Panpsychism

Original post author: Ryan

Quartz (A digital magazine/news source) recently released an article about Panpsychism.  This is a theory/concept that all physical things have consciousness (even rocks).  The Quartz article essentially claims that a scientifically rigorous explanation of consciousness in humans/animals has eluded neuroscientists, philosophers, and physicists; to the point where the theory of Panpsychism makes more sense than the concept that brains somehow produce consciousness from non-consciousness.  In other words - they are struggling to understand why assembling non-conscious organic flesh in a very specific way to make a brain causes consciousness to occur.

Panpsychists posit that non-organic matter has a form of consciousness that is "unimaginably simple" - so it's not like your bedroom mirror has any thoughts about your outfit choice.  While this concept initially seems ludicrous, they question why a scientific truth must make common sense to begin with.

You can read the Quartz article here.  You can read the wikipedia article on Panpsychism here.  I learned of this Quartz article from theJournal.email, which is a monthly email newsletter full of fascinating tidbits.  Image is from Shutterstock.