Episode 147, 'Creator or Cosmos' with Tim Mawson and Asha Lancaster-Thomas (Part I - The Debate)
The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast
Jack Symes | Andrew Horton, Oliver Marley, and Rose de Castellane
4.8 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Across the world, belief in God continues to be widespread and, among philosophers, has long been considered one solution to the problems of the world's origin, fine-tuned nature, and purpose. However, in the West, very few people have considered alternative concepts of God credible. That, though, may be beginning to change. One such alternative – pantheism – tells us that the universe and God are one and the same thing. It challenges conventional ideas about divine agency and the coherence of traditional theism, and invites us to reconsider what we mean when we speak of 'God'.
To explore God's nature, in this special episode, I'll be joined by two guests: Tim Mawson and Asha Lancaster-Thomas. Dr Mawson is Edgar Jones Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St Peter's College, University of Oxford. He has published five books and over fifty papers in the philosophy of religion. Dr Lancaster-Thomas is Teacher of Philosophy at Atlanta Classical Academy, USA, and has published widely on the philosophy of religion – most recently exploring alternative concepts of God, including the one we'll be debating today.
Tim Mawson will be arguing in favour of traditional theism – the view that God and the world are not identical. Asha Lancaster-Thomas will be defending pantheism – the view that they are. What are the implications of identifying God with the universe? Can such a view still provide the kind of moral and metaphysical grounding traditionally associated with belief in a transcendent creator? Or – by dragging God down from the heaven's – do we diminish the divine and its explanatory power?
This episode is generously supported by The John Templeton Foundation, through The Panpsychism and Pan(en)theism Project (62683).
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Across the world, belief in God continues to be widespread and among philosophers |
| 0:13.0 | has long been considered one solution to the problems for the world's origin, |
| 0:17.0 | fine-tuned nature and purpose. |
| 0:19.0 | However, in the West, very few people have considered alternative concepts of God to be credible. |
| 0:25.1 | That, though, may be beginning to change. |
| 0:27.8 | One such alternative, pantheism tells us that the universe and God are one and the same thing. |
| 0:33.8 | It challenges conventional ideas about divine agency and the coherence of traditional theism |
| 0:38.9 | and invites us to reconsider what we mean when we speak of God. |
| 0:43.5 | To explore God's nature in this special episode, I'll be joined by two guests, Tim Mawson and Asher Lancaster Thomas. |
| 0:50.4 | Dr. Mawson is Edgar Jones Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St. Peter's College, University of Oxford. |
| 0:56.3 | He's published five books and over 50 papers in the philosophy of religion. |
| 1:00.9 | Dr. Lancaster Thomas is teacher of philosophy at Atlanta Classical Academy, USA, |
| 1:05.8 | and has published widely on the philosophy of religion, most recently exploring alternative concepts of God, |
| 1:11.4 | including the one we'll be debating today. Tim Orson will be arguing in favour of traditional theism, |
| 1:17.1 | the view that God and the world are not identical. Ashland-Gas-Thomas will be defending |
| 1:22.1 | pantheism, the view that they are. What are the implications of identifying God with the universe? |
| 1:27.2 | Can such a view still provide the implications of identifying God with the universe? Can such of you |
| 1:28.4 | still provide the kind of moral and metaphysical grounding traditionally associated with belief |
| 1:33.7 | in a transcendent creator? Or by dragging God down from the heavens, do we diminish the divine |
| 1:39.8 | and its explanatory power. |
| 2:01.2 | Hello and welcome to episode 147 of the Panpsychast. |
| 2:04.1 | Enjoying the property of personhood, I'm Jack Seines, |
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