Immortality Defended

Why does the cosmos exist? Could we be parts of an infinite or divine mind, as pantheists believe? If so, might we have afterlives? In Immortality Defended, John Leslie, renowned philosopher of religion and cosmology, defends pantheism and three distinct ways in which we could be immortal.

Combining a creation story told by Plato with the ideas of Spinoza, this book tackles the fundamental questions posed by our very existence. It explores Einsteinian immortality inside an eternally existing four–dimensional whole; the nature of an infinite mind which lives the lives of everybody; and the possibility of an afterlife inside such a mind. Its arguments are drawn from contemporary science, and from philosophy from ancient Greece onwards.

This highly original work is accessible to anyone interested in science, philosophy, cosmology or theology, or to those who are just intrigued by the wonder of our being.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

1. Pantheism: A Rapid Introduction.

2. Platonic Creation.

3. Divine and Human Minds.

4. Immortality.

5. Existence, Causation, and Life.

Appendix: Brief Summary of the Book.

Bibliography.

Index of Names.

Index of Subjects

John Leslie is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His publications include Value and Existence (1979), Universes (1989), The End of the World: the Science and Ethics of Human Extinction (1996), Infinite Minds (2001), and the edited volume Modern Cosmology and Philosophy (1998).

"John Leslie addresses issues of belief in immortality and the creative role of value in a characteristically lively style, in the course of deploying a variety of arguments. He is always stimulating, even when one disagrees with him."
Revd Dr John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS<!––end––>

"I believe Leslie will be remembered one hundred or two hundred years from now as one of the most unique, philosophically fundamental, and interesting thinkers of our time."
Quentin Smith, Western Michigan University

"This is an admirable piece of philosophical speculation, in the grand manner of great philosophers in the past, but informed by modern cosmology."
J J C Smart, Monash University

Thought–provoking useful to both the professional philosopher and to one just starting .Touches on a variety of topics and is exceptionally clear. Religious Studies Review

Leslie has articulated and defended the great subjects in the history of philosophy: God, the self, the nature and origin of the cosmos, value, and immortality. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews