All Things Are Full of Gods, David Bentley Hart
All Things Are Full of Gods, David Bentley Hart
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All Things Are Full of Gods
The Mysteries of Mind and Life

Author: David Bentley Hart

Narrator: Rachael Beresford

Unabridged: 22 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/27/2024


Synopsis

In a blossoming garden located far outside all worlds, a group of aging Greek gods have gathered to discuss the nature of existence, the mystery of mind, and whether there is a transcendent God from whom all things come. Turning to Eros, Psyche asks, "Do you see this flower, my love?"

So begins David Bentley Hart's exploration of the mystery of consciousness. He systematically subjects the mechanical view of nature that has prevailed in Western culture for four centuries to dialectical interrogation. He argues through the gods' exchanges that the foundation of all reality is spiritual or mental rather than material. The structures of mind, organic life, and even language attest to an infinite act of intelligence in all things that we may as well call God.

Engaging contemporary debates on the philosophy of mind, free will, revolutions in physics and biology, the history of science, computational models of mind, artificial intelligence, information theory, linguistics, cultural disenchantment, and the metaphysics of nature, Hart calls listeners back to an enchanted world in which nature is the residence of mysterious and vital intelligences. He suggests that there is a very special wisdom to be gained when we, in Psyche's words, "devote more time to the contemplation of living things and less to the fabrication of machines."

About David Bentley Hart

David Bentley Hart is a philosopher and Orthodox theologian whose work encompasses a wide range of subjects and genres. He has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of St. Thomas, Loyola College in Maryland, Providence College, and Saint Louis University. In 2015, he was granted a Templeton Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. Hart has written numerous books, including The Beauty of the Infinite, The New Testament: A Translation, The Devil and Pierre Gernet, Theological Territories, and That All Shall Be Saved.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jackson on November 04, 2024

This book will likely come to be seen as groundbreaking in the Mind/Body Problem debate for the 21st century. In arguing for mind over matter, DBH utilizes a dialectic method harkening back to Thomas Aquinas, Plato, and Aristotle. The "gods" themselves have the great debate of Mind and Matter in a c......more

Goodreads review by Bret on September 14, 2024

Among the books that I have read which were written in my lifetime, this one strikes me as by far the most important. This is a book that the world needs, and that it needs now. Such a suggestion may seem silly to the person that only reads its first couple (or even its first couple hundred) pages,......more

Goodreads review by Clayton on November 08, 2024

Only David Bentley Hart would have the audacity to put his words into the mouths of the gods. Throughout the book, he sketches out a philosophical idealism that would make your momma proud. If mind’s intentionality, subjectivity, and consciousness itself all prove to be an irreducible reality as he......more

Goodreads review by Brian on December 08, 2024

The BBC's venerable "Desert Island Discs" used to ask its interviewees what - in addition to The Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare (I doubt today's BBC insists on these) - they would wish to take to the island with them. This book would be my choice, for a number of reasons, one of which i......more

Goodreads review by Kenneth on January 16, 2025

A couple of quick thoughts before my review: 1) I'm being a bit disingenuous, since I've only read about 60% of the book. 2) In terms of literary awareness and erudition, I'm pretty much unworthy of reviewing a book of this high level of language and complex thought. But, for those interested in a r......more