Minding God : theology and the cognitive sciences / Gregory R. Peterson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peterson, Gregory R., 1966-

Series:

Theology and the sciences

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion and Psychology.

Cognitive science.

Medical Subjects:

Religion and Psychology.

Physical Description:

xiii, 252 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : Fortress Press, [2003]

Summary:

Does it make sense to speak of the "mind of God"? Are humans unique? Do we have souls? Our growing explorations of the cognitive sciences pose significant challenges to and opportunities for theological reflection. Gregory Peterson introduces these sciences: neuroscience, artificial intelligence, animal cognition, linguistics, and psychology-that specifically contribute to the new picture and their philosophical underpinnings. He shows its implications for rethinking longstanding Western assumptions about the unity of the self, the nature of consciousness, free will, inherited sin, and religious experience. Such findings also illumine our understanding of God's own mind, the God-world relationship, new notions of divine design, and the implications of a universe of evolving minds. Peterson is gifted at explaining scientific concepts and drawing their implications for religious belief and theology. His work demonstrates how new work in cognitive sciences upends and reconfigures many popular assumptions about human uniqueness, mind-body relationship, and how we speak of divine and human intelligence.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-245) and index.

ISBN:

0800634985

OCLC:

50041452