RELG 380
Religion and the Brain
Professor: Daniel Meckel.
Office: AA 110 C; Office Tel: 4464
Email: djmeckel@smcm.edu. Office hours:
(and by appointment)
Course Summary
An
examination of religious, philosophical, and cultural issues surrounding
contemporary brain science. Students will become conversant with basic
philosophical debates concerning mind-body dualism, consciousness and the
brain, and the nature of self-experience; they will consider the implications
of neuroscience for popular notions of the soul, human agency, and moral
responsibility. Students need not have a background in neuroscience but
should be prepared for an intensive review of some of its basic findings to-date.
The course is interdisciplinary and writing-intensive; it uses film, fiction,
accessible scientific writing, philosophical and religious studies.
Course Materials
FOR PURCHASE
Bulkeley, K The Wondering Brain:
Thinking about Religion With and Beyond Neuroscience
Carter, Rita Mapping the Mind
Livingstone, Anatomy of the
Sacred
Newberg et al, Why God Won’t Go
Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief
Salzman, Mark Lying Awake
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Aug. 27: Introduction to the class |
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Aug. 29:
“Religion” and Religious Studies: What, Why and How? |
§
§
Begin Reading Salzman, Lying Awake |
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Sept. 3: No Class (Labor Day) |
Discussion
and Paper Assignment for Mark Salzman’s Lying Awake Prepare discussion questions for Sept.
5 Paper due on Sept. 7 |
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Sept. 5: Lying Awake: A Novel |
§
Salzman, Lying
Awake §
Persinger, M.A. (1983). Religious
and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function: a general
hypothesis |
Brain Basics
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Sept.10:
Brain Basics 1: Neuroanatomy, Functional Localization,
and Neurotransmission
Neuron, Synapse Cerebrum, Right Hemisphere |
§
Carter, R. (MM)
The Emerging Landscape |
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Sept. 12: Brain Basics 2: Twin Hemispheres; The Limbic System |
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Carter, R. (MM) The Great Divide; Beneath the
Surface Take the Hemispheric Dominance Test |
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Sept.
17: Brain Basics 3: Cerebral Cortex Special Event: Anne Marie Brady
and her Brains |
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Carter, R. (MM) Higher Ground |
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Sept.
19: Consciousness and Illusions Brain Basics
Exam About the Exam.
Study Materials |
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Carter,
R. A Stream of Illusion (e-res) |
Mind,
Brain and Soul
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Sept. 24: Religion in an Age of
(Neuro)Science (1) |
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Barbour, Ian “Ways of Relating Science and
Religion” (e-res) §
Bagley, Essay 1 Write an essay in which you argue for or against
Integration (as Barbour defines and supports it) as a viable approach to
religion and neuroscience. In your
argument, be responsive to the other approaches. |
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Sept. 26: Religion in an Age of (Neuro)Science (2) |
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Oct. 1: Neuroscience and the Soul |
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Murphy,
N. “Neuroscience and the Soul” §
Sacks, O. “Neurology and the Soul” |
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Oct. 3: The Mind-Body Problem |
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Carter, R. The Hard Problem (e-res) §
Gillett, G.R.,
“Brain, mind, and soul” (e-res) Essay 2 Identify and describe the position on the mind body
problem (the “hard problem”) that you find most convincing and defend
that position over and above the others described in Carter. |
Biology of the Sacred
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Oct. 8: No
Class (Fall |
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Oct. 10: The
Sacred and the Holy |
§
Livingstone, ch. 3 Compare Rudolph Otto and Mircea Eliade’s notions of the sacred
and make an argument for how any of the research described in Sharon
Bagley’s article “Religion and the Brain” illuminates (or
fails to illuminate) these notions. |
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Oct. 15: Introduction to the “Biology of
Belief” |
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Newberg, chs. 1-3 Does Newberg work with an adequate definition of
“religion” in his book?
Assess the adequacy of his assumptions about religion, using |
Mythology and Religious Symbolism
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Oct. 17: The Study of Myths and Symbols |
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Oct. 22: The
Biology of Mythology |
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Newberg, ch. 4, Myth-Making: The Compulsion to
Create Stories and Beliefs Malinowski, Eliade, and Jung: each has a distinctive
approach to understanding religious myth.
Develop a set of critical reflections on two of these understandings
from the standpoint of neuroscience.
Draw directly on Newberg. |
Religious Ritual
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Oct. 24: The Nature and Study of Religious Ritual |
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Livingstone, Sacred Ritual |
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Oct. 29: The Neurology of Myth and Ritual |
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Newberg, ch. 5.
Ritual: The Manifestation of Meaning. Scholars of religion have approached the study of
ritual in at least two major ways:
Using at least two major thinkers from
Livingstone’s chapter on ritual, critique the utility of
Newberg’s neurobiological approach in addressing these two aspects of
religious ritual. |
Mystical Experience
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Oct. 31: The Biology of Transcendence |
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Newberg, ch. 6.
Mysticism: The Biology of Transcendence |
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Nov. 5: Forms
of Mystical Experience
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James, W.
Mysticism (e-res) At the heart of the mystical condition is a state of
self-transcendence and unity with ultimate reality. Using James’ descriptive chapter and
Newberg’s neuroscience, develop a critique of the phenomenological and
theological features of this claim. |
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Nov. 7: The Doors |
§
Winkelman,
M. Cross-Cultural Assessments of
Shamanism as a Biogenic Foundation of Religion Essay
7A (due Monday) Jim
Morrison as Shaman: |
Divinity and Ultimate Reality
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Nov. 12:
Concepts of the Divine and
Ultimate Reality First
half discussion of Assignment 7A: |
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Livingstone, Deity: Concepts of the Divine and
Ultimate Reality |
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Nov. 14: The
Mind in Search of Absolutes |
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Newberg, Chs. 7 & 8: The Origins of Religion;
Realer than Real From our theology (i.e., notion of divinity or ultimate reality)
comes our experience of the divine.
From experience of the divine comes our theology. Argue for one or the other, both, or
neither, using Livingstone and Newberg. |
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Nov. 19: No Class ( Religion National Conference) |
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Thinking
about Religion With and Beyond Neuroscience
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Nov. 26:
Dreams and Visions Discussion
of Assignment 8: |
§
Bulkeley, Introduction & ch. 1 |
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Nov. 28: Sexual Desire
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Bulkeley, ch. 2 Sexual desire opens a way of relating to the divine (Bulkeley, p. 67) Discuss in
light of neuroscience, two religious traditions, and Lester Burnham. |
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Dec. 3: Creative Madness Discussion
of Chapter 3: |
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Bulkeley, ch. 3 |
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Dec. 5:
Contemplative Practice
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Bulkeley, ch. 4 & Conclusion Develop your own evaluation of Bulkeley’s
critique of Why God Won’t Go Away,
by Newberg and d’Aquili. |
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Final Exam |
Lying
Awake Paper................................................................... 25
Brain
Basics Exam..................................................................... 200
Short
essays............................................................................... 280
(40 each)
Final
exam.................................................................................. 250
Presentation............................................................................... 50
Participation............................................................................... 195
Final Grade Values
1000 Points Possible
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900 to 919 = A-
880 to 899 = B+
820 to 879 = B
800 to 819 = B-
780 to 799 = C+ |
700 to 719 = C- 680 to 699 = D+ 620 to 679 = D 600 to 619 = D- 599 & below = F |
Track
your progress on Blackboard
Lying Awake Essay: TBA
Short Essays (7):
Students are invited to write seven (or more) of the ten short essay
assignments posted on the syllabus. The
essays should reflect three things: (1)
an accurate reading of the material for that day, (2) a thoughtful and reasoned
reaction to the readings that presents an argued point rather than mere
opinion, and (3) a set of three discussion (i.e., not informational) questions
related to the topic.
Essay Structure: The essays
should be three full pages long, double-spaced with 1” margins and
12 pt. font. Questions should be typed
on a separate page, following the essay.
The first part (no more than a page) of the essay should summarize the
reading material as it is related to the essay question; the bulk of the essay
will present your own critical thinking.
Essays are due on the day for which they are posted. Late essays will not be counted. Students have the option of writing more than
seven. I will grade the essays with a
simple system: ”+” (= 40), ”√+”
(= 34), “√-“ (= 30), “–“ (= 26),
“0” (= 0) I will
apply the top seven scores toward the final grade. Recommendation: start writing the short essays early so that they
don’t back up on you later, and so
that you can write more than seven if you need to.
Presentation:
TBA.
Other Guidelines
A Comment on
Grading: If ever I find that a particular
question on a test is missed by almost everyone, I will assume that it was unfair
or too difficult and throw it out. If
ever you disagree with a grade, you can always
come to me and protest, complain, persuade, etc. I may or may not be convinced, but I will
always listen.
Participation: “Participation” means (1) wakeful presence,
(2) preparation of reading assignments, (3) active involvement in class
interactions, (4) punctual arrival at the beginning of class, and (5)
completion of all in-class writing assignments.
Lack of any of these will affect your grade, excessive lack is reason
for dismissal from the class.
Attendance Policy: Without
regular attendance, students do not tend to learn as well; so attendance is
required. I do, however, offer two free
days-off during the semester. A note
from a doctor, dentist, coach, or funeral director will render an absence
excused. Without such a note, the absence will not be excused. A phone
call or email message saying that you are ill is not sufficient, nor is a note
from the health center confirming an appointment. Please note that I tend to allow a maximum of
one or two absences per semester for official sports activities. Leaving class early will result in a marked
absence. Each unexcused absence results
in a 20 point reduction (1/2 grade point).
My Office Hours: My office number and hours are listed
above. Please make an appointment if
possible, but feel completely free to drop by with your concerns, ideas,
questions, etc. I will always make time
if I can. If need be, we can certainly
communicate by email, but in-person is always best.
Online Syllabus,
Email Communications, and Computer Failure. This online
syllabus can be accessed through the Blackboard course page
but I recommend that you bookmark it so as to bypass BB when it goes down. The syllabus is my best projection of how our
time will be organized. I might well
alter the assignment schedule as seems appropriate or necessary; but I will not
change the grading policies.
Students are responsible for checking
the online syllabus and their email every day. I will announce any and all changes via email
-- e.g., a changed deadline or altered reading assignment. Computer failure is not a valid excuse for a
late assignment. Broken or unreliable
computer? Use the computers at the college.
Academic dishonesty in any form (including
plagiarism of self or others, falsified documentation of a doctor’s note,
etc.) will not be tolerated. Cheating of
any kind results, without exception, in an “F” for the course. Really.
Food in class: Drinks and snacks of the very quiet
variety are allowed in class, nothing else.
No activated cell phones are allowed in the
classroom (so please turn them off).