Religious and spiritual experiences : a spiritually evocative naturalist interpretation

What is the value of religious and spiritual experiences within human life? Are we evolutionarily programmed to have such experiences? How will emerging technologies change such experiences in the future? Wesley Wildman addresses these key intellectual questions and more, offering a spiritually evocative naturalist interpretation of the diverse variety of religious and spiritual experiences. He describes these experiences, from the common to the exceptional, and offers innovative classifications for them based on their neurological features and internal qualities. His account avoids reductionistic oversimplifications and instead synthesizes perspectives from many disciplines, including philosophy and natural sciences, into a compelling account of the meaning and value of religious and spiritual experiences in human life. The resulting interpretation does not assume a supernatural worldview but incorporates religious and spiritual experiences into a positive affirmation of this-worldly existence. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 List of figures......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgements......Page 15 Introduction......Page 18 Motivating concerns......Page 21 Theoretical issues......Page 31 Conclusion......Page 42 Introduction......Page 48 History of thought about spirituality and the brain......Page 49 Evidence for the neural mediation hypothesis......Page 58 Problems facing the neuroscience of religious and spiritual experiences......Page 65 Creative responses......Page 70 Conclusion......Page 84 Introduction......Page 86 Mapping the terrain of religious and spiritual experiences......Page 87 Basic distinctions in the map......Page 94 Exploring shared territory in more detail......Page 106 Conclusion......Page 118 Introduction......Page 121 Immediate responses to intense experiences......Page 125 Five core features of intense experiences......Page 132 The faces, functions, and cognitive value of intense experiences......Page 139 Evolution and the neurology of intense experiences......Page 152 Conclusion......Page 159 Introduction......Page 161 Deepening the reliability question......Page 162 The perception analogy......Page 173 An ecological-semiotic theory of dynamic engagement......Page 183 The reliability of religious perceptual engagement......Page 195 Conclusion......Page 202 Introduction......Page 204 A dynamical systems approach to the brain-group nexus......Page 206 Describing all equilibrium social arrangements since the Neolithic......Page 219 Evolutionary origins of the pre-Neolithic equilibrium......Page 228 Behind the ideological curtain......Page 235 Conclusion......Page 242 Introduction......Page 244 Past technologies, transformed in the present, hurtling into the future......Page 245 Unprecedented technologies......Page 253 Conclusion......Page 258 Five key controversies......Page 261 Five key affirmations......Page 269 Conclusion......Page 281 Glossary of key terms......Page 283 References......Page 288 Index......Page 317 "What is the value of religious and spiritual experiences within human life? Are we evolutionarily programmed to have such experiences? How will emerging technologies change such experiences in the future? Wesley Wildman addresses these key intellectual questions and more, offering a spiritually evocative naturalist interpretation of the diverse variety of religious and spiritual experiences. He describes these experiences, from the common to the exceptional, and offers innovative classifications of them based on their neurological features and their internal qualities. His account avoids reductionalistic oversimplifications and instead synthesizes perspectives from many disciplines, including philosophy and natural sciences, into a compelling account of the meaning and value of religious and spiritual experiences in human life. The resulting interpretation does not assume a supernatural worldview nor does it reject such experiences as positive affirmation of this-worldly existence"-- Provided by publisher "What is the value of religious and spiritual experiences within human life? Are we evolutionarily programmed to have such experiences? How will emerging technologies change such experiences in the future? Wesley Wildman addresses these key intellectual questions and more, offering a spiritually evocative naturalist interpretation of the diverse variety of religious and spiritual experiences. He describes these experiences, from the common to the exceptional, and offers innovative classifications for them based on their neurological features and internal qualities. His account avoids reductionalistic oversimplifications and instead synthesizes perspectives from many disciplines, including philosophy and natural sciences, into a compelling account of the meaning and value of religious and spiritual experiences in human life. The resulting interpretation does not assume a supernatural worldview nor does it reject such experiences as positive affirmation of this-worldly existence"-- Provided by publisher Exploring a strange yet familiar landscape: a strategy for interpreting religious and spiritual experiences Spirituality and the brain: a revolutionary scientific approach to religious and spiritual experiences A smorgasbord of dangers and delights: the phenomenology of religious and spiritual experiences Gateway to ultimacy: the importance of intense experiences Can you trust your instincts?: the cognitive reliability of religious and spiritual experiences The brain-group nexus: the social power of religious and spiritual experiences Make it start, make it stop!: religious and spiritual experiences in the future Brains in bodies, persons in groups, and religion in nature: an integrative interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences. Wesley Wildman provides a spiritually evocative naturalist interpretation of a diverse variety of religious and spiritual experiences, from the common to the exceptional, answering key intellectual questions. He describes these experiences, offering novel classifications of the broad spectrum of experiences based on their neurological features and internal qualities.