A graceful being. Plea against neuroessentialism

Abstract

One of the fields of research that is currently generating the greatest expectation has to do with the study of the brain, the discipline known as neuroscience. Many companies and even governments are investing large amounts of resources in the knowledge of the brain, since it may be the first step in the battle against a considerable number of neurologically based diseases. But also quite a few authors have long been studying religious experiences from a neuroscientific point of view, which has sometimes led to a certain neuroessentialist drift. Some of the questions this raises might be the following: What does neuroscience contribute to the question of God? What does it tell us about the origin of faith? What is the relationship between the two? Are religious or spiritual experiences a mere product of brain alterations? Such are the concerns of this paper.