Pantheologies: Gods, Worlds, Monsters

Pantheism is the belief that God and the world are identical, which is considered heretical from a monotheistic perspective. Mary-Jane Rubenstein investigates this perennial repugnance through a conceptual genealogy of pantheisms and explores how it threatens the raced and gendered distinctions between activity and passivity, spirit and matter, animacy and inanimacy, and creator and created. She assembles possible pluralist pantheisms by mobilizing heterogeneous sources, giving an old heresy the chance to renew our thinking.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2021
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Pantheism is a fascinating concept that suggests that God and the world are one and the same. It implies that the universe itself is the creator, sustainer, destroyer, and transformer of all things. However, from a monotheistic perspective, this notion is considered heretical as it implies that divinity could be material, mutable, and multiple. Since the excommunication of Baruch Spinoza, Western thought has demonized pantheism, accusing it of incoherence, absurdity, and, most notably, monstrosity.

In her book, Mary-Jane Rubenstein delves into the enduring disdain for pantheism by exploring its conceptual genealogy. What makes pantheism particularly "monstrous" is its ability to challenge the rigid distinctions that Western philosophy and theology have imposed between active and passive, spirit and matter, animality and inanimacy, and creator and created. By rejecting the fundamental divide between God and the world, pantheism threatens the entire spectrum of oppositions that stem from it, including light versus darkness, male versus female, and humans versus all other organisms. If the fear surrounding pantheism revolves around crossing boundaries and dismantling hierarchies, then the question becomes: what might a present-day pantheism disrupt and what might it reconfigure?

To answer these questions, Rubenstein employs a diverse range of sources, including medieval heresies, their pre- and anti-Socratic forebears, general relativity, quantum mechanics, nonlinear biologies, multiverse and indigenous cosmologies, ecofeminism, animal and vegetal studies, and new and old materialisms. By bringing together this monstrous mixture of unintentional God-worlds, Pantheologies offers an opportunity for a renewed thinking about an old heresy.

Through her meticulous research and thoughtful analysis, Rubenstein presents a series of possible pluralist pantheisms that challenge the traditional understanding of God and the world. She explores how these pantheisms can disrupt and reconfigure our thinking, offering a fresh perspective on the relationship between divinity and the cosmos. Pantheologies is a thought-provoking and provocative book that encourages readers to reevaluate their beliefs and explore the boundaries of our understanding.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 156 x 233 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231189477