dog and the brain

[AtomJack]

It was asked in another thread, so I decided to start a new thread. I am interested in this, as I see so many religious and atheist people talking past each other that I thought it might be a latent component of the conversation. It was noted in some research that people could be made to have religious "feelings" when their brains were stimulated by external fields. Richard Dawkins claimed not to have "felt god" when so stimulated.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...t-1641022.html

Scroll down a little to see his quote. It's an old article, I realize, but salient nonetheless.

I don't have a lot of experience in the psychological arena, having spent the entirety of my career in the physical sciences, but I'd like to ask-

1. What is your take on the brain, as far as maybe there is a "god-spot", and do you think that having this provides any survival value? Post links, etc., to support your contention.

2. Do you think that atheists are in general introspective (i.e, do not rely on others opinions for their final decisions)?

I realize that question #2 may be leading in a couple of ways, but I'll accept what comes from this thread. It is after all exploratory, not definitive of what goes on in a brain. I know that I am definitely an introvert. Not looking to brand people, as we are all over the spectrum, in terms of behavior.

I have a lot on my plate, but I should be able to check in and discuss what is going on. Don't expect me to provide a conclusion- damned if I know all the answers, and in this case, I only have suspicions.

...and they could be all wet. Don't crucify me if this turns out to be all bullshit. I think it would be worth the trip.

[Smellyoldgit]

Oh fuck, good ol' Persinger and his crazy god helmet.
How many decades has this bullshit been running?
Wake me up when somebody replicates it without the pre-helmet priming.

[Davin]

1a: I don't think there is a god spot, but there are several spots specialized to do certain things, it would not be unreasonable to think that one spot somewhere on a person's head is specialized to produce certain feelings.

1b i: Not all surviving traits aid survival. There is a surviving trait among wolverines to be susceptible to cancer that is leading to their extinction. It's on the other end of what one is thinking, but what if the survival of the religion thing is actually leading to our extinction, we just don't see it yet?

1b ii: Also, the feeling may have had aided survival, but is now being exploited by religions. Which would mean that naturally the trait would aid survival, but people are being taken advantage of via that trait by religions to gain and keep followers.

2: I think atheists are all over the board much like any other group.