The Phantom God PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download The Phantom God PDF full book. Access full book title The Phantom God by John C. Wathey. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: John C. Wathey
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 163388807X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Get Book Here
Book Description
Does neuroscience have anything to say about religious belief or the existence of God? Some have tried to answer this question, but, in doing so, most have strayed from the scientific method. In The Phantom God, computational biologist and neuroscientist John C. Wathey, Ph.D., tackles this problem head-on, exploring religious feelings not as the direct perception by the brain of some supernatural realm, nor as the pathological misfiring of neurons, but as a natural consequence of how our brains are wired. Unlike other neurobiological studies of religion and spirituality, The Phantom God treats mysticism not as something uniquely human and possibly supernatural in origin, but as a completely natural phenomenon that has behavioral and evolutionary roots that can be traced far back into our vertebrate ancestry. Grounded in evolutionary and behavioral biology, this highly original and compelling book takes the reader on a journey through the neural circuitry of crying, innate knowledge, reinforcement learning, emotional bonding, embodiment, interpersonal perception, and the ineffable feeling of certainty that characterizes faith. Wathey argues that the feeling of God’s presence is spawned by innate neural circuitry, similar to the mechanism that compels an infant to cry out for its mother. In an adult, this circuitry can be activated under conditions that mimic the extreme desperation and helplessness of infancy, generating the compelling illusion of the presence of a loving, powerful, and all-knowing savior. When seen from this perspective, the illusion also appears remarkably like one that has long been familiar to neurologists: the phantom limb of the amputee, spawned by the expectation of the patient’s brain that the missing limb should still be there. Including a primer on the basic concepts and terminology of neuroscience, The Phantom God details the neural mechanisms behind the illusions and emotions of spiritual experience. ,
Author: John C. Wathey
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 163388807X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Get Book Here
Book Description
Does neuroscience have anything to say about religious belief or the existence of God? Some have tried to answer this question, but, in doing so, most have strayed from the scientific method. In The Phantom God, computational biologist and neuroscientist John C. Wathey, Ph.D., tackles this problem head-on, exploring religious feelings not as the direct perception by the brain of some supernatural realm, nor as the pathological misfiring of neurons, but as a natural consequence of how our brains are wired. Unlike other neurobiological studies of religion and spirituality, The Phantom God treats mysticism not as something uniquely human and possibly supernatural in origin, but as a completely natural phenomenon that has behavioral and evolutionary roots that can be traced far back into our vertebrate ancestry. Grounded in evolutionary and behavioral biology, this highly original and compelling book takes the reader on a journey through the neural circuitry of crying, innate knowledge, reinforcement learning, emotional bonding, embodiment, interpersonal perception, and the ineffable feeling of certainty that characterizes faith. Wathey argues that the feeling of God’s presence is spawned by innate neural circuitry, similar to the mechanism that compels an infant to cry out for its mother. In an adult, this circuitry can be activated under conditions that mimic the extreme desperation and helplessness of infancy, generating the compelling illusion of the presence of a loving, powerful, and all-knowing savior. When seen from this perspective, the illusion also appears remarkably like one that has long been familiar to neurologists: the phantom limb of the amputee, spawned by the expectation of the patient’s brain that the missing limb should still be there. Including a primer on the basic concepts and terminology of neuroscience, The Phantom God details the neural mechanisms behind the illusions and emotions of spiritual experience. ,
Author: Mark DeVries
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 0805491996
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 114
Get Book Here
Book Description
A volume comparable in style to Cliff's Notes, here highlighting the key points from Augustine's Confessions.
Author: Virgil
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Steve Ladd
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526761254
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269
Get Book Here
Book Description
This behind-the-scenes account of a USAF career is “an absorbing read, written with the classic humor fighter pilots seem to have” (Flight Line Book Review). From Baron von Richthofen to Robin Olds, the mystique of the fighter pilot endures. The skill, cunning, and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers is well known, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve—until now. You don’t have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his twenty-eight-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia, Europe to the Middle East, the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot. The anecdotes are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft. “This book will appeal to a variety of readers with its Vietnam War combat stories and accounts of flying the Warthog in Cold War Europe. Fun, flying, international experiences—you won’t want to put it down.” —Aviation News
Author: Sophie Trenkner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110743825X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 213
Get Book Here
Book Description
Originally published in 1958, this book examines the place of the Athenian novella in ancient literature from pre-Classical literature through to tragedy, comedy and rhetoric. Trenkner attempts to reconstruct the novella of the Attic period from the surviving traces in other sources in order to bridge the gap between the novelle of Herodotus and the better-known late Hellenistic novel. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the genesis of the ancient Greek novel.
Author: Fast Food Restaurant
Publisher: BEIJING BOOK CO. INC.
ISBN: 7999091022
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1675
Get Book Here
Book Description
His will is tough and he is unwilling to be normal. However, his pathway was destined to be that way, being born in a small sect¡¯s branch. However, one day, his left eye merges with the eye of an Ancient God in an accident. From that moment on, he turns from a fish into a dragon. He rises up like a star, walking the path of a legendary cultivator. From being a tiny, small ant at the bottom of the world, he rises step by step, into a place full of powerful sects, strong ancient clans and countless geniuses. This is an era of legends.
Author: Virgil
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Latin poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 362
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Virgil
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 588
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author:
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Get Book Here
Book Description
