Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'mind'

Out of Body Experiences & Soul Beliefs

March 9th, 2011 · 5 Comments · Cognition, Evolutionary Byproduct, Paranormal

Anyone who has watched an episode of “I Survived: Beyond and Back” on the Biography Channel knows that accounts of near death experiences mesmerize the public. They also drive ratings. The typical “I Survived” vignette features someone whose heart has stopped beating and is considered “clinically dead.”
Because everyone who appears on the show  is very [...]

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Neuro Art

December 2nd, 2010 · No Comments · Cognition

You know we are a long way from understanding how neurons generate qualia when neuroscientists are publishing gorgeous books on the artistic beauty of ganglia.  The brain-mind is a wonderful thing.

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Illusions of Unified Selves & Souls

September 26th, 2010 · No Comments · Cognition, Evolutionary Adaptation, Evolutionary Byproduct

Over at Seed, the clinical physician David Weisman weighs in on the centuries old debate regarding the existence of souls and suggests that the widely held notion of a soul is inextricably linked to an erroneous sense of unified mind.  This debate was famously framed by Descartes, who proclaimed — as a first principle and [...]

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Deepak Chopra’s “Theory”: Consciousness as Godhead

June 26th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Cognition, Daily Devolutions, Definitions, Evolution, New Religions

Over at HuffPo Religion, Deepak Chopra opines on the non-existent “war between science and religion.”  Religion is of course being investigated by scientists and examined by historians, but this does not make the interrogation a war.  Religion is simply another object or category of positivist inquiry.
Chopra’s piece begins with some surprising concessions:
What is the war [...]

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