God Is in the Dendrites
Can "neurotheology" bridge the gap between religion and science?
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So it goes, round and round. Either the brain naturally or through a malfunction manufactures religious delusions, or some otherworldly presence speaks to homo sapiens through the language of neurological pulses. Hot in pursuit of this undecidable proposition, neurotheology will keep on churning out data—but when it comes to the biggest questions, it will never have much to say.
Correction, April 26, 2007: This piece originally misidentified Sun-Maid as "Sunkist." (Return to the corrected sentence.)
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George Johnson, the author of The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments, is writing a book about cancer. He blogs at Fire in the Mind for Discover. You can follow him on Twitter at @byGeorgeJohnson.
Illustration by Alex Eben Meyer. MRI scan on the Slate home page by Robin Nelson/Zuma Press.