EXPLORATIONS IN NEUROSCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGION In the 1990s great strides were taken in clarifying how the brain is involved in behaviors that, in the past, had seldom been studied by neuroscientists or psychologists. This book explores the progress begun during that momentous decade in understanding why we behave, think and feel the way we do, especially in those areas that interface with religion. What is happening in the brain when we have a religious experience? Is the soul a product of the mind which is, in turn, a product of the brain? If so, what are the implications for the Christian belief in an afterlife? If God created humans for the purpose of having a relationship with him, should we expect to find that our spirituality is a biologically evolved human trait? What effect might a disease such as Alzheimer’s have on a person’s spirituality and relationship with God? Neuroscience and psychology are providing information relevant to each of these questions, and many Christians are worried that their religious beliefs are being threatened by this research. Kevin Seybold attempts to put their concerns to rest by presenting some of the scientific findings coming from these disciplines in a way that is understandable yet non-threatening to Christian belief. Ashgate Science and Religion Series Series Editors Roger Trigg, Department of Philosophy, University of Warwick, UK J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, James I. McCord Professor of Theology and Science, Princeton Theological Seminary, USA Science and religion have often been thought to be at loggerheads but much contemporary work in this flourishing interdisciplinary field suggests this is far from the case. The Ashgate Science and Religion Series presents exciting new work to advance interdisciplinary study, research and debate across key themes in science and religion, exploring the philosophical relations between the physical and social sciences on the one hand and religious belief on the other. Contemporary issues in philosophy and theology are debated, as are prevailing cultural assumptions arising from the ‘post-modernist’ distaste for many forms of reasoning. The series enables leading international authors from a range of different disciplinary perspectives to apply the insights of the various sciences, theology and philosophy and look at the relations between the different disciplines and the rational connections that can be made between them. These accessible, stimulating new contributions to key topics across science and religion will appeal particularly to individual academics and researchers, graduates, postgraduates and upper-undergraduate students. Other titles published this series: Theology and Modern Physics Peter E. Hodgson 978-0-7546-3622-9 (hbk) 978-0-7546-3623-6 (pbk) From Human to Posthuman Christian Theology and Technology in a Postmodern World Brent Waters 978-0-7546-3914-5 (hbk) 978-0-7546-3915-2 (pbk) God’s Action in Nature’s World Essays in Honour of Robert John Russell Edited by Ted Peters and Nathan Hallanger 978-0-7546-5556-5 (hbk) Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion KEVIN S. SEYBOLD Grove City College, Pennsylvania, USA © Kevin S. Seybold 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Kevin S. Seybold has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Gower House Suite 420 Croft Road 101 Cherry Street Aldershot Burlington, VT 05401-4405 Hampshire GU11 3HR USA England Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Seybold, Kevin S. Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion. – (Ashgate Science and Religion Series) 1. Neurosciences. 2. Neurosciences – Religious aspects – Christianity 3. Neurosciences – Religious aspects.. 4. Psychology and religion. 5. Religion and science. I. Title 612.8’01 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seybold, Kevin S., 1956– Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion / Kevin S. Seybold. p. cm. – (Ashgate Science and Religion Series) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Brain – Religious aspects – Christianity. 2. Theological anthropology – Christianity. 3. Psychology and religion. I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Neuropsychology – methods. 2. Religion and Psychology. 3. Brain – physiology. 4. Christianity – psychology. WL 103.5S519e 2006] BT702.S49 2007 261.5’15–dc22 2006022470 The book has been printed on acid-free paper. ISBN 978-0-7546-5563-3 Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books LTD, Bodmin, Cornwall. Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 Neuroscience 3 2 Psychology 21 3 Religion 33 4 Philosophy of Science 53 5 Integration Issues 61 6 Brain and Religion 75 7 The Self 87 8 Evolutionary Psychology 107 9 Religion/Spirituality and Health 125 10 The Future? 137 Bibliography 145 Index 159 This page intentionally left blank List of Figures 1.1 The neuron and its principal structures. 8 1.2 The synapse. 11 1.3 A lateral view of the brain. 13 1.4 A medial view of the brain (left hemisphere removed). 14 4.1 A stratified model of the sciences. 57 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Chaim Potok starts his book In the Beginning saying ‘All beginnings are hard’. When it comes to writing, I think I agree with him. The idea for this book goes back to the mid 1990s when an explosion of research on the brain occurred, some of that research having direct implications for religious experience, belief and practice. The actual writing of these pages did not begin, however, until several years later with the help of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to participate in the Oxford Seminars on Science and Christianity sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). Over the course of three summers I enjoyed and greatly benefited from the friendship and intellectual inspiration of my fellow participants. Their impact on my life is considerable and will not be forgotten. Many thanks to the Foundation and the CCCU for the opportunity to attend these seminars held at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, and to the faculty and staff at Wycliffe. Special appreciation goes to Alister McGrath and John Roche who organized the summer programs. I have also benefited from many colleagues, here at Grove City College and elsewhere, who have influenced (subtly or more directly) my thinking on neuroscience, psychology and religion. In particular, I thank Peter Hill for his sustained support and friendship over many years, and Heather Looy, Kevin Reimer and Brent Waters for their insights and encouragement. I am grateful to Sarah Lloyd, my editor, for her recommendation that this book be considered for the Ashgate Science and Religion Series and others at Ashgate who provided helpful advice in the editorial process. Finally, I thank my son, Adam, for creatively and helpfully challenging my own worldviews and my wife, Ginny, for sharing the last 25 years with me. It is to her that I dedicate this book. KEVIN SEYBOLD January 2007