What if faith is mere brain chemistry?

[Remté]

Brain chemistry affects everything. With some things - like with love - the scientists aren't sure how much it affects and exactly how on each way, but they are sure it has a significant effect.

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

 

[bobhikes]

Faith itself is brain chemistry. You couldn't believe anything to be true or solve anything without it; however, that faith is not hardwired to anything other than self. You have to have faith in yourself to survive. Faith in others, faith in a god(there are more than one) and faith in things or animals must be learned.

If you grew up in India your faith in God would be different then if you grew up in America and in China still different. This is how we can know faith in God is not brain chemistry but learned behavior.

 

[Remté]

Faith itself is brain chemistry. You couldn't believe anything to be true or solve anything without it; however, that faith is not hardwired to anything other than self. You have to have faith in yourself to survive. Faith in others, faith in a god(there are more than one) and faith in things or animals must be learned.

If you grew up in India your faith in God would be different then if you grew up in America and in China still different. This is how we can know faith in God is not brain chemistry but learned behavior.

That theory has holes in it. Faith itself cannot be called brain chemistry. There is only one God. Faith in things and animals is naturally in man.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Brain chemistry affects everything. With some things - like with love - the scientists aren't sure how much it affects and exactly how on each way, but they are sure it has a significant effect.

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

What if everything humans experience is "only" a consequence of brain chemistry? If brain chemistry is the substrate on which our experiential self exists, does that make it less meaningful or "real" than if it occured on any other substrate, including metaphysical ones?

 

[Polymath257]

Brain chemistry affects everything. With some things - like with love - the scientists aren't sure how much it affects and exactly how on each way, but they are sure it has a significant effect.

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

Seems to me that this is likely. But then, all of consciousness is likely to be brain chemistry (and processes). That doesn't change the fact that we think, feel, love, have compassion, learn, and have knowledge about the world.

We can even point to certain areas of the brain that are likely to produce 'religious experiences': they reside in the temporal lobe and explain partly why some epileptics have such experiences.

So, would it be a problem for your outlook?

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

That theory has holes in it. Faith itself cannot be called brain chemistry. There is only one God. Faith in things and animals is naturally in man.

It sounds like you're making a scientifically based claim. Do you have scientific evidence?

 

[Remté]

It sounds like you're making a scientifically based claim. Do you have scientific evidence?

There is no evidence faith could be called brain chemistry or that it is the consequence of it alone. Man has naturally basic emotions based on which it suffices to say man naturally "has faith" in things and animals.

 

[Polymath257]

There is no evidence faith could be called brain chemistry or that it is the consequence of it alone. Man has naturally basic emotions based on which it suffices to say man naturally "has faith" in things and animals.

And the evidence is that those emotions are products of brain chemistry. So are our thoughts, plans, etc.

 

[Remté]

And the evidence is that those emotions are products of brain chemistry. So are our thoughts, plans, etc.

No. Evidence is in that with the exception of some abnormal individuals every single human has certain same qualities regardless of their environment.

 

[Subduction Zone]

No. Evidence is in that with the exception of some abnormal individuals every single human has certain same qualities regardless of their environment.

That sounds rather salady. Perhaps we should start with a working definition of evidence.

It almost sounded as if you were taking a scientific approach to this problem in the OP. So how about using the concept of scientific evidence?

 

[robocop (actually)]

Brain chemistry affects everything. With some things - like with love - the scientists aren't sure how much it affects and exactly how on each way, but they are sure it has a significant effect.

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

Do we not understand Religion with our senses and inferences?

 

[Thief]

Brain chemistry affects everything. With some things - like with love - the scientists aren't sure how much it affects and exactly how on each way, but they are sure it has a significant effect.

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

well then.....blood is all

you either have the genes that God prefers
or you are dust

(not buying it)

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

There is no evidence faith could be called brain chemistry or that it is the consequence of it alone. Man has naturally basic emotions based on which it suffices to say man naturally "has faith" in things and animals.

Is there any evidence that faith is anything else?

 

[Polymath257]

No. Evidence is in that with the exception of some abnormal individuals every single human has certain same qualities regardless of their environment.

And how does that contradict what I said?

 

[Remté]

And how does that contradict what I said?

You said the evidence is that those emotions are products of brain chemistry. So are our thoughts, plans etc. That isn't true. And we don't have evidence we have all those emotions because of brain chemistry. The evidence is practical in that all individuals show them.

 

[Polymath257]

You said the evidence is that those emotions are products of brain chemistry. So are our thoughts, plans etc. That isn't true. And we don't have evidence we have all those emotions because of brain chemistry. The evidence is practical in that all individuals show them.

Actually, we *do* have evidence that these are the result of brain chemistry. We can, in many cases, point to specific areas of the brain controlling various emotions. For example, fear/agression is often the result of the amygdala. Planning tends to happen in the pre-frontal cortex. We are beginning to understand the interconnections between the different brain areas and how those connections affect our thoughts and emotions. In some cases, we even know specific neurotransmitters that are involved.

 

[Remté]

Actually, we *do* have evidence that these are the result of brain chemistry. We can, in many cases, point to specific areas of the brain controlling various emotions. For example, fear/agression is often the result of the amygdala. Planning tends to happen in the pre-frontal cortex. We are beginning to understand the interconnections between the different brain areas and how those connections affect our thoughts and emotions. In some cases, we even know specific neurotransmitters that are involved.

But there are other psychological factors.

 

[Audie]

Brain chemistry affects everything. With some things - like with love - the scientists aren't sure how much it affects and exactly how on each way, but they are sure it has a significant effect.

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

What if it is self-deception?

 

[Nous]

What if one day they find out that having faith in God - or lack thereof, as ever you like to look at it - is only a consequence of a certain type of brain chemistry?

The issue I have with the proposition contained in this question is more or less a rendition of Chalmers' "hard problem," which almost all responses here have touched on. Namely, one can't find a belief in a chemical compound, or in a molecule composed of any chemical compounds. Thus, how does one argue that a belief is reducible to neurochemical compounds?

 

[Audie]

The issue I have with the proposition contained in this question is more or less a rendition of Chalmers' "hard problem," which almost all responses here have touched on. Namely, one can't find a belief in a chemical compound, or in a molecule composed of any chemical compounds. Thus, how does one argue that a belief is reducible to neurochemical compounds?

Hm. "Cannot find it". What does that mean exactly?

Is it like that you cannot find music in a thumb drive?