Neuropsychological Bases of God Beliefs

by Michael Persinger

Overview

In this study, the scientific principles of learning and brain functions are applied to the God Experience. The author skillfully blends modern neurophysiology with critical behavioral psychology to offer an objective explanation for why people believe in God. This provocative and scholarly work will interest psychologists, neuroscientists, clergy, and anyone studying mystical experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275926489
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/15/1987
Pages:	175
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

MICHAEL A. PERSINGER is Professor of Psychology at Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: The Importance of Predicting the God Experience
The Temporal Lobe: The Biological Basis of the God Experience
Predicting Brain Factors in the God Experience
Ego-centrism: The Power Behind the Proof
Memory Changes and the Maintenance of Contradictions
The Expectation of God: Conditioning and Sources of the Details
Word Games: The Semantics of Anxiety and Anxiety Reduction
Techniques for Integrating Religious Behaviors: From Rituals to Revelation
The Religious Personality
The Good, The Bad, and The Uncertain
Index