Representations of the Brain and the Mind in Computer Science: Is there Room for Religious Concepts?

Contents

In this paper we review the essential concepts of representing brain and mind behaviors as computer programs. First, we review the essence of neural networks, rule-based reasoning systems, and case-based reasoning systems and summarize the progress of these representations to date. Next, and more importantly, we ask a series of interrelated questions from a religious point of view: Is there room for religious concepts in these representations? If so, are representations of religious concepts in computational brain and mind theories consistent with our ordinary understanding of religious beliefs and attitudes? Does the representation of religious concepts in computer programs afford insights into the study of computer science, and conversely, does such representation afford insights into the study of religion?