The author responds to Wong's (1984) critique and caution about what is “known” in neuropsychology as the basis for correlating empirical and theological understandings. The issue of insufficient caution, the nature of the evidence, definitions and supporting data, and the recommendation to ignore lateral differences are examined in light of what is known and how it is interpreted. Wong's critique permits the author to qualify the interpretation more carefully and to indicate his own convictions about faith.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AshbrookJ.B. (1984a). Juxtaposing the brain and belief. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 12, 198–207.
2.
AshbrookJ.B. (1984b). The human mind and the mind of God: Theological promise in brain research.Washington, DC: University Press of America.
3.
BarbourI.G. (1974). Myths, models, and paradigms: A comparative study in science and religion.New York: Harper & Row.
4.
BatesonG. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind.New York: Ballantine Books.
5.
BergerP.L., & LuckmannT. (1967). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge.New York: Doubleday.
6.
BrydenM.P. (1982). Laterality: Functional asymmetry in the intact brain.New York: Academic Press.
7.
DawsonJ.L.M.B. (1977). An anthropological perspective on the evolution and lateralization of the brain. In DimondS.J., & BlizardD.A. (Eds.), Evolution and lateralization of the brain.New York: The New York Academy of Sciences.
8.
DingwallW.A. (1981). Language and the brain: A bibliography and guide (2 Vols.). New York: Garland
9.
GardnerH. (1976). The shattered mind: The person after brain damage.New York: Vintage Books.
10.
GardnerJ., LinP.K., FlammL., & SilvermanJ. (1975). Comprehension and appreciation of humorous material following brain damage. Brain, 98, 399–412.
11.
HecaenH., & De AjuriagneiraJ. (1964). Lefthandedness: Manual superiority and cerebral dominance (E. Ponder, Trans.). New York: Grune & Stratum.
12.
KinsbourneM. (1982). Hemispheric specialization and the growth of human understanding. American Psychologist, 37, 411–420.
13.
LevyJ. (1980). Varieties of human brain organization and the human social system. Zygon, 15, 351–375.
14.
LevyJ. (1983). Language, cognition, and the right hemisphere: A response to Gazzaniga. American Psychologist, 38, 538–541.
15.
LuriaA.R. (1973). The working brain: An introduction to neuropsychology (Basil Haigh, Trans.). New York: Basic Books.
16.
MarxJ.L. (1983). The two sides of the brain. Science, 22, 488–490.
17.
McFagueS. (1982). Metaphorical theology: Models of God in religious language.Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
18.
PenfieldW., & RobertsL. (1959). Speech and brain-mechanisms.Princeton: Princeton University Press.
19.
PerecmanE. (Ed.). (1983). Cognitive processing in the right hemisphere.New York: Academic Press.
20.
PolkinghomeD. (1983). Methodology for the human sciences: Systems of inquiry.Albany: State University of New York Press.
21.
RicoeurP. (1974). The conflict of interpretations: Essays in hermeneutics. (IhdeD., Ed.). Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
22.
SperryR. (1969). A modified concept of consciousness. Psychological Review, 76, 532–536.
23.
SperryR. (1977). Bridging science and values: A unifying view of mind and brain. American Psychologist, 32, 237–245.
24.
SperryR. (1982). Some effects of disconnecting the cerebral hemispheres. Science, 217, 1223–1226.
25.
SpringerS., & DeutschG. (1981). Left brain, right brain.San Francisco: W.H. Freeman.
26.
TracyD. (1981). The analogical imagination: Christian theology and the culture of pluralism.New York: Crossroad.
27.
WilliamsM. (1979). Brain damage behavior and the mind.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
28.
WongT.M. (1984). One brain's response: A reaction to Ashbrook's “Juxtaposing the brain and belief.”Journal of Psychology and Theology, 12, 208–210.