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Religion
In reply to the discussion: how does atheism/materialism account for [View all]Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)49. "Feelings" - emotions - are a form of conscious experience and don't have "rightness" or "wrongness"
"Feelings are never wrong" is nonsense. They are never "right" either. They just are mental states. They may be artificially induced:
Very few studies in humans have quantified the effect obtained after direct electrical stimulation of the amygdala, in terms of both emotional and physiological responses. We tested patients with drug-resistant partial epilepsies who were explored with intracerebral electrodes in the setting of presurgical evaluation. We assessed the effects of direct electric stimulations in either the right or the left amygdala on verbally self-reported emotions (Izard scale) and on psychophysiological markers of emotions by recording skin conductance responses (SCRs) and by measuring the electromyographic responses of the corrugator supercilii (EMGc). According to responses on Izard scales, electrical stimulations of the right amygdala induced negative emotions, especially fear and sadness. In contrast, stimulations of the left amygdala were able to induce either pleasant (happiness) or unpleasant (fear, anxiety, sadness) emotions. Unpleasant states induced by electrical stimulations were accompanied by an increase in EMGc activity. In addition, when emotional changes were reported after electrical stimulation, SCR amplitude for the positively valenced emotions was larger than for the negative ones. These findings provide direct in vivo evidence that the human amygdala is involved in emotional experiences and strengthen the hypothesis of a functional asymmetry of the amygdala for valence and arousal processing.
http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/6/1307.short
and they certainly can be wildly inappropriate, or lead people to behave in inappropriate ways, or again, is illustrated above, completely divorced from our experience of the world. Put a current in one part of the brain and experience love, in another experience fear. Right and wrong don't seem to apply.
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That's a pyrhhic answer: if all the world is a delusion, then of course EVERYTHING cancels.
Brettongarcia
Jan 2014
#149
though beauty especially when it comes to art often lacks consensus nt
arely staircase
Jan 2014
#137
Well, leaving out atheism for the moment, the OP asked if materialism can explain it.
rug
Jan 2014
#7
"I am asking what explanation materialism/atheism can give for their existence"
NoOneMan
Jan 2014
#74
"Feelings" - emotions - are a form of conscious experience and don't have "rightness" or "wrongness"
Warren Stupidity
Jan 2014
#49
Unlike religion which makes up answers for everything, science explains what it can
on point
Jan 2014
#29
See other answers for example pathways. My hostility is towards the pushing of
on point
Jan 2014
#40
I think most here will agree that pushing one's religion down someone's throat is wrong.
cbayer
Jan 2014
#44
Holding a belief in something not true in reality is the DEFINITION of delusional
on point
Jan 2014
#55
Sorry but you have it backward. If you assert something, YOU have obligation to show it to be true
on point
Jan 2014
#69
If there's no point in arguing the existence of god(s), there's no point in listening to religions
muriel_volestrangler
Jan 2014
#56
Read an interesting theory that a hive is actually one organism, in a sense. Can be seen as a whole.
pinto
Jan 2014
#89
We don't need to know all of brain structure; we can see it from ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Brettongarcia
Jan 2014
#148
Religion in animals IS somewhat speculative; thanks for possibly relevant illustration though
Brettongarcia
Jan 2014
#156
Finally: just as there is a material explanation for art,so also for "love" and elements of religion
Brettongarcia
Jan 2014
#165
Interesting thread. I think love, hate, friendship, jealousy, heroism, narcissism, beauty, etc.
pinto
Jan 2014
#73
I don't think you'll find an answer to: How does materialism account for these things?
Jim__
Jan 2014
#120
I wouldn't know. Of course, if the question is serious and you are interested in an answer ...
Jim__
Jan 2014
#123
for the record I am a Christian who accepts the science of biological evolution
arely staircase
Jan 2014
#136
Why can't you just accept what people say about their beliefs, or lack thereof?
trotsky
Jan 2014
#119