Could Divine Deviation (?) be one of the greatest forms of intellectual distortion, diverting attention away from a brain-centered understanding of human behavior? (Perhaps even a form of associationism…)
If, instead of placing God at the center, we focus on the operational system of the brain, we may observe that the brain can impose various restrictions upon itself in order to preserve bodily health and optimize cognitive functioning.
Yet the initial impulse behind much intellectual confusion may originate from the body itself. In this perspective, the body acts as the advocate—or perhaps the very embodiment—of temptation. In Sufi thought, this idea is reflected in the concept of the commanding self (nafs), representing the unrestrained desires and impulses of the biological self.
Approaches such as “taste, but do not swallow” aim to weaken the neural pathways through which bodily desires reinforce themselves within the brain.
For some, humanism may represent a worldview that strengthens the neural patterns associated with bodily desires. For a smaller number, however, it may point to the idea that human beings are not merely physical bodies but cognitive beings that transcend the body—an idea echoed in the religious concept of humanity as a “vicegerent” (khalifa).
Choose one of them.
#devil #brainscience #cognition