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CTV News, 2001-07-04
A Canadian researcher has developed a unique invention that could help unravel the complicated connection between the spirit and the brain.
Neuroscientist Dr. Michael Persinger uses a magnetized helmet, and a complex array of computers, to run a weak electromagnetic field around the skulls of volunteers. He says he can create any kind of experience in his subjects by stimulating their brains in this way. Eighty per cent of his subjects report having a remarkable experience.
Some scientists are openly questioning whether all religious experience can be explained in neurological terms. For example, they theorize that many people have a profound sense that religion has changed their lives, because spiritual practices activate the temporal lobe, which tends to endow a given experiences with personal significance.
Many religious believers are insulted by such reasoning. The notion that God is a creation of the human brain is an affront, they say, and denies God's existence.
Webmaster's comment:
This is fascinating research, but the conclusion -- that "God" is all in one's head -- is nothing new. Countless philosophers have been saying the same thing for millenia. Theism is an old myth whose origins are obviously rooted in human psychology. What Persinger has done is provide evidence of a possible physical basis for that psychological phenomenon.
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