Infinite Minds: A Philosophical CosmologyInfinite Minds develops a Platonic creation story. The cosmos exists just because of the ethical need for it. We, and all the intricate structures of our universe, exist as intricately structured thoughts in a divine mind that knows everything worth knowing. There could also be infinitely many other universes in this mind, and after death we might explore the wonders of its knowledge. Minds of the same kind could exist in infinite number. In this highly original and thought-provoking bookJohn Leslie unfolds his view of the nature of the universe. This view is unusual, but rich in philosophical inspiration and suggestion. Over the last three decades Leslie has been developing his theory in a series of path-breaking publications; now at last he gives it its definitive exposition. It may be hard to believe that the universe is as he says it is--but it is hard also to resist his compelling ideas and arguments. |
Contents
Infinite Thinking | 1 |
Minds Human Artificial and Divine | 42 |
Time and Immortality | 111 |
The Best and Infinity | 134 |
Necessary Divine Existence | 155 |
The Evidence | 189 |
Bibliography | 217 |
| 229 | |
| 232 | |
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Common terms and phrases
absolutely abstract afterimage Anthropic Principle argued arguments atoms believe Bose-Einstein Bose-Einstein condensates Bradley brain Cantor causal Chapter chess Chess Variants colour complex conscious contemplating cosmos creatively effective described divine knowledge divine mind divine thinking divine thoughts Einstein elements entirely eternal ethical need ethical requirement everything worth knowing exis experience explain fact four-dimensional existence God's human idea Identity of Indiscernibles ignorant imagined immensely inductive reasoning infinity inside instance interactions intrinsic value kind knowing everything worth least Leslie lives Lockwood logically mathematical matter mental Neoplatonic never objects Oxford panpsychism pantheistic particles particular Penrose perhaps person philosophers physical laws physicists Platonic principle qualia quantum coherence quantum computers quantum entanglement reality reason regions requiredness scientists sense simply single situation sort space Spinoza Spinozistic Sprigge structure stuff suggest Suppose synthetic necessity tence Theism tion trillion truth tuning unified unity University Press various whole words