Haunted by the ghost in the machine. Commentary on "The spirituality of human consciousness: a Catholic evaluation of some current neuro-scientific interpretations".

A common dualistic framework—separating mind from body, science from religion—shapes modern debates about neuroscience and religious views of the human person. This dualism is a cultural inheritance rather than a necessary truth. Contemporary scientific research and historical theology instead support a holistic perspective: human personhood emerges from evolutionary and developmental neurobiology but is not merely reducible to it. The work argues that an emergent, non-reductive view better fits both scientific evidence and theological tradition than the dominant dualism.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Metaphysical and epistemological dualism informs much contemporary discussion of the relationships of science and religion, in particular in relation to the neurosciences and the religious understanding of the human person. This dualism is a foundational artifact of modern culture; however, contemporary scientific research and historical theological scholarship encourage a more holistic view wherein human personhood is most fittingly understood as an emergent phenomenon of, but not simply reducible to, evolutionary and developmental neurobiology.