God and His Imaginary Friends: Acosmism, Pantheism and Priority Monism

Samuel Lebens (University of Haifa), Sam Lebens

Pantheism is the view that God is identical with the universe. Panentheism is the view that the universe is part of God. These views are radically different from traditional theism, which says that God is an all-powerful, all-loving creator that is ontologically distinct from the universe. Pantheism and panentheism have a long history since ancient Greece and many prominent philosophers, theologians and scientists—such as Nicholas of Cusa, Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, T. H. Green, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking—have defended or expressed sympathy with them. Yet, there has been very little discussion of these views in philosophy and theology as they have focused nearly exclusively on traditional theism.

The aim of this workshop is to create opportunities for philosophers to present their latest work on pantheism and panentheism to students and the general public. 

The timetable for the workshop is:

-- 12.30 – 1.50: Yujin Nagasawa (University of Birmingham), title tbc

-- 1.50 – 2.00: Break

-- 2.00 – 3.20: Sam Lebens (University of Haifa), "God and His Imaginary Friends: Acosmism, Pantheism and Priority Monism"

-- 3.20 – 3.50: Refreshments

-- 3.50 – 5.10: Mikael Stenmark (University of Uppsala), "Panentheism and Its Rivals"