The revival of panpsychism and its relevance for the science-religion dialogue
Abstract
Panpsychism, whereby mentality is considered fundamental within the natural world, does not appear prima facie to be a friend to with either natural science or Christian theology. This article challenges this first impression. Within the science and theology dialogue, panpsychism has been a central component of Process theologians’ efforts to integrate these disciplines into a larger metaphysical framework; but, this is not the method adopted in this paper. Instead, it is argued that panpsychism gives scholars the potential for greater progress in two field defining discussions: quantum accounts of special divine action and theistic evolution. It is shown that panpsychism currently finds sufficient consonance with the relevant scientific disciplines and has substantial benefits for theologians engaged in these areas. Panpsychism holds great promise as the philosophy of mind for future generations of science-and-religion scholars.
Citation
Leidenhag , J 2019 , ' The revival of panpsychism and its relevance for the science-religion dialogue ' , Theology and Science , vol. 17 , no. 1 , pp. 90-106 . https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2018.1525228
Publication
Theology and Science
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1474-6700Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2018 Graduate Theological Union (CTNS Program). This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created accepted version manuscript following peer review and as such may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2018.1525228
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