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God's Brain
In the fractious debate on the existence of God and the nature of religion, two distinguished authors radically alter the discussion. Taking a perspective rooted in evolutionary biology with a focus on brain science, the authors elucidate the perennial questions about What is its purpose? How did it arise? What is its source? Why does every known culture have some form of it? Their answer is deceptively simple, yet at the same time highly The brain creates religion and its varied concepts of God, and then in turn feeds on its creation to satisfy innate neurological and associated social needs. Brain science reveals that humans and other primates alike are afflicted by unavoidable sources of stress that the authors describe as "brainpain." To cope with this affliction people seek to "brainsoothe." We humans use religion and its social structures to induce brainsoothing as a relief for innate anxiety. How we do this is the subject of this groundbreaking book. In a concise, lively, accessible, and witty style, the authors combine zoom-lens vignettes of religious practices with discussions of the latest research on religion's neurological effects on the brain. Among other topics, they consider religion's role in providing positive socialization, its seeming obsession with regulating sex, creating an afterlife, how religion's rules of behavior influence the law, the common biological scaffolding between nonhuman primates and humans and how this affects religion, a detailed look at brain chemistry and how it changes as a result of stress, and evidence that the palliative effects of religion on brain chemistry is not matched by nonreligious remedies. Concluding with a checklist offering readers a means to compute their own "brainsoothe score," this fascinating book provides key insights into the complexities of our brain and the role of religion, perhaps its most remarkable creation.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2010
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February 2, 2022Kırıp dökmeden yani kimsenin kalbini kırmadan din üzerine bir araştırma yapmaya çalışmış yazarlar.
Geçtiğimiz haftalar içerisinde aynı alanda üç farklı kitap okudum. Beynin Evrimi ve Tanrıların Ortaya Çıkışı, İnanan Beyin: İnançları Doğru Gibi Kurgulama ve Pekiştirme Süreci ve bu kitap. Şunu söyleyebilirim ki bu kitap daha çok dinin beyin kimyası üzerine etkisine ve sakinleştirici yönüne odaklanmış. Bu bakımdan diğer iki kitapta bu konuların zaten işlendiği, ilave olarak dinin diğer tüm boyutlarıyla irdelendiğini söylemem daha doğru olacaktır. Bazı yerlerde, özellikle öykülerin olduğu yerlerde çok sıkıldım.
Bu konuya ilgi duyan okurların bahsettiğim kitapları okumalarını daha çok tavsiye ederim.
Geçtiğimiz haftalar içerisinde aynı alanda üç farklı kitap okudum. Beynin Evrimi ve Tanrıların Ortaya Çıkışı, İnanan Beyin: İnançları Doğru Gibi Kurgulama ve Pekiştirme Süreci ve bu kitap. Şunu söyleyebilirim ki bu kitap daha çok dinin beyin kimyası üzerine etkisine ve sakinleştirici yönüne odaklanmış. Bu bakımdan diğer iki kitapta bu konuların zaten işlendiği, ilave olarak dinin diğer tüm boyutlarıyla irdelendiğini söylemem daha doğru olacaktır. Bazı yerlerde, özellikle öykülerin olduğu yerlerde çok sıkıldım.
Bu konuya ilgi duyan okurların bahsettiğim kitapları okumalarını daha çok tavsiye ederim.
June 20, 2010
Religion has been with us as long as there has been human civilization, if not longer. Conversely, for as long as there has been human civilization, religion has been a battleground, both real and theoretical. Even today we see it in fanatics killing those with whom they disagree or the advent of the so-called "new atheism. Too often lost in both the pervasiveness of religion and the commotion it can generate is the key question of its purpose.
Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire are among the latest to investigate and opine on the answer to that question. At bottom, the one they provide in God's Brain is quite simple. Taking the position that any one religious belief or total lack thereof is immaterial to finding the answer, they conclude that the purpose of religion is to "brainsoothe." In other words, religion exists to help the brain deal with both internal and external stress and anxiety, something they call "brainpain."
Tiger and McGuire are not the first to analyze the brain's role in religion. Some have argued that religion is an evolutionary tool so humans can cope with knowing death is inevitable, an awareness other species do not possess. Others debate whether the brain specifically originated religion or if it is simply the result of neural connections that evolved for other purposes. Still others question the whole idea that religion may be "hardwired" into the brain, containing it is simply a sociological adaptation. Tiger, a professor of anthropology, and McGuire, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, combine their expertise and ultimately conclude the brain is both the source and principal beneficiary of religion.
God's Brain is meant for a lay audience. The authors frequently express their concepts in simple, everyday terms. For example, "Religion is to the brain what jogging is to the legs." Even those of us who can barely cope with chemistry for dummies can grasp that concept. That may be in part due to the fact they are dealing with a subject that has far less empirical data than other subjects. Still, McGuire and Tiger invoke a wide range of social and "hard" sciences, whether brain chemistry or the study of nonhuman primates. Although the range can make the material somewhat kaleidoscopic at times, they do not let the book become too abstract or academic.
Essentially, McGuire and Tiger see religion as a coping mechanism for the brain to deal with anxiety, fear and stress. They argue that the socialization, rituals and beliefs that make up religion help the brain alter itself, to "brainsoothe." To some extent, their contention turns religion into a self-sustaining system. "As oxygen is to air, guilt is to religion," they observe. Yet what is one way the brain copes with guilt? Through religious ritual, such as Catholic confession, and belief, such as the forgiveness of sins.
Some, particularly those with a fundamentalist bent toward any religion, may see this theory as an effort to substitute brain chemistry for God. Tiger and McGuire take pains to point out and aim to predicate their analysis on it not being dependent on whether any or all religion is true. They argue that because religion is "as diffuse as oxygen and seemingly as imperative," we need to attempt to understand it as it is rather than fight over its validity or value. In that regard, even with its occasional weaknesses God's Brain is a welcome respite from the frenzied cacophony that too often attends discussion of religion.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie)
Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire are among the latest to investigate and opine on the answer to that question. At bottom, the one they provide in God's Brain is quite simple. Taking the position that any one religious belief or total lack thereof is immaterial to finding the answer, they conclude that the purpose of religion is to "brainsoothe." In other words, religion exists to help the brain deal with both internal and external stress and anxiety, something they call "brainpain."
Tiger and McGuire are not the first to analyze the brain's role in religion. Some have argued that religion is an evolutionary tool so humans can cope with knowing death is inevitable, an awareness other species do not possess. Others debate whether the brain specifically originated religion or if it is simply the result of neural connections that evolved for other purposes. Still others question the whole idea that religion may be "hardwired" into the brain, containing it is simply a sociological adaptation. Tiger, a professor of anthropology, and McGuire, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, combine their expertise and ultimately conclude the brain is both the source and principal beneficiary of religion.
God's Brain is meant for a lay audience. The authors frequently express their concepts in simple, everyday terms. For example, "Religion is to the brain what jogging is to the legs." Even those of us who can barely cope with chemistry for dummies can grasp that concept. That may be in part due to the fact they are dealing with a subject that has far less empirical data than other subjects. Still, McGuire and Tiger invoke a wide range of social and "hard" sciences, whether brain chemistry or the study of nonhuman primates. Although the range can make the material somewhat kaleidoscopic at times, they do not let the book become too abstract or academic.
Essentially, McGuire and Tiger see religion as a coping mechanism for the brain to deal with anxiety, fear and stress. They argue that the socialization, rituals and beliefs that make up religion help the brain alter itself, to "brainsoothe." To some extent, their contention turns religion into a self-sustaining system. "As oxygen is to air, guilt is to religion," they observe. Yet what is one way the brain copes with guilt? Through religious ritual, such as Catholic confession, and belief, such as the forgiveness of sins.
Some, particularly those with a fundamentalist bent toward any religion, may see this theory as an effort to substitute brain chemistry for God. Tiger and McGuire take pains to point out and aim to predicate their analysis on it not being dependent on whether any or all religion is true. They argue that because religion is "as diffuse as oxygen and seemingly as imperative," we need to attempt to understand it as it is rather than fight over its validity or value. In that regard, even with its occasional weaknesses God's Brain is a welcome respite from the frenzied cacophony that too often attends discussion of religion.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie)
October 18, 2020
This was not enjoyable. It missed all of the beauty and complexity of life within religion. I understand and appreciate the approach. I think the idea of taking a look at this from a scientific perspective is a good undertaking, but it also somewhat misses the nuance and point of religion in my opinion. But I grew up very religious and only left religion in my late 20's so perhaps my vantage point is skewed. This might be more interesting if you are coming at this from an agnostic or atheist life perspective on the outset and trying to understand the biological reasons for religion but even that this book doesn't do that well.
August 11, 2019
Up to Page 71 and that's enough to tell you not to waste your time on this one. He keeps giving some random 'did-you-know' facts about religion and he then writes himself 'but to get back to the main question...' unfortunately both his facts and his 'main questions' feel without conclusion or structure. Don't pick it up.
January 16, 2023
Using a very objective language, the writer Mcguire, who has written a hard topic without targeting any opinion.
The philosophical question that the author focuses on in the book, is the concept of faith and the act of believing because God exists? or is it because faith and belief are in the structure of man that believing in God takes place?
On the axis of this question, he draws the reader to think about the subject by explaining that scientific thinking through the branch of neurology is caused by the structure of the human brain, and by including the thesis that the religious view is caused by the existence of God.
The human brain and its actual reflections have always been facile. This human brain structure has come to the fore even more, especially in the capitalist system, and the urge to live the simplest, easiest and most useful life has developed, to keep it in the foreground in action. For example, while calculating a long way to go, our brain is certainly calculating shortcuts and making inferences about how it can shorten the time and distance. When the benefits of the system we live in are added to this, even if there is a car under us, our brain still prefers the shortest path and is encoded to it. Because our brain has evolved to prefer what is useful. Within the framework of this view, Mcguire questioned the state of formation of the concepts of faith and religion and reached quite objective conclusions.
Book up to date actually need to comment. In recent studies, the belief region in our brain has been found and it has been noticed that meditation, belief and supernatural thoughts are established in the membrane in the lateral cranial region of the cortex. In addition to the analyzes in the book, it is possible to reach answers that become quite clear about religion when we think about it by questioning this October's information. It's a pretty good book in that sense.
The philosophical question that the author focuses on in the book, is the concept of faith and the act of believing because God exists? or is it because faith and belief are in the structure of man that believing in God takes place?
On the axis of this question, he draws the reader to think about the subject by explaining that scientific thinking through the branch of neurology is caused by the structure of the human brain, and by including the thesis that the religious view is caused by the existence of God.
The human brain and its actual reflections have always been facile. This human brain structure has come to the fore even more, especially in the capitalist system, and the urge to live the simplest, easiest and most useful life has developed, to keep it in the foreground in action. For example, while calculating a long way to go, our brain is certainly calculating shortcuts and making inferences about how it can shorten the time and distance. When the benefits of the system we live in are added to this, even if there is a car under us, our brain still prefers the shortest path and is encoded to it. Because our brain has evolved to prefer what is useful. Within the framework of this view, Mcguire questioned the state of formation of the concepts of faith and religion and reached quite objective conclusions.
Book up to date actually need to comment. In recent studies, the belief region in our brain has been found and it has been noticed that meditation, belief and supernatural thoughts are established in the membrane in the lateral cranial region of the cortex. In addition to the analyzes in the book, it is possible to reach answers that become quite clear about religion when we think about it by questioning this October's information. It's a pretty good book in that sense.
April 2, 2019
Yer yer, Allah korkusuyla yazılmış izlenimi uyandırması kitaptan soğuttu. Lafı çok geveliyor. Sanki, Taliban ya da El Nusra tarafından kafalarına silah dayanmış gibi, korkak ve bilime karşı mesafeli bir dil kullanmışlar. “Allah’ın olmadığına inanıyoruz ama bunu söylemek için burası yeri değil,” der gibiler. Buram buram bilim kokar zannedip okudum fakat tam bir hayal kırıklığı oldu.
November 6, 2019
A critical book to know oneself, how human brain functions and why we have a religion/god concept. Of course it is written in an introductory way and in short volume, and it was based on scientific evidence. Henceforth, the people who looked for exact "answers", similar to the ones given in religious texts, would be disappointed with this book. Otherwise, a must-read.
February 5, 2019
Kitabın temel düşüncesi dini beynin üretmesi ve beyin sakinlestirici olması. Kindarliktan uzak bir anlatımla yalnizca analiz edip değerlendirmişler. Objektif denilebilecek bir kitap. Tanrı var veya yok ya da din gereksizdir gibi kendi fikirlerini empoze etme kaygıları yok açık ve anlaşılır bir dille bilimsel olarak beyin ve inanç incelenmiş.
June 12, 2013
Had over 2 months to read it, and really couldn't get through the first few chapters. Was too boring, not compelling. Due back at the library now.
December 5, 2012
Great read. best to go in without expectations and enjoy the book for what it is, so I'll leave it at that.
July 11, 2016
I especially like footnotes/citations. Gives good academic research opportunity. If want to research in deeper you can use references
August 22, 2017
Güzel kitap değildi. İnsan bekliyor ki, beynin şu kısmında inanç işlensin, şurasında ritüeller yer edinir. Ancak kitap çok yüzeysel kalıyor ve çoğu zaman da konusunun dışına çıkıyor.
December 28, 2017
Overly simplistic take on the subject of why humans feel the need for religion. But I did learn a cool Taoist Meditation ritual and I like the concept of "brainsoothing", which is what religion does for us - through ritual, socialization (bolsters Gretta Volper's position) and relief from ambiguity - it turns out that, based on fMRIs, our brains really don't like ambiguity.
January 22, 2018
Bir yıldız harcanan emek için, diğeri de başlık için. Maalesef kitabın geri kalanı kuru örnekler, gereksiz tekrarlar, bilinen klişeler, alakasız cümleler ve boş ifadeler ile dolu. Bir şeyler öğrenmek istiyorsanız belki şempanzelerle olan kısmı okumanız yeterli.
July 7, 2018
interesting but really engrossing.
February 26, 2011
I expected this book to be more in-depth, overall. I expected further discussion of issues that examined religion in a scientific light. The chapter "Is Religion Monkey Business?" which discussed the similarities and differences between humans and chimpanzees in relation to relationships, social orders, and "religious" behaviors, and the content on the effect of religion on brain chemicals, were examples of the content I had been anticipating. At times, I found this read difficult to become engaged in. The authors seemed to have the chapters outlined and organized in a progressive manner, but continuously referred to something "that will be discussed in the next chapter" or "as we have mentioned," which made the reading a bit choppy. And the word "ubiquitous" is... everywhere in this book!
I appreciated the simple and comprehensive language the authors used for a complex subject such as brain function and anatomy. Many examples and anecdotes were provided throughout the book. The authors examined many different topics, with an emphasis on so-called "brainsoothing" (the process of subduing stress through eg: religion, due to the human brain's natural tendency to keep an even, happy balance in life). The author's neutral stance on religious belief was honest and appropriate.
A fairly enjoyable read, with a few interesting points to take home. I found the attempts at humor to be slightly painful at times.
I appreciated the simple and comprehensive language the authors used for a complex subject such as brain function and anatomy. Many examples and anecdotes were provided throughout the book. The authors examined many different topics, with an emphasis on so-called "brainsoothing" (the process of subduing stress through eg: religion, due to the human brain's natural tendency to keep an even, happy balance in life). The author's neutral stance on religious belief was honest and appropriate.
A fairly enjoyable read, with a few interesting points to take home. I found the attempts at humor to be slightly painful at times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2012
Nogal ontgoochelend. Ze beginnen met te fulmineren op die andere boeken over atheisme, van de "four Horsemen" behalve Dennett. (dus: "The god delusion" van Dawkins, "God is not great" van Hitchens en "the end of faith" van Harris).
Daarna behandelen ze religie met fluelen handschoentjes. En omdat ze in het boek nooit een kat een kat willen noemen blijven ze voortdurend rond de pot draaien en te beweren hoe belangrijk religie eigenlijk is voor de samenleving (zelfs als er geen god bestaat). Maar de vraag die ze niet stellen is of religie niet vooral vroeger zeer belangrijk was toen we geen wetenschappelijke antwoorden hadden. Ze leggen uit mensen hun leven verrijken dankzij religie, maar maken nooit de reflectie dat in sommige landen (Scandinavie, Benelux...) 90% van de bevolking blijkbaar helemaal geen nood heeft aan religie om hun leven zin te geven.
Zelfs op het einde van het boek durven ze geen stelling nemen. Nooit komen ze op met het punt van Russell's Theepot, namelijk, dat het niet is omdat je het al-dan-niet bestaan van god kan bewijzen, dat de kans dat god bestaat 50% zou zijn. (net zoals het niet zo is dat omdat je niet kan bewijzen dat er geen theepot rond de zon draait, dat de kans dat die daar is ook 50% zou zijn.)
Wel interessant is het deel over "religie" bij chimpansees, dat nog maar eens aantoont dat
Daarna behandelen ze religie met fluelen handschoentjes. En omdat ze in het boek nooit een kat een kat willen noemen blijven ze voortdurend rond de pot draaien en te beweren hoe belangrijk religie eigenlijk is voor de samenleving (zelfs als er geen god bestaat). Maar de vraag die ze niet stellen is of religie niet vooral vroeger zeer belangrijk was toen we geen wetenschappelijke antwoorden hadden. Ze leggen uit mensen hun leven verrijken dankzij religie, maar maken nooit de reflectie dat in sommige landen (Scandinavie, Benelux...) 90% van de bevolking blijkbaar helemaal geen nood heeft aan religie om hun leven zin te geven.
Zelfs op het einde van het boek durven ze geen stelling nemen. Nooit komen ze op met het punt van Russell's Theepot, namelijk, dat het niet is omdat je het al-dan-niet bestaan van god kan bewijzen, dat de kans dat god bestaat 50% zou zijn. (net zoals het niet zo is dat omdat je niet kan bewijzen dat er geen theepot rond de zon draait, dat de kans dat die daar is ook 50% zou zijn.)
Wel interessant is het deel over "religie" bij chimpansees, dat nog maar eens aantoont dat
August 30, 2010
Short and easy to read, worth skimming over or read in detail. Little is new or has not been discussed elsewhere before.
The central theme is "The brain was first evolved to act, not necessarily to think". Religion was "invented" as part of evolution, acting as a way to cope with living pain - soothing the brain.
The central theme is "The brain was first evolved to act, not necessarily to think". Religion was "invented" as part of evolution, acting as a way to cope with living pain - soothing the brain.
January 11, 2017
Somewhat interesting, but too long winded.
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