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From the High Desert

A Cultural History of Art Bell

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Matthew Alper

Matthew Alper

NeuroscienceReligionSpiritualityBrain

Matthew Alper is an author and independent researcher who proposed that religious and spiritual experiences are neurologically hardwired into the human brain, a thesis he explored in his thought-provoking book The "God" Part of the Brain. As a guest on late-night radio, he challenged both atheists and believers by arguing that spirituality is an evolutionary adaptation rather than evidence of the divine.

Books1

The "God" Part of the Brain

The "God" Part of the Brain

1996

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Episodes5

1
Episode thumbnail for February 10, 2000: Is Religion a Biological Impulse - Matthew Alper

February 10, 2000: Is Religion a Biological Impulse - Matthew Alper

Feb 10, 2000
2h 42m
Matthew Alper, author of The God Part of the Brain, joins Art Bell to argue that religion and spirituality may be biological impulses rooted in the brain after a first-hour NIDS black-triangle update from Colm Kelleher. Kelleher of the National Institute for Discovery Science discusses the investigation of a massive...
2
Episode thumbnail for May 14, 2001: The God Part of The Brain - Matthew Alper

May 14, 2001: The God Part of The Brain - Matthew Alper

May 14, 2001
2h 2m
Art Bell welcomes back Matthew Alper, author of The God Part of the Brain, now in its fifth edition, following Newsweek's cover story validating his thesis that humans are neurologically wired for spiritual belief. Alper distinguishes between two separate brain mechanisms: a spiritual impulse seated in the frontal a...
3
Episode thumbnail for November 23, 2003: The God Part of the Brain - Matthew Alper

November 23, 2003: The God Part of the Brain - Matthew Alper

Nov 23, 2003
2h 50m
Art Bell recounts broadcast equipment failures caused by a rogue satellite signal jamming his frequency, then takes open lines covering Iraq violence, climate change, and the upcoming film The Day After Tomorrow based on the book he co-authored. Callers weigh in on military strategy, rapid weather shifts, and a list...
4
Episode thumbnail for December 5, 2004: The God Part of the Brain - Matthew Alper

December 5, 2004: The God Part of the Brain - Matthew Alper

Dec 5, 2004
2h 54m
Art Bell welcomes Matthew Alper, author of The God Part of the Brain, to revisit his theory that human beings are neurologically hardwired for spiritual belief. Alper argues that every known culture, without exception, has believed in some form of spiritual reality, suggesting a genetic basis for religiosity rooted...
5
Episode thumbnail for September 25, 2013: The God Part of Our Brain - Matthew Alper

September 25, 2013: The God Part of Our Brain - Matthew Alper

Sep 25, 2013
3h 29m
Art Bell welcomes Matthew Alper, author of The God Part of the Brain, to discuss his provocative theory that human spirituality is hardwired into our neurobiology. Alper argues that the universal nature of religious belief across every culture points to an inherited cognitive function, a brain mechanism that evolved...