booklogging
It'd be a useful discipline for me to log and write about the books I read. A blog might help in that discipline and -who knows?- may be useful to ... you?7.1.08
The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul
Amazon.co.uk: The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul: Books: Mario Beauregard,Denyse O'Leary
I thought that this was a helpful introduction to the main issues. I was reading warily because at times I wasn't sure whether the emergentist view I tend towards was possibly in the cross hairs, but it wasn't, and I didn't feel that there was anything in it that really challenged that. The book looks at how the evidence from neuroscience really stacks up and exposes materialist assumptions in the approach to the data and the reporting of it that are not really helpful to those of us who feel that reductionistic materialism is a blind alley. This book shows how actually, it may be a better interpretation of the data not to be tied to philosophical monistic materialism. I have certainly considered recommending this book to bright people beginning to wrestle with neurotheology etc. At times it felt long winded, but then I was waiting for some of the points to be made because I've already thought through a lot of the issues. I suspect that if I'd come to this fresh, I'd be finding it about right in terms of pace to explore.
I'd be interested to see more from this stable particularly in respect of the kinds of alternatives to monistic materialism. I think for my view, the NDE evidence is the hardest to take on board, but I found myself wanting to know more about the actual research, as hitherto I'd been concerned about the methodological matters as well as interpretive. I think we need to have more philosophical reflections, too, on NDE's in terms of setting out the range of alternatives in terms of their hermeneutics and examining their implications more closely.
Every so often there are boxes with excursuses in. these are usually about neuroscience, brain structures, etc. However the last set are about the Carmelite order -because the last piece of research was on Carmelite nuns. I didn't really know a lot about them until I read this, but now find myself intrigued and wanting to know more.
I thought that this was a helpful introduction to the main issues. I was reading warily because at times I wasn't sure whether the emergentist view I tend towards was possibly in the cross hairs, but it wasn't, and I didn't feel that there was anything in it that really challenged that. The book looks at how the evidence from neuroscience really stacks up and exposes materialist assumptions in the approach to the data and the reporting of it that are not really helpful to those of us who feel that reductionistic materialism is a blind alley. This book shows how actually, it may be a better interpretation of the data not to be tied to philosophical monistic materialism. I have certainly considered recommending this book to bright people beginning to wrestle with neurotheology etc. At times it felt long winded, but then I was waiting for some of the points to be made because I've already thought through a lot of the issues. I suspect that if I'd come to this fresh, I'd be finding it about right in terms of pace to explore.
I'd be interested to see more from this stable particularly in respect of the kinds of alternatives to monistic materialism. I think for my view, the NDE evidence is the hardest to take on board, but I found myself wanting to know more about the actual research, as hitherto I'd been concerned about the methodological matters as well as interpretive. I think we need to have more philosophical reflections, too, on NDE's in terms of setting out the range of alternatives in terms of their hermeneutics and examining their implications more closely.
Every so often there are boxes with excursuses in. these are usually about neuroscience, brain structures, etc. However the last set are about the Carmelite order -because the last piece of research was on Carmelite nuns. I didn't really know a lot about them until I read this, but now find myself intrigued and wanting to know more.
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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.
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