Books by John Leslie
“John Leslie’s absolute classic: Universes. This is one of the earliest books reflecting on the enigma of fine-tuning as the evidence was starting to develop. It was written in the ’80s…Universes is one of these ground-breaking books. Probably, in terms of the contemporary evidence of fine tuning, A Fortunate Universe is better, but Leslie is such an interesting, heterodox thinker. He doesn’t fit into the categories of traditional religious philosopher or secular atheist philosopher. Leslie takes the multiverse very seriously, so he’s not got a definite view. He has also developed a view which he calls axiarchism. This is the view that the universe exists because it is good. The way we typically think of this is that ‘there’s a good God who created the universe for a good purpose’; but he thinks instead that it’s just a brute fact that the universe exists because it is good.” Read more...
The best books on Cosmic Purpose
Philip Goff, Philosopher
Interviews where books by John Leslie were recommended
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1
Mind & Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False
by Thomas Nagel -
2
A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos
by Geraint Lewis & Luke Barnes -
3
Purpose in the Universe: The moral and metaphysical case for Ananthropocentric Purposivism
by Tim Mulgan -
4
God, Purpose, and Reality: A Euteleological Understanding of Theism
by John Bishop & Ken Perszyk -
5
Universes
by John Leslie
The best books on Cosmic Purpose, recommended by Philip Goff
The best books on Cosmic Purpose, recommended by Philip Goff
The likelihood that intelligent life would come to exist on Earth is so improbable, it’s time to re-explore the idea of cosmic purpose, argues Philip Goff, a professor of philosophy at the University of Durham and the author of Why? The Purpose of the Universe. He recommends five books that cast doubt on our post-Darwinian worldview and help us consider the latest findings of science and philosophy more fully.
