- See: Cosmology (disambiguation).
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Cosmology is the branch of philosophy and metaphysics that deals with the world as the totality of
all phenomena in space and time. Presocratic philosophers
from the Ionian School are sometimes called cosmologists.
There are many basic cosmological positions that form the foundation of virtually all philosophies and religions. There is overlap between some of these and mysticism, and also
with nondual viewpoints and traditions.
Atheistic cosmologies
Atheistic cosmologies can have a creation event, but such models
of the universe do not involve supernatural entities. Naturalism is the belief that the physical universe is all
that exists. Materialism and energeticism are two naturalistic cosmologies.
Theistic cosmologies
Theism is the belief that gods exist and created the universe. Types of theism include monotheism and polytheism. Atheism is not a cosmology, but rather the belief that god does not exist. The Abrahamic religions are
theisms.
Pantheism is the belief that God and the
universe have a one-to-one correspondence. The philosopher Spinoza was a pantheist. Panentheism or emanationism is the belief that the entire universe is part of God, but God is greater than the universe.
The Neo-Platonic philosopher Plotinus was an
emanationist.
Deism is the belief that God created the universe,
set everything in motion, and then had nothing more to do with it. God remains
completely transcendent to the creation after He creates it.
Other cosmologies
Cosmological dualism (as opposed to body-mind
dualism) is the belief that there are two gods or metaphysical forces and the universe is a
product of these gods or forces. The Persian religion Zoroastrianism is cosmologically dualistic.
Idealism is the belief that only consciousness
exists. The various features of the world may be thought of as "ideas in the mind of God." Various forms of idealism can be
compatible with either theism or atheism. The British philosopher George Berkeley was an
idealist, as was the German philosopher Hegel. See: Hindu idealism, Buddhist idealism, Platonic idealism, German idealism, British Idealism, Panpsychism.
Acosmism is the belief that neither the self nor
the universe has ever existed. This is held by some forms of strict Advaita
Vedanta, a Hindu philosophy. The Buddhist philosopher
Nagarjuna, whose beliefs are called voidism, or nihilism (in the
Eastern, rather than the Western sense), believed that the world neither exists, nor does it not exist.
See also
External links
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