Routledge God, Souls, and Consciousness: Deconditioning the Mind from Naturalism (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Religion)

This book provides a critique of naturalistic views of subjects and agency, arguing that these are conditioned ways of conceiving of the mind and the cosmos. It draws on the relevant literature on substance dualism, idealism, and theism to draw out the implications for a theistic view of the world. In contemporary analytic philosophy of mind, naturalism is the default position for thinking about the mind in relation to the world. This book argues that we should reconsider naturalistic paradigms in favor of a more holistic and bigger picture of the mind. It defends a form of theistic dualism in light of varying naturalistic trends that, arguably, place limiting pressures on our constructive views of humans as ensouled beings. The book takes seriously the notion of first-person phenomenological perspectives as the starting point for constructing a metaphysical view of the world. The author’s arguments touch on the topics of consciousness, dualism, cosmic purpose, science and religion, and the meaning of life. He proceeds to explore the implications of deconditioning on the philosophy of mind, theism, science, and the social sciences. God, Souls, and Consciousness will appeal to scholars and graduate students working in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, religion and science, and analytic theology.