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This article reviews the neuroscientific understanding of the self and personal identity, focusing on various elements of inclusivity and exclusivity as well as engaging religious and spiritual perspectives. We will also consider how the identity is comprised of biological, social, and ideological or spiritual aspects, and how they are interconnected. We will consider how the brain helps us to construct and maintain our representation of the self and what happens when we have self‐transcendent experiences. Such an evaluation will have implications for understanding the intersection between consciousness and the self. This information will be helpful from both the psychological and spiritual perspective for understanding human identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience research exploring religious and spiritual phenomena, there have been many perspectives as to the validity, importance, relevance, and need for such research. In this essay we review the studies that have contributed to our current understanding of the neuropsychology of religious phenomena. We focus on methodological issues to determine which areas have been weaknesses and strengths in the current studies. This area of research also poses important theological and epistemological questions that require careful consideration if both the religious and scientific elements are to be appropriately respected. The best way to evaluate this field is to determine the methodological issues that currently affect the field and explore how best to address such issues so that future investigations can be as robust as possible and can become more mainstream in both the religious and the scientific arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the relationship between religion and health has grown substantially in the past decade. There is little doubt that religion plays an important role in many people's lives and that this has an impact on their health. The question is how researchers and clinicians can best evaluate the available information and how we can improve upon the current findings. In this essay we review the current knowledge regarding religion and health and also critically review issues pertaining to methodology, findings, and interpretation of these studies. It is important to maintain a rigorous perspective with regard to such studies and also to recognize inherent limitations and suggest constructive ways in which to advance this field of study. In the end, such an approach can provide new information that will improve our understanding of the overall relationship between religion and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews and responds to various issues that have been raised in critical analysis of our work studying the relationship between religion and the brain. An adequate response necessitates a discussion about the origins of this research, the potential pitfalls of doing empirical research in this field, and the complex requirements of interpreting the implications of such an approach. Through inquiry such as this, the study of the brain and its relation to religion and religious experience will continue to advance and uncover the many fascinating questions that await. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates how the brain works and how it creates experiences of the external world in general and of aesthetic experiences in particular. Structure and function of the brain; Brain evolution and the cognitive operators; Process of creativity; Brain imaging and the aesthetic or religious experience.

Investigates the neuropsychology of aesthetic, spiritual and mystical states. Kinds of aesthetics; Descriptions of the primary epistemic states; Movement from the primary epistemic states to the epistemic state of Absolute Unitary Being; Results of computerized tomography imaging of the brains of Tibetan Buddhist meditators; Near-death experiences as a spiritual-mystical experience.

Presents a paper which assesses the neuropsychological basis of religion and religious concepts. Major functions of religion; Corellation between religious functions and human survival and adaptability; Definition of religion; Examination of three classes of mechanisms representing two lines of neurological development.

Examines whether artificial intelligence can possess consciousness as an extension of the interrelationship between consciousness and the brain or material reality. External reality as primary; Commentary on beginning with external reality; Subjective awareness as primary; Integrated approach to the problem of subjective awareness and material reality.