St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Aug 2023)
Theology and Neuroscience
Abstract
Neuroscience, the fastest growing scientific discipline for decades, has affected numerous aspects of Western culture. Thus, one should expect it to have influences on religion as well. This article treats one of the points of intersection with Christianity, the basic metaphysical makeup of humans. The two most prevalent views in the tradition are body-soul dualism and holism or physicalism. This article describes four developments in neuroscience that have consequences for Christian practice and understanding: (1) agenesis of the corpus callosum (the millions of neurons connecting the right and left cerebral hemispheres); (2) the large frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, which have massive connections with other regions of the brain; (3) somatic markers, which provide subtle emotional reactions to contemplated actions; and (4) mirror neurons, which have been found to subserve both the performance of an action and understanding of the actions of others. Because various forms of physicalism are more compatible with the ever tightening connections between neural processes and beliefs and practices, the article begins with biblical and theological considerations showing that some forms of physicalism are acceptable options for Christians. However, in the philosophical world a number of physicalists are content with simply reducing to mere brain processes the higher mental capacities that enable understanding and practice of Christian life. So the article attempts to show why physicalism need not entail this sort of reductionism.
