This is part of a book review. Here are all of the parts of this review:
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapters 2-4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapters 7-10
Summary
A while ago I was looking through some of the books in a Coles, and a particular book caught my eye: "The Spiritual Brain" by Mario Beauregard and Denyse O'Leary. Being interested in religion, superstition, and cognition, it isn't surprising that the title stood out to me. The subtitle, "A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul", intrigued me further. I've read many books on philosophy of mind, but I had never seen a serious argument for substance dualism (as opposed to property dualism, which is a common subject in books on consciousness and is completely separate from the idea of spirits/souls).
The fact that it was a neuroscientist authoring the book surprised me – as I understand it, the majority of neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and philosophers of mind are quite convinced there is no such thing as a soul.
Anyhow, I decided to give this book a try. It should be interesting. I will be doing my reviews one blog post per chapter, and adding the posts as I read.
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4 comments:
If you found this book intriguing, you will definitely enjoy reading My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor, and her talk on TED dot com about her stroke which is an 18 minute talk you Must Not Miss! (there's a reason it's been forwarded friend to friend millions of times!). When you read the book and see the TEDTalk, you'll understand why this Harvard brain scientist was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People. Her unique experience, combined with her perspective as a neuroanatomist, and her sensitivity and awareness (not to mention beautiful writing style!) has produced something so powerful and so revolutionary that I think it's going to become a transformational movement in itself. Oprah also did four interviews with her (that I was able to download on the Oprah website) that are also worth checking out.
I am trying to share Dr Taylor's story with as many people as I can because I truly believe if everyone saw it the world would be so much better and people would love one another and no longer fight.
If you are suggesting that I would like "My Stroke of Insight" if I liked "Spiritual Brain", you certainly haven't given me a reason for looking into "My Stroke of Insight". Perhaps I will look up the TEDTalk, though.
Although I have been forwarded that TED video so many times that I have lost count, I only made it through a few minutes. While Taylor certainly has the right to view her experience as a spiritual experience, that does not make her explanation scientific! In the part I watched she seemed to be appealing to a "new age" world view, without regard to how that might distort the science.
Meanwhile, I will be recommending your review of The Spiritual Brain to my listeners.
Ginger Campbell, MD
creator of the Brain Science Podcast
Thank you very much Ginger. I will have to listen in on your podcast - it sounds interesting.
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