About this item
Highlights
- Might we be parts of a divine mind?
- About the Author: John Leslie is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
- 112 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Philosophy
Description
Book Synopsis
Might we be parts of a divine mind? Could anything like an afterlife make sense? Starting with a Platonic answer to why the world exists, Immortality Defended suggests we could well be immortal in all of three separate ways.- Tackles the fundamental questions posed by our very existence, among them, "why does the cosmos exist?", "is there a divine mind or God?", and "in what sense might we have afterlives?"
- Defends a belief in immortality, without the need for a religious affiliation or rejection of modern science
- Explores the ideas of "Einsteinian immortality", the divine afterlife, and the theory of an infinite and divine mind
- Draws from the work of a wide-range of philosophers, from ancient Greece to the present day, and incorporates up-to-date scientific findings
- Written in a thought-provoking and engaging manner, accessible to anyone intrigued by the wonder of our being
From the Back Cover
Why does the cosmos exist? Could we be parts of an infinite or divine mind, as pantheists believe? If so, might we have afterlives? In Immortality Defended, John Leslie, renowned philosopher of religion and cosmology, defends pantheism and three distinct ways in which we could be immortal.Combining a creation story told by Plato with the ideas of Spinoza, this book tackles the fundamental questions posed by our very existence. It explores "Einsteinian immortality" inside an eternally existing four-dimensional whole; the nature of an infinite mind which lives the lives of everybody; and the possibility of an afterlife inside such a mind. Its arguments are drawn from contemporary science, and from philosophy from ancient Greece onwards.
This highly original work is accessible to anyone interested in science, philosophy, cosmology or theology, or to those who are just intrigued by the wonder of our being.
Review Quotes
"John Leslie addresses issues of belief in immortality and the creative role of value in a characteristically lively style, in the course of deploying a variety of arguments. He is always stimulating, even when one disagrees with him."
Revd Dr John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS
"I believe Leslie will be remembered one hundred or two hundred years from now as one of the most unique, philosophically fundamental, and interesting thinkers of our time."
Quentin Smith, Western Michigan University
"This is an admirable piece of philosophical speculation, in the grand manner of great philosophers in the past, but informed by modern cosmology."
J J C Smart, Monash University
"Thought-provoking ... useful to both the professional philosopher and to one just starting ... .Touches on a variety of topics ... and is exceptionally clear." Religious Studies Review
"Leslie has articulated and defended ... the great subjects in the history of philosophy: God, the self, the nature and origin of the cosmos, value, and immortality." Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
About the Author
John Leslie is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His publications include Value and Existence (1979), Universes (1989), The End of the World: the Science and Ethics of Human Extinction (1996), Infinite Minds (2001), and the edited volume Modern Cosmology and Philosophy (1998).