Thanks for the clarification, allat. So essentially (from a metaphysical point of view), your brand of pantheism is a type of monism
Yes pantheism and monism are very closely related, I'd even venture to say, pretty much indistinguishable concepts. In both, on a foundational level, there's an underlying unity or interconnectedness of all matter and energy in the universe. It may be called anything, or nothing... Carl Jung's concept of the Collective Unconscious, Jacques Lacan's concept of "the Real", the Hindu/Buddhist/Jain concepts of Atman & Brahman, the Tao Te Ching's concept of the Tao, can all be seen to be derived from monist concepts of existence and the universe.
As I understand it, the difference between pantheism and monism may be largely semantics. I.e. pantheists may say "everything is connected" and monists may say "everything is made of the same essence" or something along those lines. But the 2 concepts are very alike in their own essence. I may just start using "monist" actually instead of pantheist, as I don't like the "theist" part of the word pantheist myself. But as a pantheist/monist I realize it's all just semantics
(and obviously you're personally happy with the spiritual gratification this beings you - that was never my intention to argue against it).
No problem
Yeah it's a constantly evolving phantasmagoria as far as I'm concerned. I used to call myself pagan and I still do sometimes when I'm talking to certain people who don't need me to explain that no, I don't believe literally in pagan religions. I don't see these terms as competing with each other, but rather as part of the same idea. Since I reject belief in supernatural entities, the words atheist, agnostic, pantheist, pagan, zen/taoist, existentialist, humanist all are okay with me to define myself at various times, in various situations. But I realize that's a personal preference and I try not to judge other people's choices if they're not out to harm others.
Would you say that what you described ("knowing via science and intuition that everything is interconnected") is essentially materialism? Or do you mean something else/beyond that?
Yes I'd say philosophical materialism is essential to pantheism/monism. What we experience as "consciousness" is a result of very complex physical interactions, so in that sense, yes I'm a materialist pantheist/monist. But I am not a reductionist which some people think materialism has to be, as I understand that we know very little about our own brains, nevermind the universe, and to think that almost infinitely complex processes could be reduced to simplistic notions is a highly arrogant notion that's based on social privileges afforded to those who think that the universe and consciousness are reducible to their level of understanding. So there is a humility, a sense of peaceful acceptance of our smallness there in the pantheist/monist schools of thought, that I find sorely lacking in some other materialist schools of thought. However, as a fundamental concept that "matter is all that exists" well I find that to be a truism, really. I mean, that's like saying "all that exists is all that exists", isn't it? And yeah I agree with that truism.
Topic: God is the Universe = Pantheism?