Soul and Brain - 1
There are three groups of professionals that seek greater intellectual knowledge. Philosophers strive to understand everything, Scientists labor to explain everything and Theologians claim that when the Scientists and Philosophers climb and reach the peak of the mountain of knowledge, they will already be there to greet them.
Today some of these professionals are converging on what makes Human Beings, creatures that can see Galaxies and Stars trillions upon trillions of miles away, medically heal those afflicted by injury and illness from near death, travel 7 miles a second on board rockets, and directly talk via cell phones to anyone anywhere. Yes, we are referring to our Soul and Brain.
Philosophers are grappling with questions on how our consciousness interacts with our brain. Every Brain is similar in function, yet all of us have a unique personal identity and conscious “Me” self. Scientists (Neurologist and Medical) are publishing papers (about 400 per year) on the relationship between religion and health. Some of that research has discovered that people of faith have an edge on health and wellbeing over those who do not believe in God. They are happier, healthier, and live longer (true on a population scale and not necessarily true on an individual scale). Theologians are witnessing scientists verify the ideas and concepts of Saint Augustine.
The Soul and Brain series of articles will explore how the Human Soul and Brain interact. We cannot scientifically prove God or our Soul, because we cannot submit God to a test and our Soul does not show up on a MRI scan. On the other hand we have made tremendous leaps and bounds in understanding how our Brain works. In trying to understand even at a limited level, the miracle that is our Brain, we may discover our Soul.
Our Brain is a mass of nerve tissue, composed of an estimated 85 to 300 billion neurons, cells, charged ions, amino acids and a lot of other stuff. This mass of nerve tissue processes every motor activity like walking, running, swimming…, everything we hear, see or feel, plus every thought, be it inspirational or stupid. In short, everything we do, experience, or think about involves the Brain. In addition, the Brain processes a lot of daily housekeeping activities of our bodies that we take for granted ( example: Breathing).
Advances in Neurology have made great strides in understanding the mechanical function and the regions of our Brain. What is not completely understood and difficult to comprehend is the “Me” part of our Brain. This aspect does not easily lend itself to a mechanical interpretation. The “Me” part is not just personality traits and personal attributes. The “Conscious Self” is Our internal world of: love and hate, joy and despair, courage and fear, confidence and lack of self-esteem, discipline and addiction, brilliance and stupidity, strength and vulnerability, the obvious and the mysterious. This, a partial glimpse of our internal world from which some of that “Self” surfaces when we confront the external reality of other “Conscious” beings. The “Self” that emerges in the external world is the product of our Soul and Brain.
To people of faith in God, our “Conscious Self” continues to live after we die. A current example is provided by Dr. Eben Alexander in his book (published in 2012) “Proof of Heaven - A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife”. In his book Dr. Eben recounts a near death experience, where brain scans reveal a non-functioning brain, but his “Conscious Self” experienced being in Heaven.
To be continued March 15 in "Soul and Brain * 2"
My primary sources for the Soul and Brain series:
Jeanette Norden: Professor of Neurosciences at Vanderbilt University
Andrew Newberg: Director of Research Medicine at Thomas Jefferson Univ.
Daniel Dennett: Professor Arts and Science Tufts University
Eben Alexander: Neurosurgeon. Author of “Proof of Heaven”
Saint Augustine: (354 – 430 AD) Christian Theologian
Francis Collins: Distinguish Geneticist
There are three groups of professionals that seek greater intellectual knowledge. Philosophers strive to understand everything, Scientists labor to explain everything and Theologians claim that when the Scientists and Philosophers climb and reach the peak of the mountain of knowledge, they will already be there to greet them.
Today some of these professionals are converging on what makes Human Beings, creatures that can see Galaxies and Stars trillions upon trillions of miles away, medically heal those afflicted by injury and illness from near death, travel 7 miles a second on board rockets, and directly talk via cell phones to anyone anywhere. Yes, we are referring to our Soul and Brain.
Philosophers are grappling with questions on how our consciousness interacts with our brain. Every Brain is similar in function, yet all of us have a unique personal identity and conscious “Me” self. Scientists (Neurologist and Medical) are publishing papers (about 400 per year) on the relationship between religion and health. Some of that research has discovered that people of faith have an edge on health and wellbeing over those who do not believe in God. They are happier, healthier, and live longer (true on a population scale and not necessarily true on an individual scale). Theologians are witnessing scientists verify the ideas and concepts of Saint Augustine.
The Soul and Brain series of articles will explore how the Human Soul and Brain interact. We cannot scientifically prove God or our Soul, because we cannot submit God to a test and our Soul does not show up on a MRI scan. On the other hand we have made tremendous leaps and bounds in understanding how our Brain works. In trying to understand even at a limited level, the miracle that is our Brain, we may discover our Soul.
Our Brain is a mass of nerve tissue, composed of an estimated 85 to 300 billion neurons, cells, charged ions, amino acids and a lot of other stuff. This mass of nerve tissue processes every motor activity like walking, running, swimming…, everything we hear, see or feel, plus every thought, be it inspirational or stupid. In short, everything we do, experience, or think about involves the Brain. In addition, the Brain processes a lot of daily housekeeping activities of our bodies that we take for granted ( example: Breathing).
Advances in Neurology have made great strides in understanding the mechanical function and the regions of our Brain. What is not completely understood and difficult to comprehend is the “Me” part of our Brain. This aspect does not easily lend itself to a mechanical interpretation. The “Me” part is not just personality traits and personal attributes. The “Conscious Self” is Our internal world of: love and hate, joy and despair, courage and fear, confidence and lack of self-esteem, discipline and addiction, brilliance and stupidity, strength and vulnerability, the obvious and the mysterious. This, a partial glimpse of our internal world from which some of that “Self” surfaces when we confront the external reality of other “Conscious” beings. The “Self” that emerges in the external world is the product of our Soul and Brain.
To people of faith in God, our “Conscious Self” continues to live after we die. A current example is provided by Dr. Eben Alexander in his book (published in 2012) “Proof of Heaven - A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife”. In his book Dr. Eben recounts a near death experience, where brain scans reveal a non-functioning brain, but his “Conscious Self” experienced being in Heaven.
To be continued March 15 in "Soul and Brain * 2"
My primary sources for the Soul and Brain series:
Jeanette Norden: Professor of Neurosciences at Vanderbilt University
Andrew Newberg: Director of Research Medicine at Thomas Jefferson Univ.
Daniel Dennett: Professor Arts and Science Tufts University
Eben Alexander: Neurosurgeon. Author of “Proof of Heaven”
Saint Augustine: (354 – 430 AD) Christian Theologian
Francis Collins: Distinguish Geneticist
