Demonic Possession :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Demonic PossessionBelief in the possibility of unholy self-possession has waned since the advent of sophisticated medical knowledge. What had previously been considered to be examples of control condition of an single by a spirit or devil atomic number 18 now commonly accepted as numerous forms of mental illness, soft apologizeed by vile system activity. If all types of air (including emotional states and cognitive states) are produced and mediated solely by the brain, there leaves no latent for much(prenominal) a phenomenon as goddamned possession to exist and such cases would clearly be instances of various illnesses. However, neuroscience has not yet been able to explain all of the characteristics common to purported cases of demonic possession ((1). A possessed individual is typically characterized by having strange physical ailments or disfigurements verbal outbursts, more often than not obscene or sacrilegious in nature violent behavior and vulgar behavior bodily s pasms and contortions ability to speak languages never in front studied self-mutilation superhuman abilities such as psychic abilities, abnormal strength, or an ability to perform behaviors out of the realm of human possibility such as levitation cessation of normal bodily functions for periods of time, including breathing and heart bring and a pronounced revulsion to symbols, places, people, objects, and ceremonies having any religious context. Other phenomena associated with the strawman of a demon include an acrid stench marked abate in the temperature of the room which a possessed individual occupies writing coming into court out of nowhere sounds and voices arising from nowhere and objects moving on their own and terminal of objects in the room, without anyone having laid a hand upon them ((2), (3). Despite the striking woodland of this description, the expansion of the fields of medicine and psychology has led to diagnoses other than demonic possession for individuals wh o present circumstances similar to those mentioned above. These sorts of cases are now promptly explained in terms of abnormal functioning in the brain and nervous system. There are various disorders which may mimic demonic possession these include schizophrenia (and other periods of psychosis), dissociative identity disorder, and Tourette syndrome ((4). Schizophrenia is characterized by the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, affective flattening or inappropriate emotional responses, avolition, and alogia. General psychotic episodes, such as superpower accompany mood disorders, can also closely simulate a state of demonic possession by hallucinations or delusions. The delusions can be ones of thought insertion, thought broadcasting, delusions of guilt, delusions of grandeur, such as being God (or a demon), or delusions that God (or a demon) is speaking to the person and giving commands for a special mission (5).