences as tangibly real. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2002-03-01
ISBN-13:9780345440341ISBN:034544034X
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780345440341. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780345440341ISBN:034544034X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York, 2001.
ISBN-13:9780345440334ISBN:0345440331
Description: Octavo, hardcover, fine in near fine white and gold dj. 226 pp. with notes, appendices, references and index. The first work of its kind to explicitly and scientifically probe the physiology of a religious experience. read more
Edition: First edition, 6th printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780345440334ISBN:0345440331
Description: Fine in Fine in Mylar jacket. Octavo (8vo) 9 x 6 inches bound in cream colored boards over red shelf back, gilt titled spine. [viii], 226 pp. with notes, appendices, references and index. The first work of its kind to explicitly and scientifically probe the physiology of a religious experience. Having been gently wiped clean, the dust jacket is now protected in archival Mylar. read more
Description: Very good; Collectible. Stated 1st Edition (HC 2001). Minor wear on dj, dog-ears on some pages, otherwise new book. Free deliver confirmation. Satisfaction guaranteed! read more
Description: Good. Almost clean thru-out, marks on only 1 page-Cover shows usage wear (bumped corner/edges/scratches)-Tight binding-We ship out fast daily w/FREE tracking on this item-(Gotta have it fast? ) Expediated shipping is available on this item (Personalized Service~Always Bubble Envelope~ Expediated moves you to front of the line) read more
"This book explores the relationship between the brain's functioning and religion and myth. The authors note that (page 8): "Gradually, we shaped a hypothesis that suggests that spiritual experience, at its very root, is intimately interwoven with human biology. That biology, in some way, compels the spiritual urge." In short (page 9), "We will examine the biological drive that compels us to make myths, and the neurological machinery that gives these myths shape and power."
In the study of evolution, one key question is: What is the survival value of a particular behavior? What is its advantage in natural selection? How does it enhance survival odds of individuals? This book, as others, suspects that the ability to hold religious values and myths, in fact, enhances survival value of individuals and even groups. The authors note (page 138): "Their religion would serve to strengthen bonds between individuals and to encourage more peaceful and productive interaction in the community at large. Stronger social groups, of course, would mean better lives for clan members, which might ultimately result in higher rates of survival as well."
The authors, including some well-respected researchers in brain structure and function, use standard neurophysiological technology to assess the brain's functioning with respect to religious behaviors. They report studies that suggest that certain brain areas are involved in religious-related behaviors.
The book also notes that the authors do not want to set up biology versus religion dichotomy. They observe that the fact that the brain is built to accept religious values and beliefs does not mean that religious beliefs are wrong. Simply, they assert that there is machinery in place for people to be predisposed toward accepting a belief in God, or some other deity/entity.
This is an intriguing book. Readers may respond very negatively or positively, based on their beliefs. But the argument in the book makes on think about important issues in humans' lives. If for no other reason, that makes this worthwhile reading."
Predictable evolutionary thought; neo-Freudian in an odd sort of way - religion boils down to ancient sexual impulses that developed into something beyond ourselves. (Of course, everything in biological evolution must harken to survival or reproduction.)
At least the author was honest. I was "mocking" him in the margins through many parts of the book refering to him and his as "the priesthood". Later he admitted that his own scientific explanations were indeed a kind of "myth making."
Basically, this book asks the chicken-and-egg question about God, but leaves us with no definitive answer."
"I liked this book because it attempts to bring biology into the question of faith. The author proposes that our brains provide friendly soil in which to plant the God concept. Thus he reasons that we believe in God because there is brain chemistry which supports this belief. And God must have put that notion into that part of our brains so we would believe in Him. It probably makes more sense than any other book i have read on the subject."
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