Event Title
Believing Brains? Cognitive Approaches to Faith and Reason
Location
Haughey Hall, Science Complex
Start Date
26-10-2013 10:15 AM
Description
From its infancy in phrenological false promises, the idea that faith and reason should leave physical marks on the human brain has attracted both empirical and popular interest. The simple localization of faith or reason to a clearly defined brain area is, however, unlikely at this point, and the practice of using appeals to brain imaging to justify the existence of psychological constructs—neurorealism—is increasingly under critical fire. While we do not yet have a clear picture of the intricate networks that provide for the human experiences of faith and reason, some basic principles derived from a blending of psychology and neuroscience suggest the types of cognition that we would expect to underpin both faith and reason.
Believing Brains? Cognitive Approaches to Faith and Reason
Haughey Hall, Science Complex
From its infancy in phrenological false promises, the idea that faith and reason should leave physical marks on the human brain has attracted both empirical and popular interest. The simple localization of faith or reason to a clearly defined brain area is, however, unlikely at this point, and the practice of using appeals to brain imaging to justify the existence of psychological constructs—neurorealism—is increasingly under critical fire. While we do not yet have a clear picture of the intricate networks that provide for the human experiences of faith and reason, some basic principles derived from a blending of psychology and neuroscience suggest the types of cognition that we would expect to underpin both faith and reason.
Comments
Karl Bailey received his PhD in psychology, with a specialization in cognitive science, from Michigan State University. He has taught at Andrews University since 2004, and has directed the Behavioral Neuroscience Program since 2011. Bailey is one of the most active undergraduate research mentors on campus, supervising over 100 individual projects since arriving at Andrews. He and his students are currently working on problems in visual cognition, internalization of religious behavior, and cognitive load.