David Brooks writes about "The Neural Buddhists."

Nirvana

Maybe you watch the NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, or maybe you have read David Brooks or seen him in another context. Anyhow, this was published two days ago: :smilec:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/opinion/13brooks.html?ex=1211515200&en=2ef2fa9ee1524657&ei=5070&emc=eta1

island

Thanks for posting. The article is confusing because it doesn't really explain the title or references to Buddhism. Absent, for instance, is the deep and lengthy work of neuroscientist and Buddhist James Austin (Zen and the Brain, and Zen Brain Reflections). His work is clearly in the realm of "religion and neurology"--a phrase coined back a century ago by William James.

Nirvana

It's not about Buddhism, but addresses a paradigm shift in American religion that is gonna make the religio-political landscape much different in the not-so distant future.

But it is interesting to see Mr. Brooks take this subject on. Buddhisn originated in India and Swami Vivekananda used to say that India is the spiritual Mother of the world and would be the ultimate barometer of where religious thought will end up.

island

The subject is the intersection of "hard" science and its supposed atheistic materialism and religion/moral experience. I was just citing work that has been done in the realm of science that works within that. William James pointed out much of this a century ago. And the thought of the new physicists also in a way goes along with it. Quantum Questions has, for instance, the mystical, religious, and moral writings of celebrated mathematicians, physicists and scientists, showing that the divide is not one that can be maintained.