Ever wonder why it is that as a medically and scientifically advanced people, we know generally everything there is to know about all of the organs in the body besides the brain?

Why is it that we know about heart transplants, blood transfusions, pancreatic function, pulmonary disease, etc., yet we struggle to know how the brain works?  I think it is less of a scientific question and more of a religion answer.

Primarily, I think that much of how far we’ve come as a scientific community was significantly driven and funded (and allowed) by the people in charge– and up until the last few centuries, the people in charge have also been the people who lead us not into temptation.

I’m not faulting the individual followers of any particular religion- so don’t think I’m going down that path.  I am, however, comparing it to the teaching of evolution versus creationism in schools.  I’m talking about the freedom of stem cell research that could possibly cure a majority of our ailments.  I’m talking about the stigma of mental illness– you know, the ones where it’s better to institutionalize people because we don’t know what’s “wrong” with them instead of forcefully studying how the brain functions so that mental and cognitive wellness could one day be right up there in line with the treatments one would use to treat diabetes or high blood pressure.  For a long time, the church as a body was fearful of the mind.  After all, one cannot rightfully explain the inner workings of one’s head without discrediting God and “HIS” ability to judge right from wrong for all of man kind.

You figure out how it is that a person emulates cognitive thought, and then realize you’ve discredited the soul.  You figure out why it is that someone could be homosexual (couldn’t have ANYTHING to do with his or her brain functioning, could it?), and you eliminate the ability to call it a sin.  You assess the design of someone with an extra Y chromosome and see how the genetic anomaly affects the hormones produced in their brain and can then see how it is that an extra Y could make someone more aggressive and less emotional.  You figure out what it is that drives people into devious acts– and they can no longer be held accountable in heaven for their behavior.

*end facetiousness*

I don’t think that the study of how our brains function is really something that entirely overlaps with spirituality, but I certainly believe you can observe, physiologically, how it functions during a religious experience, and wah-lah!  I think we’ve got a solid explanation and a lot of people who are normally preaching to the masses running for the hills because they can no longer say, “We don’t do these things because God condemns them!”

You lose control of the people when you discover that we’re not only all one in the same but concurrently VASTLY different from each other.

7 Comments »

1. 

   I have no problem with giving the burden of fault to religion except that this is not directly true, only indirectly. We are human so respond based on our previous beliefs or knowledge. The difference between knowledge and belief is smaller than most acknowledge.

   So when scientists conduct experiments and make observations, they tend to react based on what they already know. Since, as you write, religion has played a dominate role, and still does, in most people’s lives, this greatly shades how scientist interpret results.

   The other hurdle is more a fault of academia and how they conduct research. Many scientists must search for money to fund their projects and focus on something narrow so often ignore other possibilities. Some focus so hard that they “know” their results ahead of time. Imagine the pressure they are under to stake their repetitions on something only to discover that they are wrong. It is a human tendency to want your results to support your initial suspicions, even at the cost of a better explanation.

   So while I would be the first to dispute religious belief, I am the first to say that religion is not the cause of many of the problems we claim it to be. In fact, despite wanting no part of religion for myself, I believe it does a lot for society in general. Most problems are caused by people being people and we would manage to cause trouble for ourselves with or without religion.

   Comment by GregBecerra — July 30, 2008 @ 7:05 am

2. 

   Bravo, Greg!
   I couldn’t have said it better… thank you for contributing.

   It’s true! One of the greatest challenges in research is the scientists’ expectations. Much of what you expect is what you get.

   Isn’t that how life is?

   Comment by POHA — July 30, 2008 @ 7:30 am

3. 

   Well I’m not much of a fan of religion, however I am a fan of beliefs. At any rate, I’d love to find cures and explanations for all sorts of behaviors. If studying the brain can explain why we believe things, then I’m curious to see what happens to all of the “problems caused by people” in the world when someone can quantify greed, jealously, anger, etc.

   I do think that religion is a big reason why we haven’t made more progress as a society in the modern world. But religion has it’s place and I, for one, am grateful that it’s there to help those that need it. If only the leaders would listen to themselves with a critical ear. anyway..that’s an entirely different discussion.

   Comment by Ryan — August 1, 2008 @ 8:59 am

4. 

   I love that you participate in the discussion!

   I agree that religion has its place and is important. Good morals, if taught appropriately by the church, are invaluable.

   Comment by POHA — August 1, 2008 @ 10:03 am

5. 

   I think that the true thinking Christian would realize that Science and Religion can work together, hand in hand. For me, as a religious person, I look around and see God’s amazing creation in nature and WANT to know everything about it. I would think the driving force behind science would be finding out how all this works…brains, trees, everything. And I know when I look at DNA strands, brain functioning and most of all, the creation of a child, I think that there is no way all this came about from sludge. Both the church and the scientific community need to chill out and not declare each other moral enemies. There have been many scholars that have been kicked out of universities because they wanted to simply EXPLORE the idea of creation - or not even creation, but for questioning Darwinism and Evolution. And when there is something that you are not even able to question, that’s when it becomes dangerous. There should be NO sacred cows in science. Even Evolution. So…in conclusion = Science and Religion should be friends. Maybe awkward friends, but friends nonetheless.

   Comment by Colleen — August 4, 2008 @ 9:48 am

6. 

   I agree, Colleen! Though I do believe you’re an exception rather than the rule when it comes to representing the overall church. Perhaps times are changed now, too. But… in the past, I think it’s true that science and religion were completely opposing warheads… Now, though they’re not really even comparable– apples to oranges. Science answers the question “How?” while Religion answers the question “Why?”

   Of course, it takes an objective mind to realize that.

   Comment by POHA — August 4, 2008 @ 9:52 am

7. 

   Leet me start off by saying I always said “if God didn’t mean for it to grow we wouldn’t be smoking it.” Joke… but in the same case ccan’t you argue that God gives us the ability to discover different things? Now the bible or religion I know nothing except every person adopts what they want to from anything they read or look at.
   Religion and stem cell research and the MANY benefits, I truly believe this is a moral batal and until those against are hit with stem cell research being their “hope” they’ll be ignorant to any other answer than their own.
   I don’t think everything has to be a science vs religious beliefs, they can be intertwined in so many ways. Besides, if we all listened to the Bible we’d be winos drinking all that wine, geeeeez!

   Comment by Nikki — August 5, 2008 @ 9:58 pm

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