Picture 1 of 1
The Phantom God: What Neuroscience Reveals about the Compulsion to Believe by Jo
Condition:
3 available
Postage:
Located in: Fairfield, Ohio, United States
Delivery:
Estimated between Tue, 11 Jun and Sat, 22 Jun to 43230
Returns:
Coverage:
Read item description or contact seller for details. See all detailsSee all details on coverage
(Not eligible for eBay purchase protection programmes)
Shop with confidence
Seller information
- 98.3% positive feedback
Registered as a Business Seller
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:364795269782
Item specifics
- Condition
- Brand New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
- ISBN-13
- 9781633888067
- Type
- NA
- Publication Name
- NA
- ISBN
- 9781633888067
- Book Title
- Phantom God : What Neuroscience Reveals about the Compulsion to Believe
- Item Length
- 9.1in
- Publisher
- Prometheus Books, Publishers
- Publication Year
- 2022
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Item Height
- 1in
- Genre
- Religion, Science
- Topic
- Philosophy & Social Aspects, Life Sciences / Neuroscience, Religion & Science
- Item Width
- 6.3in
- Item Weight
- 0 Oz
- Number of Pages
- 304 Pages
About this product
Product Information
Does neuroscience have anything to say about religious belief or the existence of God? Some have tried to answer this question, but, in doing so, most have strayed from the scientific method. In The Phantom God, computational biologist and neuroscientist John C. Wathey, Ph.D., tackles this problem head-on, exploring religious feelings not as the direct perception by the brain of some supernatural realm, nor as the pathological misfiring of neurons, but as a natural consequence of how our brains are wired. Unlike other neurobiological studies of religion and spirituality, The Phantom God treats mysticism not as something uniquely human and possibly supernatural in origin, but as a completely natural phenomenon that has behavioral and evolutionary roots that can be traced far back into our vertebrate ancestry. Grounded in evolutionary and behavioral biology, this highly original and compelling book takes the reader on a journey through the neural circuitry of crying, innate knowledge, reinforcement learning, emotional bonding, embodiment, interpersonal perception, and the ineffable feeling of certainty that characterizes faith. Wathey argues that the feeling of God's presence is spawned by innate neural circuitry, similar to the mechanism that compels an infant to cry out for its mother. In an adult, this circuitry can be activated under conditions that mimic the extreme desperation and helplessness of infancy, generating the compelling illusion of the presence of a loving, powerful, and all-knowing savior. When seen from this perspective, the illusion also appears remarkably like one that has long been familiar to neurologists: the phantom limb of the amputee, spawned by the expectation of the patient's brain that the missing limb should still be there. Including a primer on the basic concepts and terminology of neuroscience, The Phantom God details the neural mechanisms behind the illusions and emotions of spiritual experience.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Prometheus Books, Publishers
ISBN-10
1633888061
ISBN-13
9781633888067
eBay Product ID (ePID)
12057246105
Product Key Features
Book Title
Phantom God : What Neuroscience Reveals about the Compulsion to Believe
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Philosophy & Social Aspects, Life Sciences / Neuroscience, Religion & Science
Publication Year
2022
Genre
Religion, Science
Number of Pages
304 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
9.1in
Item Height
1in
Item Width
6.3in
Item Weight
0 Oz
Additional Product Features
Lc Classification Number
Bl53.W3245 2022
Reviews
"This deeply engaging and challenging book relates some of the most puzzling aspects of religion to a broad range of empirical research on the brain -- including case studies of brain pathology, hallucinations, and lateralization -- and reveals surprising evidence of shared underlying neural mechanisms. Concluding that an innate neural model can explain many religious phenomena, Wathey offers thoughtful research suggestions for further testing his ideas. In sum, a masterful work that deserves close attention." -- David M. Wulff, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Wheaton College (MA), and author of Psychology of Religion: Classic and Contemporary, "The Phantom God integrates novel ideas in evolution, cognitive science, neuroscience, plus psychedelics and drug addiction. Wathey's bold hypothesis -- that the illusion of God's presence comes from an innate neural model -- lays down a scientific challenge, but won't convince believers. No one who seeks the foundations of religion can ignore The Phantom God." -- Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator and host of Closer To Truth, "John Wathey has made landmark contributions to the anatomy of religious belief. The Phantom God gives us the fundamental hows of religion's tenacious hold on human minds, the neuroscience buried deep in our neonatal and early infant attachment system. Read this landmark book, and treasure it."-- J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D., Psychiatrist, University of Virginia, author of Why We Believe In God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith., "The Phantom God offers an amazing hypothesis and exploration of the roots of religion. Why does religion so often infantilize its followers? Why do wounded soldiers cry out for their mothers? This book connects religious behavior directly to the innate models in our brain that help us negotiate infancy and childhood but also profoundly affect us as adults."- Dr. Darrel Ray, president and founder of RecoveringfromReligion.org, author of The God Virus and Sex and God, "John Wathey has made landmark contributions to the anatomy of religious belief. The Phantom God gives us the fundamental hows of religion's tenacious hold on human minds, the neuroscience buried deep in our neonatal and early infant attachment system. Read this landmark book, and treasure it."- J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D., Psychiatrist, University of Virginia, author of Why We Believe In God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith., "Now I understand what was happening in my brain when I experienced the vivid parental 'presence of God' that gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. In The Phantom God, John Wathey supports his brilliant hypothesis with facts and enjoyably clear explanation. This is science writing at its best."- Dan Barker, co-president of Freedom from Religion Foundation, and author of Godless and Free Will Explained, among others
Target Audience
Trade
Lccn
2022-002460
Dewey Decimal
200.1/9
Dewey Edition
23/Eng20220726
Illustrated
Yes
Item description from the seller
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:364795269782
Postage and handling
Item location:
Fairfield, Ohio, United States
Post to:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara, Worldwide, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Excludes:
APO/FPO, Alaska/Hawaii, Barbados, Belarus, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Libya, Martinique, New Caledonia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Reunion, Russian Federation, US Protectorates, Ukraine, Venezuela, Western Samoa
| Postage and handling | Each additional item | To | Service | Delivery*See Delivery notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free postage | Free | United States | Economy Shipping | Estimated between Tue, 11 Jun and Sat, 22 Jun to 43230 |
| Handling time |
|---|
| Will usually post within 10 business days of receiving cleared payment. |
| Taxes |
|---|
| Taxes may be applicable at checkout. Learn moreLearn more about paying tax on eBay purchases. |
Sales Tax for an item #364795269782
Sales Tax for an item #364795269782
Seller collects sales tax for items shipped to the following states:
| State | Sales Tax Rate |
|---|
Return policy
| After receiving the item, contact seller within | Refund will be given as |
|---|---|
| 30 days | Money Back |
The buyer is responsible for return postage costs.
Seller feedback (1,023,764)
i***3 (65)- Feedback left by buyer.
Past month
Verified purchase
A great seller! Fast response to my questions.
d***m (304)- Feedback left by buyer.
Past month
Verified purchase
Very poorly packaged. Item retail box was crushed, but contents inside box was okay.
i***i (714)- Feedback left by buyer.
Past month
Verified purchase
Smooth Transaction