The Phantom God: What Neuroscience Reveals about the Compulsion to Believe

Neuroscience has something to say about religious belief or the existence of God. In The Phantom God, computational biologist and neuroscientist John C. Wathey, Ph.D., explores religious feelings as a natural consequence of how our brains are wired, treating mysticism as a natural phenomenon with behavioral and evolutionary roots. He argues that the feeling of God's presence is spawned by innate neural circuitry, similar to the mechanism that compels an infant to cry out for its mother.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2022
Publisher: Prometheus Books

Does neuroscience have anything to say about religious belief or the existence of God? Some have tried to answer this question, but, in doing so, most have strayed from the scientific method. In The Phantom God, computational biologist and neuroscientist John C. Wathey, Ph.D., tackles this problem head-on, exploring religious feelings not as the direct perception by the brain of some supernatural realm, nor as the pathological misfiring of neurons, but as a natural consequence of how our brains are wired. Unlike other neurobiological studies of religion and spirituality, The Phantom God treats mysticism not as something uniquely human and possibly supernatural in origin, but as a completely natural phenomenon that has behavioral and evolutionary roots that can be traced far back into our vertebrate ancestry. Grounded in evolutionary and behavioral biology, this highly original and compelling book takes the reader on a journey through the neural circuitry of crying, innate knowledge, reinforcement learning, emotional bonding, embodiment, interpersonal perception, and the ineffable feeling of certainty that characterizes faith. Wathey argues that the feeling of God's presence is spawned by innate neural circuitry, similar to the mechanism that compels an infant to cry out for its mother. In an adult, this circuitry can be activated under conditions that mimic the extreme desperation and helplessness of infancy, generating the compelling illusion of the presence of a loving, powerful, and all-knowing savior. When seen from this perspective, the illusion also appears remarkably like one that has long been familiar to neurologists: the phantom limb of the amputee, spawned by the expectation of the patient's brain that the missing limb should still be there.

Including a primer on the neurobiology of religion, The Phantom God offers a fresh and insightful perspective on one of the most enduring and complex questions of human existence. It will be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and religion, as well as anyone seeking to better understand the nature of faith and the human mind.

Weight: 513g
Dimension: 232 x 159 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781633888067