No 'God Spot' in the Human Brain

I fail to see the significance of this research. This will have no impact on the faithful.

Yeah, no kiddin' . . . faith is proof against both logic and fact . . .

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.

Intrepid, it's relevant, because it's about spirituality.



Faith is not the evidence of things unseen. Faith is belief in something, regardless of whether there is evidence for it or not.

Faith is not evidence of anything, other than inferential evidence of the degree of credulity of the faithful . . .

Ok, Wolf. I guess you know more about faith than we can read in Hebrews.

Any literate person who can find the definition of faith knows as much about faith and more than is embodied in the superstitious and laughable screed which is your scripture.

So it's several regions in the brain rather than just one. The real question is how do we activate these regions, and would doing so improve the lives of most human beings?

What about a 'smart spot'? It has been my observation that a great many human brains are lacking. Perhaps it is a result of the nefarious condition described in my earlier post:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1825388#1825388

Is a God spot a G-spot? Just kidding!

I have often wondered about modern man's need to interpret our ancestors' actions/buildings/objects in religious terms.

What if Stonehenge was a cattle market and not a temple? Or if the Venus of Willendorf was a sex toy and not a goddess?

Plain


You are wickedly funny and intuitive.

BBB

What if either was both?

The primary evidence that Stonehenge was a religious site is the horrendous effort and the uncompromising hard work necessary to have erected it. You only get foolishness like that from a powerful superstition such as religion being foisted onto the masses.

BBB -- Thanks! That was the nicest thing anyone said to me all week. Make that all month.

Why not both?

Humans 'hardwired for religion'
An oposing view.---BBB

Humans 'hardwired for religion'
James Randerson
Monday September 4, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The battle by scientists against "irrational" beliefs such as creationism is ultimately futile, a leading experimental psychologist said today.
The work of Bruce Hood, a professor at Bristol University, suggests that magical and supernatural beliefs are hardwired into our brains from birth, and that religions are therefore tapping into a powerful psychological force.

"I think it is pointless to think that we can get people to abandon their belief systems because they are operating at such a fundamental level," said Prof Hood. "No amount of rational evidence is going to be taken on board to get people to abandon those ideas."

He told the annual British Association Festival of Science in Norwich that the standard bearers for evolution, such as the biologist Richard Dawkins and the philosopher Daniel Dennet, had adopted a counterproductive and "simplistic" position.

"They have basically said there are two types of people in the world," he said - "those who believe in the supernatural and those who do not. But almost everyone entertains some form of irrational beliefs even if they are not religious.

"For example, many people would be reluctant to part with a wedding ring for an identical ring because of the personal significance it holds. Conversely, many people are disgusted by an object if it has associations with 'evil'."

In his lectures, Prof Hood produces a rather boring-looking blue cardigan with large brown buttons and invites people in the audience to put it on, for a £10 reward. As you may expect, there is invariably a sea of raised hands. He then reveals that the notorious murderer Fred West wore the cardigan. Nearly everyone puts their hand down.

Unfortunately, it is just a stunt: the cardigan is not West's. But it illustrates the way even the most rational of people are can be irrationally made to feel uncomfortable.

Another experiment involves asking subjects to cut up a photograph. When his team then measures their galvanic skin response - ie sweat production, which is what lie-detector tests monitors - there is a jump in the reading. This does not occur when a person destroys an object of less sentimental significance.

I am evidence that the battle is not futile.

However, the battle against absurdity is endless.

I agree to a large extent. The main problem for this era is that logic, skepticism, and argumentation are not major parts of the educational system. In other words, the educational system currently teaches people what to think rather than how to think. My first study of logic wasn't until I was 19 years old and even then it was not for a college course but merely because I was interested in the subject. ("A Concise Introduction to Logic" is high on my favorites-list for educational books.) Skepticism flows from a study of logic. I had my first brush with the subject of argumentation, in a school setting, when I entered college. In my opinion, these things should be taught in the sixth grade or earlier. That alone would abolish most of the absurdities that ripple through our current societies.