脳はいかにして“神”を見るか―宗教体験のブレイン・サイエンス [単行本]

脳神経学者である著者のニューバーグとダギリは、宗教体験を科学的に解明する「信仰の生物学」の研究の結果、「いわゆる神秘体験は幻覚ではなく、脳神経学的に測定可能な現象であり、宗教的体験は、ヒトの脳だけに組み込まれた先天的機能である」という仮説を立てた。

本書はこの仮説に基づき、ヒトの脳の基本メカニズムを解説した後、神話、儀式、神秘体験、宗教、絶対者などが、脳が自己と他者の区別を認識しなくなる「絶対的合一状態」に由来するものだという証拠を示していく。その鍵になるのが、身体の空間的な位置把握を司る脳の「方向定位連合野」だ。瞑想における極度の集中、あるいは「無」の状態がこの領域への感覚入力を遮断し、特別なモードに入ることが宗教体験を引き起こすというのだ。多くの事例を交えながら、平易な言葉で知的興味を喚起するポピュラー・サイエンスである。

祈りと座禅のピーク、神話誕生の瞬間、厳粛な儀式がもたらす効果…宗教のリアリティーを脳神経学が究明する。

われわれの知覚、気分、経験はすべて、神経学的機構を基礎にしていて、もちろん、神秘的合一体験も例外ではない。祈りと座禅のピーク、神話誕生の瞬間、厳粛な儀式がもたらす効果……宗教のリアリティーを脳神経学が究明する。

Over the centuries, theories have abounded as to why human beings have a seemingly irrational attraction to God and religious experiences. In Why God Won't Go Away authors Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene D'Aquili, M.D., and Vince Rause offer a startlingly simple, yet scientifically plausible opinion: humans seek God because our brains are biologically programmed to do so.

Researchers Newberg and D'Aquili used high-tech imaging devices to peer into the brains of meditating Buddhists and Franciscan nuns. As the data and brain photographs flowed in, the researchers began to find solid evidence that the mystical experiences of the subjects "were not the result of some fabrication, or simple wishful thinking, but were associated instead with a series of observable neurological events," explains Newberg. "In other words, mystical experience is biologically, observably, and scientifically real.... Gradually, we shaped a hypothesis that suggests that spiritual experience, at its very root, is intimately interwoven with human biology." Lay readers should be warned that although the topic is fascinating, the writing is geared toward scientific documentation that defends the authors' hypothesis. For a more palatable discussion, seek out Deepak Chopra's How to Know God, in which he also explores this fascinating evidence of spiritual hard-wiring. --Gail Hudson
--このテキストは、 ハードカバー 版に関連付けられています。

Over the centuries, theories have abounded as to why human beings have a seemingly irrational attraction to God and religious experiences. In Why God Won't Go Away authors Andrew Newberg, MD, Eugene D'Aquili, MD, and Vince Rause offer a startlingly simple, yet scientifically plausible opinion: humans seek God because our brains are biologically programmed to do so.

Researchers Newberg and D'Aquili used high-tech imaging devices to peer into the brains of meditating Buddhists and Franciscan nuns. As the data and brain photographs flowed in, the researchers began to find solid evidence that the mystical experiences of the subjects "were not the result of some fabrication, or simple wishful thinking, but were associated instead with a series of observable neurological events," explains Newberg. "In other words, mystical experience is biologically, observably and scientifically real.... Gradually, we shaped a hypothesis that suggests that spiritual experience, at its very root, is intimately interwoven with human biology." Lay readers should be warned that although the topic is fascinating, the writing is geared toward scientific documentation that defends the authors' hypothesis. For a more palatable discussion, seek out Deepak Chopra's How to Know God, in which he also explores this fascinating evidence of spiritual hard-wiring. --Gail Hudson --このテキストは、 ハードカバー 版に関連付けられています。

The collaborative efforts of science writer Rause, radiologist Newberg and psychiatrist d'Aquili (Newberg's late colleague at the University of Pennsylvania) result in a murky and overspiritualized remix of what should be a compelling scientific investigation into the neurology of mystical experience. The book's best material is its summary of Newberg and d'Aquili's research using advanced imaging technologies to study brain activity during "peak" meditative states, which not only suggests a characteristic radiological profile but also uncovers some specific correlations between brain function and subjective religious experience. For example, in subjects who reported a feeling of infinite perspective and self-transcendence during meditation, the researchers identified decreased activity in the brain's "object association areas" where perceptions of the boundary between self and other are normally processed. The authors conclude that these experiences are the result of normal, healthy neurophysiology, not to be dismissed as pathological or random events a point that believers and practitioners will doubtless appreciate. But the broader questions these results suggest questions about the origins and significance of human religious behavior lead the researchers quite out of their depth into a speculative rehash of Joseph Campbell, comparative religion and sociobiology. This culminates in a confused and confusing discussion of what it means to accept that religious experience is "neurologically real" or that spirituality "does us good."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Why have we humans always longed to connect with something larger than ourselves? Even today in our technologically advanced age, more than seventy percent of Americans claim to believe in God. Why, in short, won’t God go away? In this groundbreaking new book, researchers Andrew Newberg and Eugene d’Aquili offer an explanation that is at once profoundly simple and scientifically precise: The religious impulse is rooted in the biology of the brain.

In Why God Won’t Go Away, Newberg and d’Aquili document their pioneering explorations in the field of neurotheology, an emerging discipline dedicated to understanding the complex relationship between spirituality and the brain. Blending cutting-edge science with illuminating insights into the nature of consciousness and spirituality, they bridge faith and reason, mysticism and empirical data. The neurological basis of how the brain identifies the “real” is nothing short of miraculous. This fascinating, eye-opening book dares to explore both the miracle and the biology of our enduring relationship with God.
--このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

“A wonderful assessment of the brain and its activity when God is experienced.”
–HERBERT BENSON, M.D.,
President, Mind/Body Medical Institute and
Author of The Relaxation Response


“A THRILLING EXPLORATION . . . Newberg’s reverential attitude toward the great unknowns is reminiscent of Einstein’s.”
–LARRY DOSSEY, M.D.
Author of Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words --このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

“A wonderful assessment of the brain and its activity when God is experienced.”
–HERBERT BENSON, M.D.,
President, Mind/Body Medical Institute and
Author of The Relaxation Response


“A THRILLING EXPLORATION . . . Newberg’s reverential attitude toward the great unknowns is reminiscent of Einstein’s.”
–LARRY DOSSEY, M.D.
Author of Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words
--このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

Andrew B. Newberg, M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology in the Division of Nuclear Medicine and an instructor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has spent more than six years studying brain physiology and function, with focus on the neurology of religious and mystical experiences. The co-author, with Dr. Eugene d'Aquili, of The Mystical Mind, Dr. Newberg has presented his work at scientific and religious conferences around the world.

Eugene d'Aquili, M.D., Ph.D., was a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania for twenty years. His numerous books include Biogenetic Structuralism; Brain, Symbol and Experience; and The Mystical Mind. Dr. d'Aquili died in August 1998, before the completion of this book.

Vince Rause is a freelance writer and journalist whose stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and many other publications. He is a regular contributor to the Discovery Channel Online.


From the Hardcover edition. --このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

ニューバーグ,アンドリュー
ペンシルヴェニア大学核治療ディヴィジョン放射線医学部助教授。同大学宗教学部講師。6年以上の長きにわたって脳の生理と機能を研究し、宗教体験や神秘体験の神経学的解明に取り組んできた

ダギリ,ユージーン
ペンシルヴェニア大学で精神医学部の臨床助教授を20年間勤める。1998年8月逝去

ローズ,ヴィンス
フリーランス・ライター。ジャーナリスト。「ニューヨークタイムズ・マガジン」や「フィラデルフィア・インクワイアラー」など、多数の出版物に寄稿。「ディスカヴァリー・チャンネル・オンライン」の定期寄稿者

茂木 健一郎
1962年生まれ。ソニーコンピュータサイエンス研究所リサーチャー。東京工業大学大学院客員助教授。東京大学理学部、法学部卒業後、東京大学理学系大学院物理学専攻課程修了。理学博士。理化学研究所、ケンブリッジ大学を経て現職。専攻は脳科学、生物物理学(本データはこの書籍が刊行された当時に掲載されていたものです)