|
 Why
We Believe What We Believe: Probing the Biology of Religious
Experience
A
Powerful SHOCKteleconference from the Author of Why God Won't
Go Away and Featured Scientist
in What the Bleep Do We Know; Dr. Andrew
Newberg Answers the Question: Why We Believe
What We Believe!
Why
do we believe what we believe? Everything we understand about
the world is ultimately a belief. But beliefs can be constructive
or destructive. We will show how to evaluate beliefs
and how we can work toward being a better believer by developing
and holding those beliefs that are the most constructive. Supported
by groundbreaking research, including brain scans of people
as they pray, meditate, and speak in tongues, Why We Believe
What We Believe will change the way we look at the world…
and ourselves.
Proposing
a new model for how beliefs emerge and evolve, Newberg and Waldman
structure the book in three parts: the origin of beliefs,
the biological evidence of their influence on our brains, and
their use in our lives. Once we understand the differences between
knowledge and belief, faith and truth, destructive and constructive
beliefs, we can then guard against mental traps, falsities,
and wrong thinking. User-friendly examples, like optical illusions
and the beliefs of those with psychological disorders, demonstrate
how the brain constructs beliefs about reality, and the authors
offer prescriptive recommendations for developing a more affirming
belief system.
Dr.
Newberg says, "Beliefs are based on four key components
- perceptions, emotions, cognitions, and social interactions
- which are also deeply interconnected. These components all
intersect in the workings of the human brain, which enables
us to have all of our beliefs. Our beliefs begin to develop
the moment that we are born and we are pre-programmed to believe
in certain ways. However, these ways are shaped by everything
we think, feel, and experience over our lifetime. But the brain
also requires beliefs in order for us to survive. We need to
hold beliefs about how the world works throughout our entire
life. We need to expect certain things to happen such as a person
being nice to us if we are nice to them. But we can also have
beliefs about meaning and purpose in life, about religion, and
about the deep complexities of the universe. Because our beliefs
are so important to our survival, we have a tendency to hold
those beliefs very strongly, even when presented with opposing
opinions or facts. But the brain is also capable of changing
beliefs if we are open to new ideas and respect the beliefs
of others."
Topics
to be Discussed:
- Why
do we believe what we believe?
- Are
there constructive and destructive beliefs?
- The
Neuroscientific Study of Religious and Spiritual Phenomena:
Or Why God Doesn’t Use Biostatistics
- The
Biology of Belief
- The
Chemical Composition of Beliefs and Ideas
- How
speaking in tongues involves unidentified language centers
in the brain and how it allows practitioners to form new
perceptions of God
- Why
a highly unusual asymmetry exists in the brains of people
who intensely pray or mediate
- How
different forms of prayer effect different parts of the
brain and lead the practitioner to form fundamentally different
beliefs
- Why
angry, hostile, and anxious beliefs are "bad"
for the emotional and memory-processing structures in the
brain and why optimistic beliefs are "better"
for both the body and the brain
- Why
children biologically begin to reject religious beliefs
in adolescence
- How
spiritual practices and human interaction can change the
brain's naturally immoral state
What
People Are Saying About
Why We Believe What We Believe
"I
love this book. As cultures collide in our newly connected
global existence, I can think of nothing more important than
helping people understand the origin, nature, and sheer danger
of their beliefs. Why We Believe What We Believe should be
required reading for every person, young and old, who has
the courage to open his or her mind and explore the biological
basis of belief.""
—Sandra Blakeslee, award-winning science writer and
co-author of On Intelligence and Phantoms in the Brain
"Here is a book that seeks not to dismiss or ignore our
will to believe, but instead explores why believing—even
secular beliefs—is such a necessary and ‘hardwired’
aspect of being human. Newberg and Waldman bring an immense
scientific learning to this compelling work of immense clarity.
Why We Believe What We Believe is certainly the best scientific
statement yet on the will to believe.""
—Stephen G. Post, PhD, Professor of Bioethics, School
of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, author of Unlimited
Love and President, Institute for Research on Unlimited Love—Altruism,
Compassion, Service
"Why believe what you read—or hear, or think?
This intriguing book offers insights into how we can constructively
question our beliefs in a way that expands our minds with
deeper insights into others, and ourselves. Offering a wide-ranging
discussion of beliefs—from the insights gleaned from
brain studies of transcendent experiences to explorations
of perceptual distortions—the authors walk us through
an adventure in thinking that is sure to raise as many questions
as it answers in its illuminating discussions.""
—Daniel J. Siegel, MD, author of Mindsight, Our Seventh
Sense, and The Developing Mind and faculty, The Center for
Culture, Brain, and Development, UCLA
ABOUT
DR. ANDREW NEWBERG
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Get
the Books Before the Call!
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Andrew
Newberg, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
with secondary appointments in the Department of Psychiatry
and the Department of Religious Studies. Upon graduating from
the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1993, Dr.
Newberg trained in Internal Medicine at the Graduate Hospital
in Philadelphia serving as Chief Resident in his final year
and subsequently completed a Fellowship in Nuclear Medicine
in the Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology,
at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Board-certified in
Internal Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, and Nuclear Cardiology.
In
collaboration with the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry,
Dr. Newberg has actively pursued neuroimaging research projects,
including the study of aging and dementia, epilepsy, and other
neurological and psychiatric disorders. Additionally, he has
researched the neurophysiological correlates of acupuncture,
meditation, and other types of complementary therapies.
Moving
beyond the study of specific disorders, Dr. Newberg’s
research now largely focuses on how brain function is associated
with various mental states, in particular, the relationship
between brain function and mystical or religious experiences.
The results and implications of this research are delineated
in Dr. Newberg’s best selling book Why God Wont Go Away:
Brain Science and the Biology of Belief (Ballantine/Random
House). He is co-author, along with Eugene G. d’Aquili,
MD, of the book The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of
Religious Experience (Fortress Press), which one the award
for Outstanding Books in Theology and the Natural Sciences
for 1999 for sponsored by the Center for Theology and the
Natural Sciences.
Dr.
Newberg has presented his research at national and international
scientific and religious meetings; his numerous published
articles and chapters cover the topics of brain function,
brain imaging, and the study of religious and mystical experiences.
In addition to the extensive press he has received, he has
appeared on ABCs World News Tonight.
Education
is a vital component of Dr. Newberg’s career. In addition
to training medical students, internal medicine residents,
radiology residents, and nuclear medicine fellows, Dr. Newberg
has participated in education and curriculum committees at
the University of Pennsylvania and at the Graduate Hospital.
He currently teaches two undergraduate courses at the University
of Pennsylvania entitled: Science and the Sacred: Neurotheology,
in the Department of Religious Studies; and Imaging the Human
Mind, in the Biological Basis of Behavior program.
Course
Type: Audio Mp3 Download
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SHOCKteleconference
with
Dr. Andrew Newberg
IMMEDIATE MP3 DOWNLOAD
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Tuition:
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