Leidenhag, J. orcid.org/0000-0002-1164-7032 (2023) God, Consciousness and Conjunctive Explanations. In: Finnegan, D.A., Glass, D.H., Leidenhag, M and Livingstone, D.N., (eds.) Conjunctive Explanations in Science and Religion. Routledge Science and Religion Series . Routledge , London , pp. 121-146. ISBN 9781032139685
Abstract
The existence of consciousness is so surprising on the naturalist's account of things that a version of the argument from consciousness for the existence of God, which places theistic and scientific explanations in competition, has received new support and attention. Consciousness, therefore, seems like an appropriate place to enquire into the need and character of conjunctive explanations between science and religion. The first section of this chapter evaluates the explanations for consciousness currently on offer from various positions in philosophy of mind. The second section of this chapter explores what kind of explanation panpsychism offers as an account of consciousness. The third section asks: What kind of conjunctive explanation is best when one is conjoining theism with a scientific explanation for consciousness? I argue that in the case of consciousness we should not employ special divine action as a cause in conjunction with scientific explanations, nor employ God as a unificationist explanation for consciousness. Instead, we should allow theistic and scientific explanations to fit together in a pragmatic conjunction by answering different interlocking questions. If I am right about this then theists should support theological panpsychism, rather than positing the origin of each creature's conscious mind as a miracle.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This item is protected by copyright. This is an author produced version of a book chapter published in Conjunctive Explanations in Science and Religion. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 03 Nov 2023 10:26 |
Last Modified: | 28 Aug 2024 00:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Routledge |
Series Name: | Routledge Science and Religion Series |
Identification Number: | 10.4324/9781003251101-13 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:204870 |