Polytheism

I was recently asked to write a review for a book defending Polytheism. When I first saw the book, I could not take it seriously. Paganism today has always struck me as innocuous but intellectually empty. I love the image of hippies dancing naked in the woods, chanting around a big fire. Its a pleasing, if romanticized image, like Socrates's first version of the ideal city. The one dismissed by Glaucon because of the lack of meat and prostitutes.

When Bertrand Russell was asked whether he was an atheist or agnostic he answered "agnostic," and immediately drew an analogy with Hera and Zeus. "These too may exist", Russell said, but we have no reason to think that they do. The intent of the remark was to emphasize how dismissive Russell was of theism, not to pave the way for serious consideration of the existence of a multitude of gods.

And yet, when I stop and ask myself what reasons I have for thinking there is not a plurality of gods, I find very little to substantiate my prejudice. Its true I also have no reasons, as of yet, for thinking there are many gods, but this may be simply because I have not investigated the matter. I am, after all, just a beginning my research into polytheistic apologetics!). I t would certainly not do to imitate some of my students, who often assume that the old theistic arguments are unsuccessful before they even understand what the arguments are.

What this brings to mind is two quite different ways in which people use the word "absurd."

In one way, "absurd" means logically contradictory or in contradiction to some other known or strongly justified belief. Used in this way, absurdity can be an effective an rational means of critiquing someone's belief.

But another way "absurd" just means contrary to prevailing opinion, or contrary to comon belief. Absurd just means "too weird."

But this second sense is just another way of expressing a prejudice. Its like my old professor who, when he did not have an argument would say, "Surely you don't want to hold that view."

When reason fails, just contort your face the right way and put the right emphasis on your words.

Anything can be thought "too weird." Weirdness, unlike truth, is a culturally or psychologically relative notion. Christianity was too weird to pagan Rome. Evolution is too weird to fundamentalist Christians. Paganism is too weird for most of us hard nosed analytic philosophers.


Are there many gods? Right now I doubt it. I have stirring in my mind some reasons that may lead me to reject it. But I could be wrong.