Ebook458 pages14 hours
The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience (Transcript)
By Andrew Newberg
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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About this ebook
The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience is the companion book to the audio/video series of the same name. It contains a full transcript of the series as well as the complete course guidebook which includes lecture notes, bibliography, and more.
About this series:
Are we alone in the universe? Or does the cosmos pulse with diverse life forms? This is one of the most profound issues facing mankind—and one of the unresolved questions that science may finally be able to answer in this century.
Both scenarios are mind-boggling and, to quote futurist Isaac Asimov, equally frightening. No matter what the answer, the implications are vast.
If even the most rudimentary life forms could be found elsewhere in our universe, it would be a paradigm-shifting revelation on par with discovering the atom. Finding microbes in an extraterrestrial location would dramatically increase the chances of life being common everywhere, and encountering intelligent life would forever alter our place in the cosmos.
There has never been a better time to study our universe. NASA's Kepler mission, the first dedicated extrasolar planet-finding spacecraft, is rapidly changing what we understand about planets around other stars. At present, it has detected hundreds of confirmed planets, and well over 2,000 likely new planets have been identified. And exponential growth in telescope power and other critical technologies is enabling scientists to make new discoveries every day.
Life in Our Universe reveals the cutting-edge research leading scientists to believe that life is not exclusively the domain of Earth. Taught by Dr. Laird Close, an award-winning Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The University of Arizona, these 24 mind-expanding lectures offer an unparalleled look at the subject of life and the mysteries that remain. Supported by stunning visuals, this course shares some of the most intriguing discoveries that the fields of astronomy, biology, geology, chemistry, and physics have to offer.
You'll examine the remarkable coincidences that created our planet and sustained its habitability for 3.5 billion years. And you'll join the hunt for microbial life elsewhere in our solar system and Earth-like planets in alien solar systems—one of astronomy's "holy grails."
Discover the New Field of Astrobiology
Life in Our Universe offers unprecedented access to the new and exciting field of astrobiology. Until recently, universities didn't even offer astrobiology courses, and such courses are still quite rare. With Professor Close's expert guidance, you'll delve into some of the biggest questions facing science today, including the five that shape this course.
What can the Earth and its current and past life tell us about life in our universe?
Where else in our solar system can there be life?
Are there habitable planets and life around other stars?
Is there other intelligent life in our universe?
Is there a new home for mankind? If so, how can we find it?
You'll rewind 13.7 billion years to the big bang, when the first stars and galaxies took shape. Then, you'll fast-forward to see how a series of mishaps and cataclysmic events set the stage for early Earth—a dead planet—to become a "lucky planetesimal" that blossomed with life.
You'll learn in detail how, in its first 650 million years, Earth sustained repeated massive impacts during a period dubbed the Late Heavy Bombardment, leaving it trapped in a lifeless state devoid of a stable atmosphere or oceans.
DNA and RNA traces of humans and single-celled extremophiles help you understand how early life quickly evolved from a single common ancestor once the bombardment ceased.
You'll look closely at
the importance of liquid water, and whether another liquid might be capable of supporting life;
how Earth has maintained habitable temperatures despite fluctuations in oxygen;
how tiny microbes from outer space may be bombarding the Earth with regularity;
stars, and why their death makes our
The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience Unknown Binding – January 1, 2012
by Prof. Dr. Andrew Newberg (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
3.6 on Goodreads
172 ratings
Does God exist? Do we have a soul? Is it possible to make contact with a spiritual realm? How should we respond to the divine? Will life continue beyond death?Most people, whether deeply religious or outright doubters of any spiritual power, have probably pondered these questions for themselves. In fact, the religious impulse is so powerfully pervasive that neuroscience has posed a provocative question: Are our brains wired to worship? Now, in a series of 24 riveting lectures from an award-winning scholar and practicing neuroscientist, you can explore the exciting field of neurotheology - the new discipline aimed at understanding the connections between our brains and different kinds of religious phenomena. Using an academic, experimental approach into what he calls "objective measures of spirituality," Professor Newberg attempts to explain what others have previously only guessed at: the neuroscientific basis for why religion and spirituality have played such a prominent role in human life. In these captivating lectures, you'll learn how religious experiences originate, their meaning, and the reasons why religion plays such a huge role in human experience - peering directly into the seat of all human thought and action as you delve into the relationship between brain function and spirituality. A leading researcher in neurotheology, Professor Newberg offers you innovative approaches to ancient beliefs and practices. Using brain imaging and other cutting-edge physiological studies, he helps you to better understand how the brain controls or responds to religious and spiritual beliefs and behavior.
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twikkione
5.0 out of 5 stars the spiritual brainReviewed in the United States on August 4, 2014
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the great courses scientific view of religion, poses some interesting questions and thoughts about religious experience.
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D. Nykiel
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking and intriguingReviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018
In his Great Courses series, “The Spiritual Brain,” neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newburg---who, by the way, is also interviewed in the excellent documentary, “Awake: The Life of Yogananda,” about the life and work of the great Hindu yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952)---devotes twenty-four lectures to what is, in effect, the neuroscience of religion, or “neurotheology,” as he calls it. Lectures 1 and 2 are a general introduction to the course, asking why humans have a spiritual brain. Lecture 3 tackles the question of brain function and rreligion, while lecture 4 analyzes the various scientific approaches to the study of religion. Lecture 5 discusses actual experiments that have been done, scanning the brains of people of faith on the one hand, and atheists on the other to determine whether certain parts of their brains are active more than others, while lecture 6 talks about spiritual development. Lecture 7 discusses “The Myth-Making Brain,” while lecture 8 talks about the effect of religious rituals on the brain. Lecture 9 discusses the biology of spiritual practices, while lecture 10 discusses religion and health; Lecture 11 discusses religion and mental health, and lecture 12 discusses religion and brain dysfunction. Lecture 13 talks about the role of neurotransmitters in religious experience, while lecture 14 tackles the subject of stimulated states and religious experience. Lecture 15 talks about near-death experiences and the brain, while lecture 16 talk about “The Believing Brain.” Lecture 17 discusses how our brains come up with religious ideas, while lecture 18 talks about revelation, salvation and the brain. Lecture 19 talks about the mechanisms in the brain that influence us to be religious, while lecture 20 discusses the effect brain function may have on individual concepts of God, while lecture 21 talks about how religion and religiosity effects the brain. Lecture 22 asks the question, why people continue to remain religious, or, as Prof. Newburg phrases it, why God won’t go away. Lecture 23 discusses the mystical mind, and lecture 24 sums up the course.
When Prof. Newburg was talking about how the both the quiescence and arousal portions of the brain and how they are effected by certain rituals, I can totally relate to that because I have gone to many sessions of what in Hinduism is known as “kirtan”---that is to say, call-and-response Hindu chanting where the audience chants either the names of particular deities and/or sings songs in praise of particular deities along with the performer(s)---such as when I have gone to kirtans led by the American-born Hindu converts Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das, and Jai Uttal as well as David Durga Das Newman, for instance---and I can totally attest to this. When Krishna Das, for example, sings one of his more lively chants, such as any number of variations on the Mahamantra (Hare Krishna chant), Sita Ram, or the Hanuman Chalisa (the famous 40-line hymn to the Hindu god Hanuman, the god of wisdom who, according to the Hindu epic poem, the Ramayana, is the servant of the Hindu god and historical king Rama) which had been written by the poet Tulsi Das (1487-1623) in the late sixteenth century), I do remember clapping along more fervently than if he were to sing one of his more meditative chants such as Tulsi Das’ “Hanuman Stawan” (a.k.a. “Hanuman Puja,” or “Prayer to Hanuman”) or “Shri Guru Sharanam” (a song about seeking spiritual refuge with one’s guru), in which case, I---and probably others---are more likely to go into a more meditative state.
While, as a deeply spiritual person myself, I enjoyed this course very much, I deduct one star from this review for two reasons. First, I take issue with the trend that seems to have been prevalent in the study of religion ever since the days of the famous religion scholar, folklorist and anthropologist Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) and his friend and contemporary the famous Christian theologian, novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist, C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) of using the terms “myth” or “mythology” as catch-all terms for folklore, religion AND false claims and the tendency on the part of those who use these terms in this way to defend their usage---or misuse---of these terms by subsequent religion scholars and folklorists, when, in reality, the word ‘myth’ comes from the Greek word ‘mythos,’ meaning ‘falsehood.’ In fact, it irritated me that Prof. Newburg went even farther than Campbell or Lewis and even gave the Greek word an inaccurate translation. He claimed that the Greek word ‘mythos’ meant ‘word,’ when in reality, the word for ‘word’ in Greek is ‘Lexi.’ If we become so flippant and lackadaisical---or even ideologically motivated---then why give words definitions in the first place? The fact that Dr. Newburg---and others---redefine such clear-cut terms in this way indicates to me that, however well-intentioned they may be, people who define words in this way have the potential to open the ideological flood-gates for people to potentially justify using much more derogatory, offensive terms by claiming that they mean things that they do not. Secondly---and this criticism is somewhat minor---when making reference to the energy that we now know is actually channelled when one meditates, chants, etc, Dr. Newburg made the mistake of calling the aforesaid energy "Ch'i"---a Chinese term which, while referring to a similar concept, is technically NOT the term used by yogis and yoginis to refer to this type of energy. The term used in yogic philosophy to refer to the energy that gets channeled when one meditates, chants, does yoga, etc---depending on the source one consults---is called either "Prana," "Kundalini," or "Kundalini Shakti." Taoists and other practitioners of T'ai Ch'i are the ones who use the term "Ch'i." Yogis and yoginis do not. My third reason is that, while I am a deeply spiritual person, based on how few times prayers have been answered in my life, I remain extremely skeptical of the efficacy of prayer, not because I question the existence of the supernatural---I don’t---but rather, because based on my own experiences and how few prayers have been answered in my own life, I have been forced to draw the conclusion that the gods of all the world’s religions have a predetermined list of people in every generation who they favor and whose prayers they will answer, while everyone else is on his or her own, and that the gods will only answer the prayers of those who are NOT on their special list if they are feeling generous, are in a good mood, or just want to throw us a bone. That is why, as a spiritual person, while I have no problem praying for other people, and while I am certainly flattered when people offer to pray for me, I rarely pray for what I want anymore unless I have exhausted all other means by which a particular desire or need could be fulfilled. Furthermore, I disagree even more with the intriguing---though implausible---notion that science is a form of myth. Now, if we were to talk about one of the many pseudo-sciences that exist, or possibly about the worldview referred to by the philosopher Susan Haack as “Scientism” (i.e. the worldview that sees science as the only source or truth or the only way to answer life’s questions), THEN I could see science possibly being a form of myth, but if a scientific theory is proven through experimentation, then the statements of a particular scientist or group of them becomes fact (or at the very least, a very logical conclusion). When Prof. Newburg was talking about the effects of being part of a religious community on the brain, I had mixed feelings about what he was saying. While he was certainly right that being part of a religious group could foster a sense of community and collective commitment to a belief system, and while he was certainly right to warn against the potential dangers of the effects of cultlike brainwashing, that was when he lost me because sometimes I think that the alleged detrimental effects of religion and religious commitment on our free will are often overemphasized in our increasingly secular, anti-religious society. The fact remains that while cults do exist that can harm us and brainwash us, it is also true that in this increasingly secular age, many perfectly benign religions---particularly many of the Afro-Caribbean religions such as Haitian Vodou, Santería, Candomble, etc and the various sects of Hinduism---are often---unjustly---categorized as “cults,” usually by either ultra-conservative members of the Abrahamic religions, by disgruntled former members, or by people who are hostile toward religion more generally. Thus, while Prof. Newburg is right to warn against the effects of brainwashing, he would have done well NOT to overemphasize it. In essence, this argument can be made in order to dissuade anyone from converting to any religion or joining any organization with whose worldview one may disapprove, or even just simply disagree. I was very disappointed that those who were editing those lectures neither cut out nor---at the very least---suggested that Dr. Newburg leave his own personal views of religion out of the series. Regarding religion and Health, and regarding the studies that show a correlation between (for instance) church attendance and a decreased likelihood to die of heart disease or lung disease, I don’t know if there is a direct correllatiom between attending a church vs. another house of worship, or whether the people doing this study looked at people who didn’t attend church. The only possible connection I could make between church attendance and the decreased risk of lung disease or heart disease might be the fact that the people who attended those services probably thought about whether or not they would go to Heaven or Hell---or maybe they were motivated to live a healthier lifestyle because they felt that God was tracking their progress or that their health problems were the result of sins which they now tried their best to avoid committing and therefore were rewarded by God with better health. Those, I suspect, are the only objective connections between health and attending religious services. Regarding the studies that showed that more religious elderly people were less likely to notice their health problems or less likely to see themselves as disabled, I suspect that has everything to do with the fact that they put their trust in the higher power who they worshipped. Regarding the effect that religion has on the alleviation of pain, I suspect that praying or meditating while sick or in pain helps much in the same way that meditation relieves stress. If there is a relation, as one study points out, between attending religious services and decreased mortality, that, I suspect has less to do with science than it does with the fact that the deity who those people worshipped rewarded them for their religiosity by extending their life. I also suspect---and this was confirmed by Dr. Newburg---that religion may have a role in relieving stress and also, in the cases of some religions, steering one away from unhealthy behaviors (e.g. drinking, smoking, sexual promiscuity, etc). I could, however, see the psychological benefits of being religious (e.g. how it would relieve stress, etc) and, on the flip side, how not believing in God could be detrimental because the people who don’t believe in God very well may not see life as having any meaning at all (as with people like Sigmund Freud, Jean-Paul Sartre, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Bertrand Russell, etc). I also think that the social aspect of religion might possibly contribute to better health, but I don’t think that the religion in and of itself is what keeps them alive. I will, however, say that I do believe that what religion does do for sick or injured people is give them some sort of comfort. I also believe that with the exception of birth, all good things that happen to us are divine rewards for good deeds, and that, with the exception of natural death (i.e. dying of natural causes), all bad things that happen to us are, in fact, punishments for sins we may have committed at some point in our life.As far as the study of several meditators and their impact on whether or not an overall society is violent or peaceful, I am EXTREMELY skeptical of the notion that the crime rate supposedly dropped once they just plopped these random meditators into a city with a high crime rate. I highly doubt that the very presence of these people in that city reduced the crime rate. That, I suspect, is a bit of a stretch. As far as lecture 16---the one on “The Believing Brain”---is concerned, there was hardly any discussion about spirituality or faith in it at all, except for at the very end when Dr. Newberg was summing up his conclusions, which is why, frankly, in sharp contrast to the other lectures, which were interesting and compelling, this lecture, by contrast, was rather disappointing. In essence, this lecture was less about spirituality than about psychology. In that lecture, Dr. Newberg simply spent half an hour discussing the Placebo Effect---the idea that people can imagine or be convinced that they will feel better if they are given an otherwise ineffective treatment for whatever medical problem they are having. This has very little to do with science or religion, simply because both an atheist and a person of faith can be convinced that something completely ineffective is a cure-all if he or she is gullible (or desperate) enough. When I listened to that lecture, I began to wonder whether lecture 16 even belongs in a series of lectures on spirituality and religion and whether it might fit more comfortably in a lecture series on secular psychology. This is why, while I allowed this lecture to be downloaded onto my iTunes on my computer, I did not drag it into my iPod. By contrast, I did drag the lecture on near-death experiences onto my iPod because that lecture really did have to do with a religious subject.
All in all, I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in neuroscience, spirituality, religion---or to someone who simply just wants to learn something new.
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