Within Reason #139 David Bentley Hart - All Things Are Full of Gods
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Jan 18, 2026 
David Bentley Hart, a prominent philosopher and theologian, dives deep into the concept of 'All Things are Full of Gods.' He explores the contrast between pre-modern animism and mechanistic views, critiques the limits of science in understanding consciousness, and challenges the materialistic worldview. Hart argues against reductionist perspectives on consciousness, emphasizing its intentionality and the individuality of selves. He also discusses the brain's role shaped by mind and offers intriguing insights into existence beyond death.
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Nature As Primordially Intentional
- David Bentley Hart argues Thales' phrase signals a non-mechanistic cosmos where nature contains intentionality and proto-consciousness.
- He uses it to oppose the 17th-century shift to mechanistic, mindless nature that became dominant in modernity.
Method Became Metaphysics
- Hart says modern science began by bracketing final and formal causes to build induction and calculability as a method.
- He warns that treating that method as metaphysics turned nature into a machine and mind into a ghostly exception.
Third‑Person View Is Built From First‑Person
- The 'third‑person' scientific perspective is itself constructed from aggregated first‑person reports, not a view from nowhere.
- Turning methodological abstention into an absolute metaphysics disguises subjective impressions as neutral reality.
