Causality: Macrocosmic and Microcosmic Theories of Cause and Effect in Belief Systems

This book examines the concepts of cause and effect from two dimensions. The first concerns the macrocosm of the Universe and how each belief system views creation. The second dimension explores the ways in which beliefs about creation influence the microcosmic world in terms of the nature of the self, the proximate goals within each system, the answers each belief system offers to the presence of evil and suffering in existence, and ideas about the ultimate goal of release from them. All these ideas inform and are fundamental to the understanding of the present-day practices of different faiths, presenting challenges for scriptural testimony balanced with existential living. The final two chapters explore current research in physics concerning the beginnings of the cosmos and what implications such research might have for existence within it, with the final chapter examining scientific views of the nature of the self. Contents include: Judaic and Christian Traditions. Islam. Hinduism. Early Buddhism. Sikhism. Classical Taoism. Recycled Stardust. Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Atoms: The Life and Death of the Self.

Jeaneane Fowler was formerly Head of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Wales, Newport, and later an Honorary Research Fellow. Her publications include Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices (Choice Outstanding Title, 1997); with books in the same series on Humanism, Chinese Religions, Tai Chi, Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism in Wales; books on the Philosophy of Hinduism and the Philosophy of Taoism; and a text and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.