Post by mikey117 on Nov 15, 2017 6:04:58 GMT
Damasio's God(which pretty much mirrors Spinoza's) is one of nature, an impersonal being that simply exists. No influence in our day to day lives so there is no need to pray to this god, nor is there any reward of punishments for the various deeds human beings can commit other then the emotional gratification they can receive for doing a good deed in of itself. If a person were to do evil they primary suffer as it is an opportunity lost to themselves, however Damasio is hesitant about putting spirituality under the same scientific lens which he had done for emotions as it is a very sensitive topic.
His point at the end of the day is we CAN break things down to their organic components but never the less, spiritual experiences aren't only beautiful but essential for development of altruistic and cooperative behavior which is needed for human beings to not only survive but thrive. But he does want to make one thing clear, we have some control over our feelings of the divine as the feelings associated with it is in our brain and biologically manifested not in a separate source outside of our biology.
His point at the end of the day is we CAN break things down to their organic components but never the less, spiritual experiences aren't only beautiful but essential for development of altruistic and cooperative behavior which is needed for human beings to not only survive but thrive. But he does want to make one thing clear, we have some control over our feelings of the divine as the feelings associated with it is in our brain and biologically manifested not in a separate source outside of our biology.
