Panpsychism SEP

Panpsychism Overview

• Definition: Panpsychism is the philosophical view that mentality is fundamental and pervasive in the natural world.

• Historical Significance: This idea has roots in both Eastern and Western philosophies and has recently gained attention in analytic philosophy.

• Philosophical Position: Offers a middle ground between physicalism and dualism.

  • Dualism: The view that mind and matter are fundamentally different, leading to challenges in explaining their interaction.

  • Physicalism: A unified view of reality that may fail to adequately explain consciousness emergence.

  • Panpsychism's Appeal: Seeks to provide a coherent account of consciousness within a unified understanding of nature.

Key Sections in Panpsychism

1. History of Western Philosophy

   • Early Thinkers: Elements of panpsychism can be traced back to early Greek philosophers, particularly Thales and Anaxagoras.

     • Thales argued based on self-movement in magnets and amber, inferring a form of mind.

     • Anaxagoras posited that qualities are components of everything; 'everything is in everything'.

2. Varieties of Contemporary Panpsychism

   • Definitions and Types: Contemporary panpsychism includes various forms, such as:

     • Constitutive vs. Emergentist Panpsychism:

       • Constitutive: Human/animal consciousness arises from lower levels of consciousness.

       • Emergentist: Higher consciousness arises from micro-level subjects without being directly reduced to them.

     • Micropsychism vs. Cosmopsychism: Micropsychism focuses on consciousness at the smallest particle level, while cosmopsychism looks at the universe as a whole.

3. Arguments for Panpsychism

   • Anti-Emergence Argument: Critiques the emergence of consciousness from non-consciousness as lacking clear explanations.

   • Intrinsic Nature Argument: Challenges the completeness of physical descriptions in revealing the intrinsic characteristics of matter, suggesting the inclusion of consciousness.

4. Objections to Panpsychism

   • The Incredulous Stare: Many find the idea of conscious fundamental particles counterintuitive.

   • Combination Problem: The challenge of understanding how individual micro-experiences combine to create macro-consciousness.

   • Subject-Summing Problem: Questions the coherence of combining distinct conscious entities into one.

Historical Context

• Influential Philosophers:

  • Gustav Fechner, William James, and Arthur Schopenhauer contributed significantly to the development of panpsychist thought in the nineteenth century.

  • Leibniz and Spinoza attempted to unify mind and matter through their views on substance and attributes.

• Modern Resurgence: Notable resurgence in interest towards the end of the twentieth century, coinciding with critiques of physicalism due to its inadequacies in explaining consciousness.

Contemporary Perspectives and Developments

• Ambient Views: Philosophers such as Thomas Nagel, David Chalmers, and Philip Goff have recently contributed to the revival and exploration of panpsychism, emphasizing the need for alternative perspectives on consciousness.

• Publication: Works arising from this new interest include volumes by Freeman, Skrbina, and Goff among others, emphasizing emergent theories and attributes of consciousness within material reality.

Conclusion

• Panpsychism's Potential: Continues to offer promising alternatives in philosophical discourse, particularly as challenges persist in explaining consciousness adhering to traditional physicalist frameworks.