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The Return of God?

A God of Limited Power

Philip Goff grasps hold of the problem of evil and comes up with a novel solution.

Human beings often get stuck in binary thought. Do you believe in souls, or do you think the mind is just the brain? Do you think we have free will, or is everything determined? Are you a communist, or a capitalist? One of the biggest two-sided debates of contemporary philosophy is the battle between traditional monotheists and traditional atheists: Do you believe in an all-powerful loving creator, or do you think we live in a meaningless, godless universe? Whose side are you on, Richard Dawkins or the Pope? These are your options, make your choice!

However, in each of these cases there is a wealth of positions in between the dominant extremes. For much of my career as a philosopher, I have explored the middle ground in the philosophy of mind, in particular defending panpsychism, the view that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the universe. And in my recent book Why? The Purpose of the Universe (2023), I explored the fascinating middle ground in-between the traditional forms of theism and atheism.

Ultimately, I think each side of the God debate has something right.

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