The threat of artificial intelligence
A mere ten years ago, neither Facebook nor YouTube existed. Google was obscure. Obviously, times have changed since then – so imagine how much will […]
Research News
Religion affects decisions by shaping how we perceive
How do we make decisions? It may seem to be a question more suited for philosophical treatises or neuroscience journal articles than the study of […]
Prominent skeptic: Religion may be adaptive after all
In the nine years since the radical Islamist terrorist attacks on the U.S. of September 11th, 2001, plenty of scholars and researchers have trained their […]
Biocultural models of the evolution of religion need to take onboard – The sacral or divine kingship’
Most accounts of the evolutionary origins of religion refer to the shamanistic complex of behaviors as the first set of behaviors that were recognizably – religious’. […]
When being unfalsifiable is a good thing
Common knowledge says that you believe what you’re taught, or what your gut tells you is right, or – better yet – what the facts […]
Is atheism linked to intelligence?
Not so long ago experts predicted the imminent collapse of religion in modern western culture. Religion – often synonymous in these discussions with superstition, magic, […]
Self-transcendence enhanced by removal of portions of the parietal-occipital cortex
For many years, research has pointed to specific neural pathways as the presumed locus of spiritual thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Famously, studies have shown similar […]
Toward an anatomy of religiosity
While media excitement about the supposed discovery of a single “God module” in the brain has rightly followed scientific consensus and cooled off considerably, the […]
The neural basis of belief
Even the most sympathetic observer has to admit that religious beliefs are often very strange. Indeed, while nearly all agree that Santa Claus does not […]
The Biocentric Universe
A recent article by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman suggests that rather than being the most complex results of essentially physical processes, life, and particularly […]