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Brain 2006 129(1):278-282; doi:10.1093/brain/awh719
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© The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Book review

THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE: A MEMOIR

By Karen Armstrong 2005

London: Harper Perennial

Price: £8.99

ISBN: 0007122292

THE SACRED NEURON: EXTRAORDINARY NEW DISCOVERIES LINKING SCIENCE AND RELIGION

By John Bowker 2005

London: I B Tauris

Price: £18.99

ISBN: 1850434816

SPIRITUALITY AND THE HEALTHY MIND: SCIENCE, THERAPY, AND THE NEED FOR PERSONAL MEANING

By Mark Galanter 2005

Oxford: Oxford University Press

Price: £19.99

ISBN: 0195176693

CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE MIND OF GOD

By Charles Taliaferro 2005

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Price: £29.00

ISBN: 0521673461

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Spirituality and well-being: some recent discussions





In the last 15 years, there has been growing interest in exploring the relationship between spirituality and human well-being. Each of these four books under review reflects this development, and offers its own contribution to a discussion of its relevance, especially in a healthcare setting. Spirituality, which would once have been excoriated as superstitious irrationality, best banished from professional conversations, is coming to play an increasingly important role in Western culture.

That specific word ‘spirituality’ needs comment. While it might be taken to include the ideas of traditional religions—such as Christianity, Islam or Judaism—its emphasis lies more on the personal values and beliefs of the individual, which they regard as giving themselves meaning and significance. Increasingly, the term is being used to refer to personal worldviews that emphasize the importance of discerning meaning in life. While this by no means excludes traditional religious beliefs, many of the spiritualities encountered in . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Alister McGrath

Oxford University, Oxford, UK


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