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John C. Wathey

John C. Wathey

John C. Wathey is a retired computational biologist whose interests include evolutionary algorithms, the biology of nervous systems, and the biological roots of religion. He got his PhD from the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego, and spent most of his career working on computer simulations of protein folding. His first book, The Illusion of God’s Presence, explores the evolution of the emotions and intuitions behind religious belief, emphasizing behavioral and psychological research. His latest book is The Phantom God: What Neuroscience Reveals about the Compulsion to Believe. It relates the motivating forces behind religiousness to the neural circuitry of embodiment, mother-infant attachment, adult sexual pair-bonding, addiction, selective attention, hallucinations, and many other neurological surprises.

Articles by John C. Wathey
silhouette of woman's head with lights inside it
Book Excerpt from The Phantom God
John C. Wathey | Jan 2, 2023 | 4 min read
In Chapter 1, “Why Is God Two-Faced?,” author John Wathey argues that the answer to this question is the key to an ethological understanding of religion.
Book cover of The Phantom God by John C. Wathey
Opinion: Neuroscience Could Help Demystify Religious Experience
John C. Wathey | Jan 2, 2023 | 4 min read
If we ask the right questions, modern tools could help researchers solve mysteries such as why many people believe in a God that both provides unconditional love and levies eternal damnation.
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