ABSTRACT
The defender of the 'emergentist' interpretation of religion can make some responses. These are fascinating and subtle debates, made possible by amazing advancements in brain-imaging technologies and empirical work in the neurosciences. One may wish to say that what really does the thinking and feeling within us is an immaterial soul, one that rises physical causes. But such strongly 'dualist' claims become harder to sustain as we come to understand more and more of the neurological causes of our psychological states and as researchers develop 'designer medications,' namely drugs that have very precise and predictable effects on people's inner experiences. In fact, there is an entire group of empirical sciences that gathers data and constructs theories about these other aspects of human existence, namely the social sciences. These social sciences do not need to be reducible to neuroscience, genetics, or physics in order to be bonafide sciences.
