The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity – activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that is the final destiny of man.
The Denial of Death 1973 - Ernest Becker - Preface
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Fear of Mortality
Friday, April 20, 2012
Why an Older Person 60+ is Likely to be Theistic
I think an older person who is a really-wise-person will be a non-theist, i.e. will not deliberate on the issue of the existence of god as it is irrelevant and irrational. It is just like ignoring the question of whether a square- circle exists or not.
Here is one hypothesis of why an older person are very likely to opt for god is the following.
One factor mentioned in the report is the advent of mortality as one grow older.
Evolution has programmed all humans to survive at all costs by inducing a sense of terrible fears* whenever there is a threat to survivor. Note what a drowning non-swimmer will do if one were to swim near to him/her without any life-saving knowledge. We are very familiar with the extent of what the average persons will do when faced with the threat of mortality.
The above primal fear is inherent in all human beings. However evolution has also programmed neural circuits to inhibit these terrible impulses to ensure we are not paralyze with it. It is invoked whenever there is a threat to one's survival and everynow and then it pops out of the blue and one becomes conscious of one vulnerable. The relevant neural inhibitors will shut it off for many after a while. However for the majority, such primal fear of mortality becomes and very regular and they used soteriological balms, i.e. theistic religions to soothe these terrible angsts. Note Terror Management Theory (see wiki).
Note when one uses theistic religion to build a neural pattern of inhibitors to shield one from the terrible and horrific primordial fear, these religionist will defend like hell to protect their security blanket or even kill those who threaten their beliefs.
It is well known that neurons in human brain atrophized and die without replacement as one grow older brain-wide and generally. Note the fading of short-term memories, and the decrease in various cognitive competencies. As such, the neural inhibitors that were strong when younger will die as one grow older. As such there will be lesser strength from the relevant inhibitors to inhibit the impulses of the inherent terrors of primordial fear of mortality. When such primordial fear is more active, the anxiety levels re mortality and everything else of the older person will increase dramatically.
To counter the increased anxiety and angsts from the now lesser inhibited primordial fear of mortality, these older person would resort to theism to increase the inhibition from other neural patterns and to activate some plasticity from existence neural connectivity.
The above is one reason why older persons who are loosing their neural inhibitors resort to the theistic alternative.
The non-theistic person uses the more sustainable reason, rational and wisdom-based neural programs to inhibit the inherent and necessary impulses of the primordial fear of mortality. Why Anthony Flew, the very famous 'atheist' turned deist (due to subliminal anxieties and panicky) in his 70s is because he relied more on the logical, reason and less of the rational and probably negligible genuine wisdom based neural programs.
Here is one hypothesis of why an older person are very likely to opt for god is the following.
One factor mentioned in the report is the advent of mortality as one grow older.
Evolution has programmed all humans to survive at all costs by inducing a sense of terrible fears* whenever there is a threat to survivor. Note what a drowning non-swimmer will do if one were to swim near to him/her without any life-saving knowledge. We are very familiar with the extent of what the average persons will do when faced with the threat of mortality.
The above primal fear is inherent in all human beings. However evolution has also programmed neural circuits to inhibit these terrible impulses to ensure we are not paralyze with it. It is invoked whenever there is a threat to one's survival and everynow and then it pops out of the blue and one becomes conscious of one vulnerable. The relevant neural inhibitors will shut it off for many after a while. However for the majority, such primal fear of mortality becomes and very regular and they used soteriological balms, i.e. theistic religions to soothe these terrible angsts. Note Terror Management Theory (see wiki).
Note when one uses theistic religion to build a neural pattern of inhibitors to shield one from the terrible and horrific primordial fear, these religionist will defend like hell to protect their security blanket or even kill those who threaten their beliefs.
It is well known that neurons in human brain atrophized and die without replacement as one grow older brain-wide and generally. Note the fading of short-term memories, and the decrease in various cognitive competencies. As such, the neural inhibitors that were strong when younger will die as one grow older. As such there will be lesser strength from the relevant inhibitors to inhibit the impulses of the inherent terrors of primordial fear of mortality. When such primordial fear is more active, the anxiety levels re mortality and everything else of the older person will increase dramatically.
To counter the increased anxiety and angsts from the now lesser inhibited primordial fear of mortality, these older person would resort to theism to increase the inhibition from other neural patterns and to activate some plasticity from existence neural connectivity.
The above is one reason why older persons who are loosing their neural inhibitors resort to the theistic alternative.
The non-theistic person uses the more sustainable reason, rational and wisdom-based neural programs to inhibit the inherent and necessary impulses of the primordial fear of mortality. Why Anthony Flew, the very famous 'atheist' turned deist (due to subliminal anxieties and panicky) in his 70s is because he relied more on the logical, reason and less of the rational and probably negligible genuine wisdom based neural programs.
Belief in personal god increases with age, in the 57+ categories
Here is a very detailed report on 'Belief About God Across Time and Countries' by NORC, University of Chicago. April 18 2012 http://news.uchicago.edu/sites/all/file ... ntries.pdf
Noted the following significant points,
1. Belief in god has decreased in most countries. see conclusion pg 5
2. Belief in personal god increases with age, in the 57+ categories.
3. Religious belief highest in developing and Catholic countries
The above report had been picked up by various news agency, and reported with their own attention-getter title. e.g.
Belief in God rises with age, even in atheist nations.
Religious belief highest in developing and Catholic countries
Noted the following significant points,
1. Belief in god has decreased in most countries. see conclusion pg 5
2. Belief in personal god increases with age, in the 57+ categories.
3. Religious belief highest in developing and Catholic countries
The above report had been picked up by various news agency, and reported with their own attention-getter title. e.g.
Belief in God rises with age, even in atheist nations.
Religious belief highest in developing and Catholic countries
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Genetics of Fear
Objective
What is the genetic connection to fear.
Article:
The Genetics of Fear: Study Suggests Specific Genetic Variations Contribute to Anxiety Disorders
Author Kyle Reed demonstrates his apparatus for investigating haptic communication when two people try to complete a simple physical task together.
Polymorphisms are variations in genes which can result in changes in the way a particular gene functions and thus may be associated with susceptibility to common diseases. In a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist Tina B. Lonsdorf and her colleagues from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Greifswald in Germany examined the effect of specific polymorphisms on how fear is learned and how that fear is subsequently overcome.
Many symptoms of anxiety disorders are thought to be learned and research on fear conditioning (a method of learning to fear a particular stimulus) shows that individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders are quick to learn to fear a stimulus but have a difficult time getting rid of that fear. In this study, the researchers focused on polymorphisms in two genes thought to play a role in anxiety disorders: the serotonin transporter gene and the gene for the enzyme COMT.
Serotonin is a brain chemical involved in mood regulation. The serotonin transporter, which is the target of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) used to treat anxiety and depression, harbors a common polymorphism in its gene. This polymorphism can come in two different versions that differ in their length. The shorter version of the gene leads to less serotonin being cleared away and is also associated with higher neuroticism scores and anxious behavior. The COMT enzyme is involved in breaking down dopamine, a brain chemical important for learning, motivation and seeking rewards. A specific polymorphism in this gene results in higher levels of extracellular dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, leading to enhanced working memory but also greater levels of anxiety.
In this experiment, volunteers were shown a picture (A) and then immediately received a mild electric shock. They were also shown another picture (B) that was never associated with a shock. The participants learned during the experiment to fear picture A as assessed by physiological responses, the so-called fear potentiated startle response.
To test if this learned fear could be overcome (also known as fear extinction) the volunteers came back into the lab the following day. There they were shown the same pictures, but without any shocks. If their physiological fear responses disappeared, that meant that they had overcome their fear. In addition, blood samples were drawn from the volunteers and tested for the variants of the two genetic variations the researchers were studying.
The results showed that while the participants with the shorter version of the serotonin transporter gene developed a very strong physiological fear response to picture A, participants with a longer version of the gene did not. In addition, a variation in the gene coding for the COMT enzyme was associated with fear extinction - volunteers with this particular variant were able to very quickly overcome their fear while volunteers with the other variant failed to do so.
The researchers note that these findings have very interesting implications for understanding gene-environment interactions and that "genes may act through the environment by making carriers of particular gene combinations more likely than other individuals to easily pick up and retain fear of stimuli associated with threat and trauma." The authors go on to suggest that these findings may indicate that individuals with specific polymorphisms may be more susceptible to anxiety disorders by being more prone to developing fear and being less likely to overcome that fear by common cognitive behavioral treatments which are based on the extinction principle.
Implications
Related Posts
Reference and Link
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2009/lonsdorf.cfm
What is the genetic connection to fear.
Article:
The Genetics of Fear: Study Suggests Specific Genetic Variations Contribute to Anxiety Disorders
Author Kyle Reed demonstrates his apparatus for investigating haptic communication when two people try to complete a simple physical task together.
Polymorphisms are variations in genes which can result in changes in the way a particular gene functions and thus may be associated with susceptibility to common diseases. In a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist Tina B. Lonsdorf and her colleagues from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Greifswald in Germany examined the effect of specific polymorphisms on how fear is learned and how that fear is subsequently overcome.
Many symptoms of anxiety disorders are thought to be learned and research on fear conditioning (a method of learning to fear a particular stimulus) shows that individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders are quick to learn to fear a stimulus but have a difficult time getting rid of that fear. In this study, the researchers focused on polymorphisms in two genes thought to play a role in anxiety disorders: the serotonin transporter gene and the gene for the enzyme COMT.
Serotonin is a brain chemical involved in mood regulation. The serotonin transporter, which is the target of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) used to treat anxiety and depression, harbors a common polymorphism in its gene. This polymorphism can come in two different versions that differ in their length. The shorter version of the gene leads to less serotonin being cleared away and is also associated with higher neuroticism scores and anxious behavior. The COMT enzyme is involved in breaking down dopamine, a brain chemical important for learning, motivation and seeking rewards. A specific polymorphism in this gene results in higher levels of extracellular dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, leading to enhanced working memory but also greater levels of anxiety.
In this experiment, volunteers were shown a picture (A) and then immediately received a mild electric shock. They were also shown another picture (B) that was never associated with a shock. The participants learned during the experiment to fear picture A as assessed by physiological responses, the so-called fear potentiated startle response.
To test if this learned fear could be overcome (also known as fear extinction) the volunteers came back into the lab the following day. There they were shown the same pictures, but without any shocks. If their physiological fear responses disappeared, that meant that they had overcome their fear. In addition, blood samples were drawn from the volunteers and tested for the variants of the two genetic variations the researchers were studying.
The results showed that while the participants with the shorter version of the serotonin transporter gene developed a very strong physiological fear response to picture A, participants with a longer version of the gene did not. In addition, a variation in the gene coding for the COMT enzyme was associated with fear extinction - volunteers with this particular variant were able to very quickly overcome their fear while volunteers with the other variant failed to do so.
The researchers note that these findings have very interesting implications for understanding gene-environment interactions and that "genes may act through the environment by making carriers of particular gene combinations more likely than other individuals to easily pick up and retain fear of stimuli associated with threat and trauma." The authors go on to suggest that these findings may indicate that individuals with specific polymorphisms may be more susceptible to anxiety disorders by being more prone to developing fear and being less likely to overcome that fear by common cognitive behavioral treatments which are based on the extinction principle.
Implications
Related Posts
Reference and Link
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2009/lonsdorf.cfm
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