All Things Are Full of Gods

“The culmination of decades of argument against the new atheists and all reductive accounts of human consciousness.”—Ross Douthat, New York Times“[A] masterpiece… . The most thorough and rigorous account of the nature of reality to be published in a century… . This volume should be the starting place for all future discussions of the reality of God and the plausibility or implausibility of materialist accounts of existence.”—James Matthew Wilson, World Magazine“[Hart’s] tour of philosophy of mind [is] a real pleasure for anyone who maintains an interest in our deepest and oldest questions.”—Daniel Walden, The Bulwark“Powerfully rehabilitating a classical view in which mental acts are irreducible to material causes, [Hart] argues through the gods’ exchanges that the foundation of all reality is spiritual or mental rather than material.”—Frank Nugent, Church Times“The purportedly science-based picture of reality known as physicalism (or materialism) is an historical and cultural aberration, a caricature inadequate in human and scientific terms, and must be superseded. This informed and powerful book points the way.”—Edward F. Kelly, lead author of Irreducible Mind“David Bentley Hart is well established as one of the greatest living writers on theology and the cosmos. This book, a telling counter-argument to reductionist materialism, is as one has come to expect: subtle, imaginative, beautifully written—and highly original.”—Iain McGilchrist, author of The Matter of Things“This is a playful but also deeply serious and moving study of mind, life, language, and understanding. It should be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in understanding our own place in the world.”—Stephen R. L. Clark, author of From Athens to Jerusalem“I urge you to read this book—for its wit, its scholarship, and its reminder that, regardless of one’s philosophical stance, we should never forget to be astonished and moved to contemplation by the existence of life and mind.”—Philip Ball, author of How Life Works“Fresh, learned, and, above all, imaginative, this book will encourage the sympathetic, stimulate the perplexed, and provoke the materialists.”—Nick Spencer, author of Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity“The culmination of decades of argument against the new atheists and all reductive accounts of human consciousness.”—Ross Douthat, New York Times“[A] masterpiece… . The most thorough and rigorous account of the nature of reality to be published in a century… . This volume should be the starting place for all future discussions of the reality of God and the plausibility or implausibility of materialist accounts of existence.”—James Matthew Wilson, World Magazine“[Hart’s] tour of philosophy of mind [is] a real pleasure for anyone who maintains an interest in our deepest and oldest questions.”—Daniel Walden, The Bulwark“Powerfully rehabilitating a classical view in which mental acts are irreducible to material causes, [Hart] argues through the gods’ exchanges that the foundation of all reality is spiritual or mental rather than material.”—Frank Nugent, Church Times“The purportedly science-based picture of reality known as physicalism (or materialism) is an historical and cultural aberration, a caricature inadequate in human and scientific terms, and must be superseded. This informed and powerful book points the way.”—Edward F. Kelly, lead author of Irreducible Mind“David Bentley Hart is well established as one of the greatest living writers on theology and the cosmos. This book, a telling counter-argument to reductionist materialism, is as one has come to expect: subtle, imaginative, beautifully written—and highly original.”—Iain McGilchrist, author of The Matter of Things“This is a playful but also deeply serious and moving study of mind, life, language, and understanding. It should be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in understanding our own place in the world.”—Stephen R. L. Clark, author of From Athens to Jerusalem“I urge you to read this book—for its wit, its scholarship, and its reminder that, regardless of one’s philosophical stance, we should never forget to be astonished and moved to contemplation by the existence of life and mind.”—Philip Ball, author of How Life Works“Fresh, learned, and, above all, imaginative, this book will encourage the sympathetic, stimulate the perplexed, and provoke the materialists.”—Nick Spencer, author of Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity

David Bentley Hart is a philosopher, scholar of religion, writer, and cultural commentator. His books include The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss and Roland in Moonlight. His current position is collaborative researcher at the University of Notre Dame.