Is it true that hallucinations gave rise to religion?

Of all the interrelated neurological and social factors that were used to create what is now called religion, one was the most important. It's the ability to see hallucinations. Voices, visions and memories of events that never happened (or prediction of events that never happen) are all the features of our neurochemical device called the brain.

Hallucinations and their origin

As the late world-renowned neurologist Oliver Sachs wrote, "every person who performs a visually monotonous task is subject to hallucinations (in exactly the same way, problems with sound monotony result in the sound hallucination)." Sachs leads pilots and truckers as two of the brightest examples of people who spend long hours peering at monotonous landscapes. It is easy to imagine how the inhabitants of the desert can experience the same sensations. Musical producers are an excellent example of people prone to auditory hallucinations. You can also recall the psychedelic attacks of the indigenous inhabitants of Africa within the framework of the trance tradition of monotonous drumming. Visions of some people impress everyone else.

Epilepsy closest to religion

Among the many cognitive aberrations that Sachs cites in his book, epilepsy is one of the most talking within the framework of religious thought. Even Hippocrates called it "sacred disease" in its time. Sudden seizures for many centuries have been considered proof that a higher power is mastered by man, who wants her voice to be heard.

Sending a message

However, as in the case of psychedelics, another topic described by Sachs in his book, the "message" that is transmitted during the seizure, is not coherent. Many hallucinations, caused intentionally, or random, show disorienting and doubtful moments, which are then contextualized. The human brain hates unfinished narratives. And if the metaphysical essence helps to close all the gaps, then the brain will only be happy.

Wandering mind - what is it?

To somehow realize this unusual feeling, people rely on their memories. They stop in the context that is at least familiar to them. Interestingly, the brain regions that work with memories are also activated when a person thinks about the future. According to psychologist Michael Corballis, in the sixteenth century the word "hallucination" meant "a wandering mind." When the human mind wanders, it happens only in two directions: forward or backward. Both states are completely abstracted from reality.

Sax and psychedelic drugs

The use of Saxon psychedelics is carefully documented. His menu included cannabis, mescaline and LSD, but it was trihexyphenidyl, a synthetic drug used by patients with Parkinson's disease (reminiscent of belladonna), which allowed the brain to wander in new dimensions. His friend offered an impressive dose of twenty tablets, and Sachs agreed.

The effect of trihexyphenidyl

On a Sunday morning after his adventures, he was upset, finding himself only a dry throat and an inability to read. Entering the kitchen, he put the kettle on the stove. Two friends came to him for breakfast as part of the old tradition. Sachs asked how to prepare eggs for them, received an answer and began to get three plates. When breakfast was ready, Saks went into the living room and found that there was no one there. The morning became even more strange when a helicopter landed in his backyard, which brought his parents. By the time he had already finished all three portions of eggs. Sachs was pleased with the upcoming meeting with his parents, so he quickly went into the shower and got dressed, but when he came out, he found that the meeting would not take place, since there was nobody in the backyard.

Vision interpretation

At that time Sachs worked for a long time in the department of neurology at the University of California, he knew enough about the most diverse neurological anomalies. He knew all the chemical reactions that occur in his brain, but even so, he was still surprised at the effect. His memories (in this case, a variety of case studies and hours of work with patients) convinced him that visions, voices and sounds are just a unique product of the activity of neurochemistry, and not a window into the other world. However, not everyone is able to understand this. And if you do not have the same extensive training, then a helicopter descended from heaven may well be a chariot of the gods.

Dualism and the wandering mind

Corballis notes that dualism, that is, the idea that an ethereal spirit resides within the body, is born precisely because of the wanderings of the human mind. People are predisposed to believe that their minds are separated from the physiological and neurological processes taking place in the body. The studies of the social psychologist Jonathan Heidt also confirm this theory.

Religion as the simplest solution

A wandering mind is a perfectly normal state of the human brain. To switch to the active mode, to concentrate completely on any task, the brain needs much more energy than for a relaxed drift. A competent transition between these two states in an age of distracting high technologies is an almost impossible task. Therefore, if a person takes something by surprise, metaphysics becomes the simplest solution.