Panpsychist Possibilities—Part 1 in a Consciousness Trilogy

Panpsychism is the belief that mind (“psyche”) is found everywhere (“pan”). Most primitive and/or indigenous cultures view/viewed their world this way. The dictionary definition of panpsychism is “the belief that everything material, however small, has an element of individual consciousness.”

Those cultures that see the world as panpsychic look upon the nonhuman world through respectful eyes. If spirit or consciousness exists in everything, they conclude that everything deserves respect. This is a dramatically different perspective from Western belief—which often sees mind only in humans, a notion we got from René Descartes. Even if some of us in the West grant some degree of consciousness to a few animals (like a dog), we tend to draw the line at simpler critters such as insects. So how is it possible for all material objects to be conscious? Is the Earth conscious (which is what the Gaia hypothesis suggests)? A tree? A rock? Modern Westerners mostly scoff at such ideas.

Part of the disagreement here is that there is a very wide-ranging view of what consciousness is. Many of those who dispute whether or not consciousness can exist in animals or plants are operating under different definitions of consciousness. Even within small camps of agreeing people, there's still contention.

So let's back up and consider the dictionary's definition of consciousness. There are three definitions given there: (1) “The state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings”; (2) “The awareness or perception of something by a person”; and (3) “The fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world.” That's quite a range of meaning. Furthermore, those three definitions certainly lean toward anthropocentrism—viewing the issue strictly from human values. You'd have a tough time arguing that a tree is conscious, using those definitions.

Consider a specific non-human example: Is a bird aware of its surroundings? It has to be, in order to function. Is it aware of itself and the world? Yes, to some extent, just in order to survive. But how deeply can it perceive things? The answers to these questions are impossible to respond to, since we can't get inside the head of a bird. But I'm willing to give a definite degree of consciousness to a bird—not nearly as much as a human, but it's got to be there. 
 
So how about a worm? A nematode? An amoeba? A bacterium? An acorn? A rock? Does it make any sense to grant a rock a mind? Can it in any way be conscious? As an alternative way to view panpsychism for a rock, might one possibly conceive of the possibility that a rock exists within an ocean of greater consciousness, and thus somehow absorbs some of that consciousness?

These are questions that tend to defy answers—at least as far as human knowledge has currently grown. They are hotly debated. Panpsychism is certainly a concept worthy of open-minded consideration. Whether or not I am willing to grant consciousness to a chunk of granite, it sure is worth trying to extend my respect as far out there as I can. And that idea is neither primitive nor indigenous...in a way, it's pretty damned enlightened!

More on consciousness next time...