Toward a panentheistic philosophy of time

Adam Ross Wickens

The concept of panentheism lacks sufficient development in the area of the philosophy of time. The current literature says little about what sorts of positions panentheism demands or implies. I suggest that panentheism is compatible with the existence of absolute time and with the existence of a block universe, and I defend these positions by appealing to commonly used metaphors and analogies from the literature on panentheism. Before discussing the implications of panentheism, it is important to define precisely what it is. Most definitions of panentheism share important features but express those features in different terms. I analyze common definitions and then survey the most common metaphors and analogies used to explain these definitions. I argue that the concept of absolute time is not only compatible with panentheism, but is compatible only with panentheism. If absolute time exists, then it was either created by God or is a part of God. If God created absolute time, then it either constrains God by imposing its metric upon God, or it is not absolute because it relies on God for its metric. If absolute time is a part of God, then panentheism must be true. Further, when considered to be a part of God, absolute time is useful for explaining how the universe is in God and how the universe is God’s body. I also argue that panentheism is compatible with eternalism. I argue that it is possible for a panentheistic God to exist outside of time in the fashion suggested by Augustine and Boethius, but also that a panentheistic God could overcome the classical philosophers’ problems with how a timeless God could interact with the universe. I achieve this by arguing that God is absolutely temporal, meaning that God’s duration creates an absolute time upon which physical time is dependent. Absolute time is a part of God and is transcendent of physical time, which places God “outside” of physical time in a sense that secures God’s transcendence. The culmination of my arguments is that absolute time and an absolutely temporal existence are compatible with but not necessary for panentheism.

Toward a panentheistic philosophy of time

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