Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

64

DEUS SIVE NATURA

DEUS SIVE NATURA. Latin, “God or
Nature,” the slogan of Spinoza’s panenthe-
ism. Spinoza recognized God and nature
as equivalent. Some have thereby seen
Spinoza as divinizing all reality (hence
Spinoza’s being labeled as the “god-intoxi-
cated philosopher”) or as naturalizing
the divine.

DEVIL. See SATAN.

DEWEY, JOHN (1859–1952). An
American pragmatist who opposed what
he judged to be overly abstract and theo-
retical ideals found in Plato and Descartes.
Dewey commended a religious way of
life, but he did not thereby intend any
institutional or theistic practice. Dewey
has been interpreted as advancing a
non-dogmatic reverence for the natural
world and an understanding of personal
growth and maturity in terms of lifelong
learning through wise experimentation.
Dewey defended a secular form of prag-
matism in which knowledge and values
are achieved through experiential testing.
His works include Psychology (1887), Stud-
ies in Logical Theory (1903), Ethics (with
Tufts, 1903), How We Think (1910), Essays
in Experimental Logic (1916), Reconstruc-
tion in Philosophy (1920), Experience and
Nature (1925), The Quest for Certainty
(1929), Art as Experience (1934), A Com-
mon Faith (1934), The Teacher and Society
(1937), Experience and Education (1938),

Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (1939), and

Theory of Valuation (1939).

DHARMA. Sanskrit, “carrying / holding.”

A term in Indian religions used to refer

to right action. It is sometimes used as

a translation of term religion. See also

HINDUISM.

DIDEROT, DENIS (1713–1784). Unlike

Voltaire and Rousseau who retained

deistic or modified theistic philosophies,

Diderot advanced a thoroughgoing natu-

ralism. He was the principle architect of

the ambitious encyclopedia that sought

to systematize all secular knowledge.

Diderot was stridently opposed to slavery,

clerical power, and censorship. His

works include Encyclopédie (1750–1765),

Philosophical Thoughts (1746), Letter on

the Blind (1749), Thoughts on the Inter-

pretation of Nature (1754), Letter on Deaf

Mutes (1759), and Rameau’s Nephew

(written 1761, published 1805).

DILTHEY, WILHELM (1833–1911). An

early proponent and practitioner of what

became the field of sociology. His sociol-

ogy of religion focused on the construc-

tion of alternative worldviews in light of

cultural realities. His works include Intro-

duction to the Sciences of the Spirit (1883),

Studies on the Foundation of the Sciences

of the Spirit (1905), Experience and Poetry