Born to Believeis accessible, entertaining popular science, the first to explore human beliefs, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. It presents the controversial argument that we human beings are biologically hardwired to create and maintain a system of beliefs. And it demonstrates that even our perception of reality is nothing more than a constructed belief filled with inaccuracies, assumptions, conjectures, and confabulations. Even our childhood memories are filled with beliefs about events that never occurred.
Born to Believe was previously published in hardcover as Why We Believe What We Believe.
Prayer...meditation...speaking in tongues. What do these spiritual activities share and how do they differ? Why do some people believe in God, while others embrace atheism? From the ordinary to the extraordinary, beliefs give meaning to the mysteries of life. They motivate us, provide us with our individual uniqueness, and ultimately change the structure and function of our brains.
In Born to Believe, Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Waldman reveal -- for the very first time -- how our complex views, memories, superstitions, morals, and beliefs are created by the neural activities of the brain. Supported by groundbreaking original research, they explain how our brains construct our deepest convictions and fondest assumptions about reality and the world around us. Using science, psychology, and religion, the authors offer recommendations for exercising your brain in order to develop a more life-affirming, flexible range of attitudes. Knowing how the brain builds meaning, value, spirituality, and truth into your life will change forever the way you look at yourself and the world.
"Our beliefs are the most precious things we possess. But how do we get them? Newberg and Waldman propose a thoughtful, well-documented, biological hypothesis...[that is] fascinating for believers and nonbelievers alike."
-- Dean Hamer, PhD, geneticist and author of
Living with Our Genes and
The God Gene
