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IDENTITY AND THE BRAIN: THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF OUR SELF

Andrew B. Newberg

Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science February 23, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12873 (opens in new tab)

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Characteristics Review Peer reviewed
Key findings Argues that personal identity is composed of interconnected biological, social, and ideological or spiritual aspects, and that neuroscientific accounts of how the brain constructs and maintains the self, including during self-transcendent experiences, bear on the intersection of consciousness and the self. The authors contend this integrated perspective, which includes religious and spiritual viewpoints, is useful for psychological and spiritual understandings of human identity.

Abstract

This article reviews the neuroscientific understanding of the self and personal identity, focusing on various elements of inclusivity and exclusivity as well as engaging religious and spiritual perspectives. We will also consider how the identity is comprised of biological, social, and ideological or spiritual aspects, and how they are interconnected. We will consider how the brain helps us to construct and maintain our representation of the self and what happens when we have self‐transcendent experiences. Such an evaluation will have implications for understanding the intersection between consciousness and the self. This information will be helpful from both the psychological and spiritual perspective for understanding human identity.

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