Abstract

The book does not deliver on the bonding with Indian religion suggested by the title. Indian religion gets a few pages on each of being, consciousness, and bliss. The rest of the book is an all out frontal attack on naturalism, or, as Hart mostly says, ‘materialism’, on these topics. However, the book is far from being completely negative. Hart sets out a full account of his own position.He writes clearly and entertainingly, but the book is rather long, and the length of the paragraphs—often one and a half to two pages—makes for tiresome reading. It may be that the best way of tackling the book is to read the last section, ‘Illusion and Reality’, first. That is a quality philosophy essay in its own right, and it displays Hart’s writing to advantage.It also presents some of the main themes of the book, one of which is that much of the current debate between theism and atheism is not about God at all, but about ‘demiurges’. A demiurge constructs camera eyes or pieces together rotary flag