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The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul Audiobook
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(3.02) - 216 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Does religious experience come from God, or is it just the random firing of neurons in the brain? Drawing on brain research on Carmelite nuns that has attracted major media attention and provocative new research in near-death experiences, The Spiritual Brain proves that genuine, life-changing spiritual events can be documented. The authors make a convincing case for what many in science are loathe to consider—that it is God who creates our spiritual experiences, not the brain. Challenging the conclusions of such books as Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion and Daniel C. Dennett's Breaking the Spell, this book will be of interest to readers on both sides of a hot-button issue at the meeting place of science and faith.
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"Much of The Spiritual Brain is an argument against materialist and evolutionary psychology, and the supposition that there is a gene or "God Spot" in the brain responsible for mystical experiences; not all of that argument is particularly convincing, but the background is important in understanding the whole. I suspect that Professor Beauregard has been beaten up over the course of his career, and the tone of early sections of the book perhaps attests to that. Plow ahead anyway. The chapters on Near Death Experiences and the professor's work with Carmelite nuns are intriguing and left me wanting to know more. As a primer on the fundamental theories at play and a resource for future research, this book is invaluable."
— Denise (4 out of 5 stars)
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The material is heady, but narrator Patrick Lawlor keeps the experience pleasant with an enthusiastic tone that is appropriately tinged with wonder.
— AudioFile
The Spiritual Brain Listener Reviews
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" I am reading it now. "
— G0ldil0x, 2/18/2014 -
" Tedious and poorly organized. From reviews I expected a lot more. "
— Jeanne, 12/29/2013 -
" Excellent look at the neuroscience of the brain and what the definition of mind and consciousness is. "
— Mike, 12/12/2013 -
" From a christian perspective, this book got into some weird stuff that needed filtering, but overall I enjoyed it. "
— Nicholas, 11/19/2013 -
" Excellent book showing the latest thinking about the brain/mind connection. I don't think I have seen any other book or article that has so clearly defined the complexity of this issue for the average reader. "
— David, 11/7/2013 -
" There is a compelling argument to be found in this book if the reader can wade through the defensiveness of the first few chapters. "
— Bethany, 10/25/2013 -
" It is hard to read but the info is fascinating. "
— Liz, 9/4/2013 -
" My friend gave me this book as a gift. I was expecting more from it, and I couldn't get through it due to the bad science and factual errors. And I still don't understand what a soul is supposed to be. Don't bother, it's not worth it. "
— Gecko, 9/4/2013 -
" The universe and everything in it is mysterious, including our brains. "
— Jason, 3/19/2013 -
" This is a must read for anyone interested in consciousness, religion or spirituality. It makes a strong argument against materialism in a field with room for little else. If you want to get the wheels turning, read this! "
— Meaghan, 12/22/2012 -
" One of the best books I've read in trying to understand the mind/brain problem. Good to see some big guns being wheeled out in defence of the non-materialist view. And this book is a very big gun indeed. I highly recommend it for anyone exploring the nature of consciousness. "
— Michael, 10/31/2012 -
" I've really got to stop reading books that have "Case" or "Verdict" in the title. Not worth the time. "
— Denise, 6/16/2012 -
" After the first couple of chapters I got lost in all the psychobabble. Must, much too technical. "
— Robert, 11/18/2011 -
" When I saw this book I was very excited. I was fascinated to hear what a neuroscience who believed in god would give as a neuroscience explanation for that believe. Instead I got a lot of poor logic and ad hominem attacks on scientists who don't believe in god. "
— Christopher, 3/18/2011 -
" his is a must read for anyone interested in consciousness, religion or spirituality. It makes a strong argument against materialism in a field with room for little else. If you want to get the wheels turning, read this! "
— Meaghan, 1/24/2011 -
" For me, it was a great introduction to the concept of neuroplasticity, but take his theological arguments with a grain of salt! If this book left you thirsty for the former, I highly recommend 'The Brain that Changes Itself' by Norman Doidge. "
— Ashley, 8/2/2010 -
" When I saw this book I was very excited. I was fascinated to hear what a neuroscience who believed in god would give as a neuroscience explanation for that believe. Instead I got a lot of poor logic and ad hominem attacks on scientists who don't believe in god. "
— Christopher, 9/30/2009 -
" Tedious and poorly organized. From reviews I expected a lot more. "
— Jeanne, 7/23/2009 -
" This was a tiresome book, but I soldiered through. It attempts to answer the question, "Did God create the brain or did the brain create God?" I agreed with the conclusion (God created the brain) but did not think it followed from the process taken. "
— Laurele, 5/20/2009 -
" The universe and everything in it is mysterious, including our brains. "
— Jason, 4/1/2009 -
" the authors did a good job of refuting the richard dawkins, "man is a bucket of meat balls" crowd, but the book fell flat on its promise to advance a convincing neurobiological case for the soul. aw crackers… i’m still agnostic "
— Tera, 2/18/2009 -
" From a christian perspective, this book got into some weird stuff that needed filtering, but overall I enjoyed it. "
— Nicholas, 1/4/2009 -
" Excellent book showing the latest thinking about the brain/mind connection. I don't think I have seen any other book or article that has so clearly defined the complexity of this issue for the average reader. "
— David, 10/6/2008 -
" Interesting writing on mystical experiences. <br/>Very intense reading. "
— Betty, 4/30/2008
About the Authors
Mario Beauregard PhD is an associate professor in the departments of radiology and psychology at the Université de Montréal (Canada), where he earned his PhD in neuroscience. He has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Texas Medical School and McGill University. Beauregard’s research concerns the neural substrate underlying self-consciousness, volition, and emotion regulation with the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and multichannel EEG. Other major research interests involve the mind-brain question and the neurobiology of spiritual transformation.
Denyse O’Leary is a Canadian journalist based in Toronto who writes on topics related to science, religion, and faith. She is the author of several books, including Faith and Science: Why Science Needs Faith in the Twenty-First Century. The faith and science columnist for ChristianWeek, O’Leary has also contributed articles for Christianity Today, Faith Today, and Christian Times.
About Patrick Lawlor
Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.