Year 8 - Religious education
The temporal lobe
Psychology: is our brain designed to believe?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit there is a choice. Through a social science lens, pupils consider how psychologists analyse the phenomenon of religion. Or they may study the flowering of philosophy at the time of the Enlightenment through a depth study of Hobbes and Rousseau and their ideas of religion and society.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe what the temporal lobe is and why some scientists link this to religious experiences.
Key Notes
- The human brain functions through sending and receiving signals.
- The temporal lobe is one area of the brain that processes speech, memories and emotions.
- Temporal lobe epilepsy can cause feelings simliar to religious experiences.
- Ramachandran is a scholar who has linked the temporal lobe to religious experiences.
Vocabulary To Learn
- epilepsy: a medical condition where a person has repeated fits or episodes caused by unusual brain activity
- neuroscience: the study of how the brain and nervous system work; a neuroscientist is a person who studies this
- religious experience: a personal feeling or moment when someone believes they connect with a higher power or God
- senses: the way that human or animal bodies gather information about the world around them
- temporal lobe: a part of the brain that helps with hearing, memory and understanding language
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Scientific explanations for religious experiences mean there is no God or higher power involved.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
The human brain functions through sending and receiving signals. The temporal lobe is one area of the brain that processes speech, memories and emotions.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'epilepsy'
a medical condition where a person has repeated fits or episodes caused by unusual brain activity.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Scientific explanations for religious experiences mean there is no God or higher power involved. Correction: Some may argue that scientific explanations can help us understand how a God or higher power is causing religious experiences.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Religious education guide library.