Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2012
Poster Presentation
Concepts of Neurotheology
in Mark Salzman's Lying Awake and Darren Aronofsky’s π [Pi]
Di Ann Duffey Vulich
Faculty Mentor: Everett Hamner
English & Journalism
Views of “God” have always been many. God is seen as The Creator, Heavenly Father,
Allah, Yahweh, and a Higher Being. What is rarely mentioned is the God who only
exists in the mind. This God is a product of humanity’s need to understand life and
death and to maintain psychological normalcy.
This paper examines the representation of God and neurochemistry in the novel Staying
Awake by Mark Salzman and Darren Aronofsky’s film π [Pi]. In Staying Awake, Salzman
writes, "She knew quite well that one of the first questions asked of anyone wishing to
become a cloistered nun was, 'Have you ever been treated for mental illness or
epilepsy?' If the answer was yes to either, the candidate was automatically rejected.
Epilepsy was particularly feared because of its reputation for producing compelling -but false -- visions. Doctors and clergy alike had referred to the disease for centuries as
'holy madness'." Similarly, Aronofsky’s film represents the conflict of science and
religion from a Jewish man experiencing debilitative headaches. The concept of “God”
is discovered as an infinite mathematic puzzle.
I argue that both works can be more fully understood through the lens of neurotheology.
This approach assumes physical and chemical machinations of the brain are heavily
involved in what people view as supernatural experience. By focusing on how brain
chemistry can generate visual and auditory hallucinations, this paper offers a unique
understanding of the duality of religion and science.