A friend recently pointed me to Michael Graziano’s article “Is Spirituality a Byproduct of Evolution?” Because it is posted over at Huff or Fluff-Po, I was immediately skeptical.
Anyone who has perused Fluff-Po’s Religion section knows it is filled scientific sounding metaphysics and countless articles by progressive religionists telling us that their non-progressive counterparts have gotten [...]
Tags:Antonio Damasio·awe·byproduct·emotion·feeling·hierarchy·Matt Rossano·Michael Graziano·neuroscience·ranking·sociality·spirituality
We have an extraordinary person living amongst us; she goes by the initials SM and suffers from a rare condition that has severely damaged her amygdala. She has been working with a group of neuroscientists who have just published a fascinating paper on her fear responses, or lack thereof.
The amygdala is an evolutionarily ancient brain [...]
Tags:amygdala·Antonio Damasio·brain·brain damage·Current Biology·damnation·Daniel Tranel·demons·devils·emotions·fear·fear response·Justin Feinstein·Ralph Adolphs·retribution·SM
A new book, The Prehistory of Compassion, is generating a fair amount of press coverage. The title has a familiar ring to it and seemingly riffs Steven Mithen’s The Prehistory of the Mind. I would not be surprised if this is the case, given that Mithen and the authors are UK archaeologists with Cambridge connections. [...]
Tags:altruism·anthropoids·Antonio Damasio·autism·autistics·Brandon Keim·collaboration·compassion·cooperation·empathy·Eocene·evolution of emotions·feelings·group level selection·invisible agents·Jennifer Viegas·non-physical beings·Penny Spikins·Steven Mithen·The Prehistory of Compassion·The Prehistory of the Mind·World Vision
There are some scholars — such as James McLenon and Stephen Sanderson, who contend that shamanic techniques of healing played in an important role in the evolution of religion. I tend to agree and discussed the issue in “Judge Not and Be Persuaded (or Healed):
“Essential to McClenon’s argument is that the people being treated by [...]
Tags:Antonio Damasio·Christian Science·emotions·healing·health·hypnosis·Jaak Panksepp·James McLenon·placebo effect·placebos·shamanic healing·shamans·Stephen Sanderson·suggestion·Tor Wager
