Is Consciousness Part of the Fabric of the Universe?

[BidenPresident]

Scholars recently gathered to debate the problem at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., during a two-day workshop focused on an idea known as panpsychism. The concept proposes that consciousness is a fundamental aspect of reality, like mass or electrical charge. The idea goes back to antiquity—Plato took it seriously—and has had some prominent supporters over the years, including psychologist William James and philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell. Lately it is seeing renewed interest, especially following the 2019 publication of philosopher Philip Goff’s book Galileo’s Error, which argues forcefully for the idea.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-consciousness-part-of-the-fabric-of-the-universe/

 

[BidenPresident]

While most of those invited to the workshop were philosophers, there were also talks by physicists Sean Carroll and Lee Smolin and by cognitive psychologist Donald Hoffman. Carroll, a hardcore physicalist, served as an unofficial leader of the opposition as the workshop unfolded.

During a well-attended public debate between Goff and Carroll, the divergence of their worldviews quickly became apparent. Goff said that physicalism has led “precisely nowhere,” and suggested that the very idea of trying to explain consciousness in physical terms was incoherent. Carroll argued that physicalism is actually doing quite well and that although consciousness is one of many phenomena that can’t be inferred from the goings-on at the microscopic level, it is nonetheless a real, emergent feature of the macroscopic world.