Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Theologian and philosopher David Bentley Hart explains the contours of his argument against materialism is his new book, All Things Are Full of Gods: The Mysteries of Mind and Life. We explore his idealist leanings, the claim that a mechanistic approach to nature could never explain consciousness, and the thesis that atman is brahman, that I am fundamentally identical to infinite consciousness.
This interview is also available as a podcast: open.substack.com/pub/mileskdonahue/p/73-why-materialism-cant-explain-consciousness?r=1pf1v9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Check out my Substack where you can get a paid membership because you're awesome: mileskdonahue.substack.com
To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating via Buy Me a Coffee (buymeacoffee.com/mileskdonahue).
Follow me on X: twitter.com/PhilosopherMKD
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:42 What do we mean by "mind"?
00:09:24 Are you an idealist?
00:15:21 Panpsychism
00:28:18 Convince me that consciousness exists at all.
00:46:09 Sean Carroll's case for naturalism, considered
00:54:14 Is this just a type of "God of the gaps" reasoning?
01:00:34 Do fine-tuning and cosmological arguments for God succeed?
01:07:47 Is atman Brahman?
01:12:50 Does this mean that I am God?
01:19:34 What are you most uncertain of?
Theologian and philosopher David Bentley Hart explains the contours of his argument against materialism is his new book, All Things Are Full of Gods: The Mysteries of Mind and Life. We explore his idealist leanings, the claim that a mechanistic approach to nature could never explain consciousness, and the thesis that atman is brahman, that I am fundamentally identical to infinite consciousness.
This interview is also available as a podcast: open.substack.com/pub/mileskdonahue/p/73-why-materialism-cant-explain-consciousness?r=1pf1v9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Check out my Substack where you can get a paid membership because you're awesome: mileskdonahue.substack.com
To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating via Buy Me a Coffee (buymeacoffee.com/mileskdonahue).
Follow me on X: twitter.com/PhilosopherMKD
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:42 What do we mean by "mind"?
00:09:24 Are you an idealist?
00:15:21 Panpsychism
00:28:18 Convince me that consciousness exists at all.
00:46:09 Sean Carroll's case for naturalism, considered
00:54:14 Is this just a type of "God of the gaps" reasoning?
01:00:34 Do fine-tuning and cosmological arguments for God succeed?
01:07:47 Is atman Brahman?
01:12:50 Does this mean that I am God?
01:19:34 What are you most uncertain of?
