Newberg, Andrew. Great Courses Audio.

Great courses

Lecturer: Andrew Newberg

Does God exist? Do we have a soul? Is it possible to make contact with a spiritual realm? How should we respond to the divine? Will life continue beyond death? Most people, whether deeply religious or outright doubters of any spiritual power, have probably pondered these questions for themselves. In fact, the religious impulse is so powerfully pervasive that neuroscience has posed a provocative question: Are our brains wired to worship? Now, in a series of 24 riveting lectures from an award-winning scholar and practicing neuroscientist, you can explore the exciting field of neurotheology - the new discipline aimed at understanding the connections between our brains and different kinds of religious phenomena. Using an academic, experimental approach into what he calls "objective measures of spirituality," Professor Newberg attempts to explain what others have previously only guessed at: the neuroscientific basis for why religion and spirituality have played such a prominent role in human life. In these captivating lectures, you'll learn how religious experiences originate, their meaning, and the reasons why religion plays such a huge role in human experience - peering directly into the seat of all human thought and action as you delve into the relationship between brain function and spirituality. A leading researcher in neurotheology, Professor Newberg offers you innovative approaches to ancient beliefs and practices. Using brain imaging and other cutting-edge physiological studies, he helps you to better understand how the brain controls or responds to religious and spiritual beliefs and behavior. All Lectures: 1. A New Perspective on Ancient Questions 2. Why Do We Have a Spiritual Brain? 3. Brain Function and Religion 4. How Does Science Study Religion? 5. Believers and Atheists 6. Spiritual Development 7. The Myth-Making Brain 8. The Brain and Religious Rituals 9. The Biology of Spiritual Practices 10. Religion and Health 11. Religion and Mental Health 12. Religion and Brain Dysfunction 13. Transmitters to God 14. Stimulated States and Religious Experiences 15. Near-Death Experiences and the Brain 16. The Believing Brain 17. The Brain's Influence on Religious Ideas 18. Revelation, Salvation, and the Brain 19. The Brain's Influence on Religious Behavior 20. How the Brain Changes God 21. How God Changes the Brain 22. Why God Won't Go Away 23. The Mystical Mind 24. Reality and Beyond

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