Building on the recent decline of interest in materialism and growing interest in emergent-souls, Farris defends a traditional view of the soul.
Building on the recent decline of interest in materialism and growing interest in emergent-souls, Farris defends a traditional view of the soul.
Philosophy, Religious, Sociology of religion
Situated in broader science-and-religion discussions, The Creation of Self is the first book-length defense of a creationist view of persons as souls. This book therefore serves as both a novel argument for God’s creation of selves and as a critique of contemporary materialist and emergent-self alternatives, critically examining naturalistic views that argue for a regular, law-like process behind the emergence of personhood. Author Joshua Farris argues on the assumption that persons are fundamentally unique individuals that look more like singularities of nature, rather than material products grounded in regularity or predictability from past events. By extending the basic intuition that we are unique and mysterious individuals, Farris develops a sophisticated analytic defense of the soul that requires a sufficient explanation not found in nature but made by a Creator who has intentions and the power to bring about novel entities in the world. The Creation of Self gives philosophers, theologians, and the lay intellectual grounding for thinking about persons as religious beings. It aims to help readers understand why recent scientifically motivated objections to the soul are unsuccessful, and why we must consider a religious conception of persons as souls as a common starting point.
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Farris's work has deep implications for metaphysics, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. It ultimately strikes a chord with questions revolving around meaning, hope, and the afterlife. These are questions that cannot be ignored and wished away if Farris is indeed correct in his argumentation. Thus, if you're seeking to deepen your understanding of the mind-body problem, the complexities of research in consciousness studies, and, most of all, are ready to explore a reasonable solution to the recalcitrant problem of mind in a physical world, then you will greatly benefit from reading TCS. ~ Journal Science et Esprit, Full review in issue 76/2, May-August 2024
This is the book for you if you enjoy theology, philosophy, and anthropology of religion. I recommend bringing a philosophy dictionary with you if you are not familiar with technical terminology about mental phenomena in relation to the physical world. For instance, I am used to chemistry’s definition of the term ‘substance’ to mean a pure form of matter with a specific chemical composition. Farris’ philosophical definition for ‘substance’ is a “property-bearer that has causal powers and liabilities.” He defines the word property as “a universal that can be instantiated in multiple and distinct substances.” ~ The Common Caveat, FULL REVIEW - https://bit.ly/49vjgMN
Farris’s study is persuasive and takes the commonsensical view that we are much more than our mere physicality. He successfully demonstrates the distinctiveness of human persons and, by extension, that it is not unreasonable for sane and rational persons to believe in beings such as God, angels, demons, and the existence of minds, souls, and spirits. A naturalist view, however, arbitrarily and mistakenly excludes the true fundamental nature of minds. Furthermore, Farris’s work clearly demonstrates that metaphysical naturalism’s offspring, methodological naturalism, has led science down blind alleys by arbitrarily excluding uncomfortable explanations that invoke minds, whether temporal or eternal. He also gives assurance that, based on the evidence, one need not worry about contradicting established orthodoxy in science. Farris’s work has deep implications for metaphysics, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. It ultimately strikes a chord with questions revolving around meaning, hope, and the afterlife. These are questions that cannot be ignored and wished away if Farris is indeed correct in his argumentation. Thus, if you’re seeking to deepen your understanding of the mind-body problem, the complexities of research in consciousness studies, and, most of all, are ready to explore a reasonable solution to the recalcitrant problem of mind in a physical world, then you will greatly benefit from reading TCS. Farris’s book is not only timely but essential for all readers who are interested in examining the explanatory power of positing the existence of the soul. Farris convincingly shows that science, instead of burying the concept of the soul, even though indirectly, supports its existence. ~ Amazon Customer, https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2DTUQ37AYHMXG/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1803410868
Erudite, eloquent, challenging, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "The Creation of Self: A Case for the Soul" is a welcome and highly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Religious Philosophy collections and supplemental Sociology of Religion curriculum studies lists. ~ John Burroughs - Midwest Book Review, https://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/aug_23.htm#johnburroughs
In what is one of the most all-inclusive and dutifully-compelling reads on this subject matter that I believe I have ever read, The Creation of Self: A Case for the Soul by author Joshua R. Farris - a world-leading expert on substance dualism, offers a profoundly captivating viewpoint on creationist and emergent views of the soul. In closing, yes, the book is a sturdy, in-depth, yet magnificently-cultivated set of prose, but it is one chock full of innovative, clear and wholly precise thinking, and never once (I’ve read it cover to cover three times now) tells you what to think or how to respond. It has been built to be discussed, to be more widely appreciated (both the subject matter and the book itself), and therein is a Godsend for us humans to take the time to read; in my humble opinion. ~ Exclusive Magazine, Review
Many old-school neuroscientists and philosophers of mind, having retreated to the keep of non-reductive physicalism, seem oblivious to the fact that their materialist position has been overrun both by the evidence, and by panpsychist, dualist, and idealist armies. In this regard, apart from Richard Swinburne, no one has been more vigorous in defending the consistency of emergent-creationist dualism with neuroscience, and the necessity of an immaterial mind to a proper understanding of human personhood, than Joshua Farris. With respect to religious issues, Farris is the leader. Those who think that substance dualism is untenable display their doxastic inertia and ignore Farris's work at their peril. ~ Bruce Gordon, Associate Professor of History and Philosophy of Science
Farris has established himself as a world leading expert on substance dualism by offering a viable creationist and emergentist view of the soul, which opens up conceptual space for a traditionalist view that is minimally compatible with scientific findings on humans. His work in this area is of consistently thorough, innovative, and widely discussed. ~ Joanna Leidenhag, Lecturer in Theology and the Liberal Arts, University of Leeds
