tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post3956838774551005937..comments2023-10-31T10:57:37.652+00:00Comments on Epiphenom: Religious brain, pragmatist brainEpiphenomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-37213543833317776512009-11-19T16:38:01.547+00:002009-11-19T16:38:01.547+00:00This is another sound blog post - including the go...This is another sound blog post - including the good remarks fo @Samuel!<br /><br />To your question about Buddhism: Interestingly enough, Buddhism is theoretically a non-theistic system (as well as Taoism, Jainism and others), but all of them adopted or evolved supernatural agents (as i.e. ancestors, bodhisatvas, tirthankares etc.) in practice. For example, personal depictions of the Buddha were forbidden at the beginning, but are now venerated frequently, the Zen-monasteries in Japan are offering rituals dedicated to the ancestors and spirits (Kami) etc. In fact, this neurobiological study seems to support the position that the trait religion may be best described as behavior towards supernatural agents, which are perceived as real social interaction partners.<br /><br />Best wishes!Michael Blumehttp://www.blume-religionswissenschaft.de/english/index_english.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-90914338880934798292009-11-17T20:59:25.089+00:002009-11-17T20:59:25.089+00:00"Secondly, the type of god a religious person..."Secondly, the type of god a religious person believes in is a consequence of their underlying neural makeup:<br /><br /> ...the current study suggests that evolution of certain areas that advanced understanding and empathy towards our fellow human beings (such as BA 7, 11 and 21) may, at the same time, have allowed for a relationship with a perceived supernatural agent (God) based on intimacy rather than fear.<br /><br /><br />In other words, it seems that the way a religious person conceives of their god is a reflection of their own ingrained personality."<br /><br />"Ingrained Personality?" Personalities aren't just innate biological things, but are social constructions that develop and change over time - and I think they are using awfully causational language for a correlational study.<br /><br />***<br /><br />I wonder how Buddhists would have fit into the study since their religion is very non-theistic; and meditative practices seek to improve empathy.<br /><br />***<br />Do you think it's reasonable to speculate that the correlations we see are ideas affecting brains (people's image of God forms their behavior/brain development) rather than brains affecting ideas (making God in ones own image)? <br /><br />I would speculate the relationship is bi-directional; neuroplasticity allows beliefs to shape the brain, and the brain in turn shapes beliefs.Samuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06102533726798834757noreply@blogger.com