Q&A: The Hormone That Would Cause a Person to Believe?
The Hormone That Would Cause a Person to Believe?
Question
Years ago a thread was published on Atsor Kan Hoshvim.
https://www.bhol.co.il/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=1404660
The thread is called “The hormone that will make us believe. (Oxytocin)”
I got to that thread after the idea occurred to me that there are many medications (or drugs) that may affect a person’s judgment, even in a way he won’t be aware of.
For example, a medication that causes anger, happiness, and so on.
Of course, a person still has the choice whether to keep taking the medication or not. But sometimes he isn’t aware of the impairment in his judgment, and convinces himself that this is what is good.
What amazed me was the way this forum (Stop Here, Think) was ahead of its time — or maybe not? It’s as if a lot of what was written there is so current, more current than a lot of places that exist on the internet today and in general.
I didn’t read all the pages in the thread, only the first two. (You also commented there, not directly about the topic of the thread, but in response to another response.) Even so, the answers satisfied me.
In any case, I’d be happy to know your “current” opinion on the subject.
Does a “hormone that causes belief” pose a difficulty for demanding that a person believe?
Thank you very much, and Sabbath peace.
Answer
First, there is no such thing as “a demand that a person believe.” Either a person believes or he doesn’t.
As for your question, the hormone doesn’t change much in this regard. Our mental capacities too are influenced by physiological factors. So do you not trust the brain? What does it have to do with anything? Well, I assume these things were already answered there.
Discussion on Answer
A hormone can’t cause a person to believe if he has no inclination in that direction. What is known, however, is that temporal lobe epilepsy can cause religious experiences, religious belief, visions, and religious delusions. A few years ago they even did an MRI on a person during a seizure.
There are several Christian preachers known to have suffered head injuries.
Maybe that explains many cases of atheists who had a vision and started to believe. In evangelical Christianity there are stories like that all the time.
https://www.bhol.co.il/forums/topic.asp?cat_id=4&topic_id=389732&forum_id=771
With God’s help, eve of the New Moon of Tevet 5782
To A — greetings,
For some time now I’ve had the thought that Jael, who drove the tent peg into his temple, did not intend to kill him, because if so she would have had to drive the peg into the brain stem. I conjectured that she intended to neutralize him by injuring the temporal lobe.
According to what you wrote, that a “short circuit” in the temporal lobe may cause a religious experience — perhaps one could suggest that Jael tried to bring Sisera to repentance by causing a “short circuit” in the temporal lobe, except that the peg penetrated too deeply and caused his death.
Best regards, Shatz,
It seems that even after oxytocin, choice remains, and even intensifies. After all, if after taking oxytocin I were to pass by a study hall, my soul would twitch to believe in Judaism, and if I were to pass by a house of idol worship, my soul would twitch to believe in that. The dilemma would be much harder, and so I would be forced to delve more deeply into clarifying faith.
Dr. Apothecary, the Expert