Other Worlds: Spirituality and the Search for Invisible Dimensions

by Christopher G. White

What do modern multiverse theories and spiritualist séances have in common? Not much, it would seem. One is an elaborate scientific theory developed by the world’s most talented physicists. The other is a spiritual practice widely thought of as backward, the product of a mystical world view fading under the modern scientific gaze.

But Christopher G. White sees striking similarities. He does not claim that séances or other spiritual practices are science. Yet he points to ways that both spiritual practices and scientific speculation about multiverses and invisible dimensions are efforts to peer into the hidden elements and even the existential meaning of the universe. Other Worlds examines how the idea that the universe has multiple, invisible dimensions has inspired science fiction, fantasy novels, films, modern art, and all manner of spiritual thought reaching well beyond the realm of formal religion. Drawing on a range of international archives, White analyzes how writers, artists, filmmakers, televangelists, and others have used the scientific idea of invisible dimensions to make supernatural phenomena such as ghosts and miracles seem more reasonable and make spiritual beliefs possible again for themselves and others.

Many regard scientific ideas as disenchanting and secularizing, but Other Worlds shows that these ideas―creatively appropriated in such popular forms as C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, the art of Salvador Dalí, or the books of the counterculture physicist “Dr. Quantum”―restore a sense that the world is greater than anything our eyes can see, helping to forge an unexpected kind of spirituality.

Genres: Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

Published March 16, 2018

Reviews

[Lynne Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned about this book from a favorite podcast "Rune Soup." The author, Christopher White gave a good interview with the host, Gordon White (no relation). Their talk was interesting enough to make me track down the book, and boy, I'm glad I did.

The idea of higher dimensions have been floating around in the zeitgeist for as long as I've paid attention to such things, but I didn't know how deep and wide higher dimensions (particularly the 4th dimension) have invaded popular culture, and for how long the idea has been around. "Other Worlds" is an historical overview of how this idea got its start (Edward Abbot's "Flatland," published in 1884, is considered a classic and an ur-text) and how it has worked its way as an influence down to the present day. I was surprised at some of the things I learned. C. S. Lewis and Tolkien were influenced by "Flatland" (both men annotated their copies). L'Engel's "A Wrinkle in Time" was influenced by Abbot and other writers of the late 19th and early 20th century. Abbot et al got a mention in Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series. The 4th dimension is a basis for such shows as "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits." There's a whole lot more - just go and read the damn book already.

The author is an academic (he's a Professor of Religion at Vassar College) but his book is not an academic text. The writing is accessible and well structured. He's really highlighting a spiritual and cultural trend that's been developing over the last century; that the "last 150 years also has been a time of remarkable creativity, one characterized by a new kind of spiritual imagination that is only today coming into focus." It's an intriguing combination of science, mathematics and religion that is triggering imaginations in creative ways. Where will this all take us one hundred years from now?

[Bilbo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well written book tracing ideas on other dimensions. Basically anti-Christian ideas of "heaven", though the author tries to make them compatible with Christianity. Far more in line with spiritist ideas and theosophy and buddhist ideas.