Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity [Hardcover]

Michael P. Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0415070643 | ISBN-13: 978-0415070645 | Edition: 1

Many people who do not believe in God believe that 'everything is God' - that everything is part of an all-inclusive divine unity. In Pantheism, this concept is presented as a legitimate position and its philosophical basis is examined. Michael Levine compares it to theism, and discusses the scope for resolving the problems inherent in theism through pantheism. He also considers the implications of pantheism in terms of practice. This book will appeal to those who study philosophy or theology. It will also be of interest to anyone who does not believe in a personal God, but does have faith in a higher unifying force, and is interested in the justification of this as a legitimate system of thought.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`This book can be commended for dusting down an old idea and showing its relevance to contemporary discussions.' I

`This is a rich book. It should be on the bookshelves of anybody interested in philosopy of religion or in natural theology. The book has been written in a highly systematic and professional wy'

`The book is probably the most complete account of pantheism in any language, written by a highly competent philosopher'

`this is a fine central text for courses in contemporay pragmatism'

`A welcome addition on the literature on Wittgenstein'

`I strongly recommend this book to any student of Wittgenstein or the philosohy of mathematics. Frascolla's work, like Wittengenstein's philosophy of mathematics, is richer that I have able to suggest in this review, and it is an important contribution to the lierature'

Michael Levine's careful, lucid and fascinating account fills an important gap. For the first time, pantheism receives the patient analytic treatment that has long been accorded to arguments for and against the existence of the gods of the mainstream religions.' - Kevin Mulligan, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Geneva

`This work can be warmly commended. Levine's enterprising enquiry should stand as an encouragement (or provocation?) to others to address these same issues' - Mark Wynn, Australian Catholic University

About the Author

Michael P. Levine is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 19, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415070643
• ISBN-13: 978-0415070645
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,154,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent pantheology, but..., March 1, 2002

By 

Peter M. Schogol (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity (Hardcover)

Pantheism is hardly a new phenomenon, counting among its official and unofficial exponents many renowned philosophers, poets, and artists. It is also an ingredient, often an undigestible one, in most of the world's religions. In recent years the rather diffuse pantheistic currents have gathered together in a number of formal and informal associations -- one, the World Pantheist Movement, is well organized and growing and represents a particular form known first as Scientific and now Naturalistic Pantheism. An excellent introduction to Naturalistic Pantheism as a religious movement can be found in Paul Harrison's ELEMENTS OF PANTHEISM.

Unlike Harrison's short and eminently readable book, Michael P. Levine's PANTHEISM is formal, philosophical, slower going, and more opinionated. He insists, for example, that pantheism is not atheism -- a point I agree with while acknowledging that many pantheists would not insist on that being true. Levine also states upfront that he himself is not a pantheist. I find it a fascinating conundrum that a "non-believer" would take such a hard line on what constitutes the conviction he himself doesn't hold.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book and value it enormously. It is a philosophical and pantheological tour de force, and whether or not one agrees with its conclusions it is to date the best textbook on the subject in existence.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "THE" book on Pantheism, August 25, 2007

By 

Spectator (Seattle area, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity (Hardcover)

I am an Elemental Pantheist and this book is the best book on Pantheism bar none. Mr. Levine has done his work with this well researched book. If you want to understand what real pantheism is - not the junk New Ageists and modern pagans label "pantheism" - please read this book. Pantheism is a viable religious system for the 21st century and beyond. It is very compatible with science and the progress we need to make in order to survive as a species.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Persuasive Argument, May 15, 2008

By 

D. T. Knight "d20" (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity (Hardcover)

I bought this book as a Christian Theist. I suspected that I wouldn't gain much from it so my view was not very objective. I've heard horror stories about Pantheism from members of the Church and I wanted to investigate.

What I found in Dr. Levine's book was a wealth of information that is provocative and compelling. Though this book reads in a dense philosophical way the last section on Pantheist living is very persuasive. I especially like his contrast between relationship (as per theism) and state (as per pantheism). Which basically comes down to personal and non-personal concepts of deity.

The book starts out with an introduction then moves into section 1 which talks about the different definitions of Pantheism. I would say that the best short definition is that Pantheists believe in a divine all-inclusive Unity: A principle of order and direction that is interspersed throughout the Universe.

The book then talks about problems in Pantheism in Section 2. Problems such as evil are, for the Pantheist, no sweat. Also dealt with is salvation and immortality. The pantheist view on those issues is totally different than the Christian Theist

The final section, as I mentioned, deals with pantheist practice. I found that the book explains a good world-view and is full of insight into being a healthy pantheist in relation to the rest of the world.

I highly recommend this book, even for the price, for anyone that wants a definitive explanation of Pantheism as a philosophy and life path. Another book of interest would be Paul Harrison's "Elements of Pantheism" but I found that book to be atheism in disguise.