In "Challenging Nature" by Lee M. Silver, he talks about science and how it should invaildate the way people believe in religion. However, the way that religion is affected is by how science can't prove things about the brain and have to leave it to God (64). Silver says that in two different religions, the same area of the brain lights up when they are "spiritually engaged". They can't seem to know what makes the brain light up and so the scientists that did the experiment leave it to the mystical force. The belief in religion can be made stronger by scientists being unable to find how the brain works.
The idea that somethings can't be explained gives strength to those who want to believe. These people are given a reason to have faith in God because scientists aren't able to explain certain things. In the future, people will have reason to have faith because of the non findings of scientists on the brain. The area in the brain that is associated with the spiritual sense will be hard for scientists to figure out. Scientists aren't spiritual, so it is hard for them to grasp the sense of believing in a outer force. It is impossible for them to grasp because God is in a different realm and they are studying this realm. Silver isn't the only one to recongize faith becoming stronger due to what scientists are trying to figure out.
In a different experiment by Andrew Newberg, he tries to prove how the brain and faith interact. In the Montreal gazette, John Barry wrote an article called" Brainy beliefs; A scientist is using sophisticated technology to hunt down and map the soul." Newberg does a brain scan of a nun and finds certain areas of the brain being strongly used during meditation. These parts were strongly used during meditation and when they came out of it, the parts went back to their normal use. Scientists try to explain why certain parts of the brain are only strongly used during mediation, but can't.
Silver doesn't believe in any of this because he believes that science can explain anything. He thinks that the brain just creates an illusion of a higher spirit like God, when there really isn't anything there. He doesn't believe in any of this because there is no data to back up spirituality and God. There is data though saying that there is something that happens in the brain when it is spirituality connected. This will increase people's faith and make it harder for people like Silver to be skeptical.
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3 comments:
To start, the prompt asked you to cite a "precise" passage in the text. I saw that in your opening statement you cited a page of information but I think Dr. Johns wanted a specific quote.
Towards the end of the essay, particularly in the conclusion, you start to lose focus. The conclusion paragraph should include something regarding to the prompt but it doesn't anything regarding the future of religion, just what silver believes.
I feel that you provide sufficient information to make a strong argument, but the delivery of the argument itself is weak.
Religion and Science
In "Challenging Nature" by Lee M. Silver, he talks about science and how it should invaildate the way people believe in religion. However, the way that religion is affected is by how science can't prove things about the brain and have to leave it to God (64). Silver says that in two different religions, the same area of the brain lights up when they are "spiritually engaged". They can't seem to know what makes the brain light up and so the scientists that did the experiment leave it to the mystical force. The belief in religion can be made stronger by scientists being unable to find how the brain works.
The idea that somethings can't be explained gives strength to those who want to believe. These people are given a reason to have faith in God because scientists aren't able to explain certain things. In the future, people will have reason to have faith because of the non findings of scientists on the brain. The area in the brain that is associated with the spiritual sense will be hard for scientists to figure out. Scientists aren't spiritual, so it is hard for them to grasp the sense of believing in a outer force. It is impossible for them to grasp because God is in a different realm and they are studying this realm. Silver isn't the only one to recongize faith becoming stronger due to what scientists are trying to figure out.
In a different experiment by Andrew Newberg, he tries to prove how the brain and faith interact. In the Montreal gazette, John Barry wrote an article called" Brainy beliefs; A scientist is using sophisticated technology to hunt down and map the soul." Newberg does a brain scan of a nun and finds certain areas of the brain being strongly used during meditation. These parts were strongly used during meditation and when they came out of it, the parts went back to their normal use. Scientists try to explain why certain parts of the brain are only strongly used during mediation, but can't.
Silver doesn't believe in any of this because he believes that science can explain anything. He thinks that the brain just creates an illusion of a higher spirit like God, when there really isn't anything there. He doesn't believe in any of this because there is no data to back up spirituality and God. There is data though saying that there is something that happens in the brain when it is spirituality connected. This will increase people's faith and make it harder for people like Silver to be skeptical.
With these types of research going on, the future of religion may become stronger. The knowledge that somethings just can't be explained may give people the belief that there is an outer being that can't be found.
While Jon's post was very brief, he raised a couple critical points in your paper. I'm going to focus on one in particular.
The assignment asks you to focus on a precise passage, and, very importantly, to take the material Silver presents very seriously.
You aren't addressing in any detail what Silver has to say about spirituality and how the brain works. Maybe most importantly, you're simply ignoring the one thing that Silver would want you to focus on: that there is every reason to believe that we will learn far more about these areas of the brain. You simply assume - for no reason that I can see - that all attempts to understand this area of the brain will fail. Maybe so, maybe not. But here's the problem: rather than trying to accept Silver at more or less face value on this issue, then imagining the consequences, you are more or less directly contradicting him.
Not that you couldn't argue with Silver! But you need to take him seriously first, before arguing with him can work.
Jon - solid job, despite perhaps excessive brevity.
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