AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion

AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion
http://www.aaas.org//spp/dser/02_Events/Lectures/2002/02_Lecture_2002_0227.shtml
News & Events: Public Lecture
Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief27 February 2002
This seminar will discuss investigations of brain function
through neuroimaging, specifically studies of the brain processes of meditating
Buddhists and Franciscan nuns at prayer. The chain of neurological events
that is triggered by focused religious contemplation will be described.
These data offer intriguing insights into the human capacity for religious
experience. Do they also imply that religious experience more generally
is simply an expression of the biology of our brains? The significance
of and limitations of such empirical neurological findings for traditional
religious understandings of mystical experience will be discussed.
Keynote speaker:
- Dr. Andrew Newberg, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Hospital
Respondent:
- Dr. Ilia Delio, Assistant Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Washington Theological Union
Coverage:
Listen to introductory remarks
Listen to Dr. Illia Delio
Listen to Dr. Andrew Newberg



