In this project I
examine pantheistic views in the history of philosophy and advocate for
pantheism as a philosophical position in contemporary philosophy of
religion. I take pantheism to be the
view that everything that exists constitutes a unity, and that that unity is
divine. My contention is that what I
call <i>rationalistic pantheism</i>,
sufficiently articulated with the help of historical figures, is a position
worthy of consideration in contemporary philosophy of religion and metaphysics
and not merely as an historical artifact.
Pantheism is usually not even considered as an alternative to the belief
in the God of perfection theism, a perfect personal God. Often people see atheism as the only
alternative to the perfect God of traditional theism. A primary aim of this project is to
articulate a version of pantheism that is distinct both from perfection theism
and atheism. I discuss in what way the
rationalistic pantheist sees all of existence as forming a unity, and what it
is about this unity that warrants calling it divine or God. Pantheism has a powerful tradition in the
history of philosophy, and the rationalistic pantheism that I develop is based
on the views of Spinoza, Herder, and Hegel.
In the first three chapters I consider the views of each of these philosophers
as distinct but closely related versions of pantheism. I attempt to provide a systematic and
charitable account of each of their views while also considering objections to
those views from various directions. In
the final chapter I provide the basis for what I
take to be the most plausible version of pantheism resulting from this
historical analysis, which I call rationalistic pantheism. According to this view, God, or the divine, should be conceived of as an
all-encompassing unity that exists necessarily, is radically independent, is
structured in accordance with rational principles, and provides an explanatory
basis for everything that exists. In
addition, the recognition of the rational principles of existence on the part
of rational agents such as human beings constitutes one of the highest
achievements of this divine unity. I
briefly consider additional argumentative resources that could support such a
view, as well as what I take to be the distinct philosophical advantages of
rationalistic pantheism over perfection theism.
Ultimately, I think pantheism is worthy of serious consideration as a
viable position both in philosophical debates, as well as in discussions of
religion at large, providing a refreshing middle ground between traditional
theism and atheism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/11312714 |
| Date | 04 December 2019 |
| Creators | Mike Popejoy (8073015) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/Pantheism_in_Spinoza_Hegel_and_Contemporary_Philosophy_of_Religion/11312714 |
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