Panpsychism: Scientists Discover that Everything — from Rocks to Molecules — Is Conscious

[dynamo]

https://qz.com/1184574/the-idea-that...ic-credibility

The idea that everything from spoons to stones are conscious is gaining academic credibility


Consciousness permeates reality. Rather than being just a unique feature of human subjective experience, it’s the foundation of the universe, present in every particle and all physical matter.

This sounds like easily-dismissible bunkum, but as traditional attempts to explain consciousness continue to fail, the “panpsychist” view is increasingly being taken seriously by credible philosophers, neuroscientists, and physicists, including figures such as neuroscientist Christof Koch and physicist Roger Penrose.

“Why should we think common sense is a good guide to what the universe is like?” says Philip Goff, a philosophy professor at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. “Einstein tells us weird things about the nature of time that counters common sense; quantum mechanics runs counter to common sense. Our intuitive reaction isn’t necessarily a good guide to the nature of reality.”

David Chalmers, a philosophy of mind professor at New York University, laid out the “hard problem of consciousness” in 1995, demonstrating that there was still no answer to the question of what causes consciousness. Traditionally, two dominant perspectives, materialism and dualism, have provided a framework for solving this problem. Both lead to seemingly intractable complications.



“Physics is just structure. It can explain biology, but there’s a gap: Consciousness.”
The materialist viewpoint states that consciousness is derived entirely from physical matter. It’s unclear, though, exactly how this could work. “It’s very hard to get consciousness out of non-consciousness,” says Chalmers. “Physics is just structure. It can explain biology, but there’s a gap: Consciousness.” Dualism holds that consciousness is separate and distinct from physical matter—but that then raises the question of how consciousness interacts and has an effect on the physical world.

Panpsychism offers an attractive alternative solution: Consciousness is a fundamental feature of physical matter; every single particle in existence has an “unimaginably simple” form of consciousness, says Goff. These particles then come together to form more complex forms of consciousness, such as humans’ subjective experiences. This isn’t meant to imply that particles have a coherent worldview or actively think, merely that there’s some inherent subjective experience of consciousness in even the tiniest particle.

Panpsychism doesn’t necessarily imply that every inanimate object is conscious. “Panpsychists usually don’t take tables and other artifacts to be conscious as a whole,” writes Hedda Hassel Mørch, a philosophy researcher at New York University’s Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, in an email. “Rather, the table could be understood as a collection of particles that each have their own very simple form of consciousness.”

But, then again, panpsychism could very well imply that conscious tables exist: One interpretation of the theory holds that “any system is conscious,” says Chalmers. “Rocks will be conscious, spoons will be conscious, the Earth will be conscious. Any kind of aggregation gives you consciousness.”

Interest in panpsychism has grown in part thanks to the increased academic focus on consciousness itself following on from Chalmers’ “hard problem” paper. Philosophers at NYU, home to one of the leading philosophy-of-mind departments, have made panpsychism a feature of serious study. There have been several credible academic books on the subject in recent years, and popular articles taking panpsychism seriously.

One of the most popular and credible contemporary neuroscience theories on consciousness, Giulio Tononi’s Integrated Information Theory, further lends credence to panpsychism. Tononi argues that something will have a form of “consciousness” if the information contained within the structure is sufficiently “integrated,” or unified, and so the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Because it applies to all structures—not just the human brain—Integrated Information Theory shares the panpsychist view that physical matter has innate conscious experience.

Goff, who has written an academic book on consciousness and is working on another that approaches the subject from a more popular-science perspective, notes that there were credible theories on the subject dating back to the 1920s. Thinkers including philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Arthur Eddington made a serious case for panpsychism, but the field lost momentum after World War II, when philosophy became largely focused on analytic philosophical questions of language and logic. Interest picked up again in the 2000s, thanks both to recognition of the “hard problem” and to increased adoption of the structural-realist approach in physics, explains Chalmers. This approach views physics as describing structure, and not the underlying nonstructural elements.

“Physical science tells us a lot less about the nature of matter than we tend to assume,” says Goff. “Eddington”—the English scientist who experimentally confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity in the early 20th century—“argued there’s a gap in our picture of the universe. We know what matter does but not what it is. We can put consciousness into this gap.”
“What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?”
In Eddington’s view, Goff writes in an email, it’s “”silly” to suppose that that underlying nature has nothing to do with consciousness and then to wonder where consciousness comes from.” Stephen Hawking has previously asked: “What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?” Goff adds: “The Russell-Eddington proposal is that it is consciousness that breathes fire into the equations.”

The biggest problem caused by panpsychism is known as the “combination problem”: Precisely how do small particles of consciousness collectively form more complex consciousness? Consciousness may exist in all particles, but that doesn’t answer the question of how these tiny fragments of physical consciousness come together to create the more complex experience of human consciousness.

Any theory that attempts to answer that question, would effectively determine which complex systems—from inanimate objects to plants to ants—count as conscious.

An alternative panpsychist perspective holds that, rather than individual particles holding consciousness and coming together, the universe as a whole is conscious. This, says Goff, isn’t the same as believing the universe is a unified divine being; it’s more like seeing it as a “cosmic mess.” Nevertheless, it does reflect a perspective that the world is a top-down creation, where every individual thing is derived from the universe, rather than a bottom-up version where objects are built from the smallest particles. Goff believes quantum entanglement—the finding that certain particles behave as a single unified system even when they’re separated by such immense distances there can’t be a causal signal between them—suggests the universe functions as a fundamental whole rather than a collection of discrete parts.

Such theories sound incredible, and perhaps they are. But then again, so is every other possible theory that explains consciousness. “The more I think about [any theory], the less plausible it becomes,” says Chalmers. “One starts as a materialist, then turns into a dualist, then a panpsychist, then an idealist,” he adds, echoing his paper on the subject. Idealism holds that conscious experience is the only thing that truly exists. From that perspective, panpsychism is quite moderate.

Chalmers quotes his colleague, the philosopher John Perry, who says: “If you think about consciousness long enough, you either become a panpsychist or you go into administration.”

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

This is encouraging and quite surprising coming from academia. To my mind, this research is a huge leap in the right direction.

[dynamo]

Posted by Star Mariner (here)
This is encouraging and quite surprising coming from academia. To my mind, this research is a huge leap in the right direction.

Exactly, Star Mariner. I'd like to think that most Project Avalon Members already realize that all matter is sentient and the original post is merely a reminder for those who are trying to "wrap their heads" around the concept.

[Sunny-side-up]

Posted by dynamo (here)

Posted by Star Mariner (here)
This is encouraging and quite surprising coming from academia. To my mind, this research is a huge leap in the right direction.

Exactly, Star Mariner. I'd like to think that most Project Avalon Members already realize that all matter is sentient and the original post is merely a reminder for those who are trying to "wrap their heads" around the concept.

[Foxie Loxie]

!!! Consciousness is Primary.....it is all the eternal One! Great article & it IS a big flip-flop for those of us who were brainwashed for so many years!

[Carmody]

From the mainstream website of physorg. I tend to use it as a resource and signpost type of origin point for posting data 'milestones'. Since it is very public and well visited by the 'masses' in science, so to speak, it is a good way to check the pulse of the mainstream views in sciences that are moving into being widely emergent.

Meaning..this article would not be special, unless you understand that it is from a mainstream website for mainstream audiences. The mainstream of cutting edge emergent stories in physics for the entire mainstream scientific system to read and ponder. The daily newspaper for science, essentially. Being on that particular website is what makes the article special.

The universe is a hologram and other mind-blowing theories in theoretical physics

What if there is a deeper reality out there?

What if our universe is an illusion?

What if we are living in a hologram?

Cue Twilight Zone music.

Or, alternatively, ask associate professor of physics Matthew Headrick about his research. Headrick works on one of the most cutting-edge theories in theoretical physics—the holographic principle. It holds that the universe is a three-dimensional image projected off a two-dimensional surface, much like a hologram emerges from a sheet of photographic film.

"In my view, the discovery of holographic entanglement and its generalizations has been one of the most exciting developments in theoretical physics in this century so far," Headrick said. "What other new concepts are waiting to be discovered, and what other unexpected connections? We can't wait to find out."

Since 2016, Headrick has served as deputy director of the "It from Qubit: Quantum Fields, Gravity and Information" project, an international effort by 18 scientists and their labs to determine whether the holographic principle is correct. It is funded by a 4-year, $10-million grant from the New York-based Simons Foundation.

If Headrick and his colleagues can prove the holographic principle, they will have taken a major step toward achieving the holy grail in theoretical physics, a grand unified theory that can explain all the laws and principles governing reality. "We're not there yet," Headrick said, "but we're making progress."

Let's break down the holographic principle step-by-step:

Information

We'll start small, very small. It's long been thought that the universe at its most fundamental level is made up of subatomic particles like electrons or quarks. But now physicists believe those particles are made up of something even smaller—information.

When physicists talk about information, they mean the data that describe physical phenomena. The mass of an object, the direction of the spin of an electron, and e=mc^2 are all units of information.

If you gathered all the information that's out there, you would have the complete instruction booklet for building everything in our universe.

Qubits

The tiniest levels of the universe are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Here things start to get very weird and counterintuitive.

Units of information in the realm of quantum mechanics are called qubits.

Headrick studies the quantum entanglement of qubits, a very strange phenomenon unique to the realm of quantum mechanics.

Suppose you have two qubits whose values can be either 1 or 0. When the qubits are entangled, their values become correlated. When you measure the first qubit, its value might turn out to be 0. Check the other qubit, its value might be 0, too. But what if the first qubit has a value of 1? The second qubit's value could also change to 1.

It's as if the qubits communicate with each other, with the first telling the second, "Hey, this physicist over here just found out I'm a 1. You better be a 1, too." Amazingly and bizarrely, this communication can happen over vast distances with messages seemingly relayed faster than the speed of light.

Qubits are flat

In most cases, when you drop an object into a jar—we'll use a jelly bean—it will fall inside and take up space. Put in another jelly bean, the amount of unfilled space shrinks and the volume of the jelly beans increases.

It doesn't work this way with qubits. Qubits won't fall into the jar but instead spread out on a surface. Add a qubit, it will adhere to the side of the jar. Add another qubit, it will do the same. Increasing the number of qubits doesn't increase the volume. Instead, it increases the surface area the qubits take up.

More and more qubits spreading out across a flat surface—this is how you get the two-dimensional plane described by the holographic principle.

So how do you get three dimensions?

Once you move beyond the realm of the teeny-tiny, the laws of quantum mechanics no longer work. Strange as it sounds, on the macrocosmic level, you need a different set of laws of physics to explain what's going on.

Enter Einstein's theory of relativity. To calculate cosmic events like the path followed by light or the orbit of Mercury around the sun, you need the theory of relativity.

The building blocks of relativity are also units of information. Now though, they're called bits.

And bits behave in a way that's much more familiar to us. They exist in three dimensions.

So how do you get a hologram?

Let's go back to that two-dimensional surface covered with entangled qubits. Since the value of a qubit changes depending on the value of its entangled pair, there's a degree of indeterminacy built into the system. If you haven't yet measured the first qubit, you can't be sure about the second. The amount of uncertainty in any given system is called its entropy.

As qubits become entangled and disentangled, the level of entropy rises and falls. You wind up with fields of entropy in a constantly changing state.

The holographic principle holds that our three-dimensional world is a representation or projection of all this activity taking place on a two-dimensional surface full of qubits.

Putting it all together

It's always bothered physicists that there is one set of rules for the microcosmic, quantum mechanics, and another for the macrocosmic, the theory of relativity. It doesn't make sense that there should be two different and incompatible groups of mathematical formulas at work in our universe. Physicists assume there must be some way to bring them into harmony.

So therein lies the central question for Headrick and his colleagues: Starting in the two-dimensional realm of qubits and quantum mechanics and then scaling up in size, how precisely do we wind up with bits and relativity? It's a matter of constructing a single mathematical model that explains the transformation.

Figure it out and you'll have solved one of the biggest mysteries in theoretical physics. From the tiniest to the largest phenomenon, we'll have a unified theory of reality.

Right now the holographic principle remains an unproven theory. Where it will lead next is an open question. Odds are though, it'll be stranger than anything yet imagined in science fiction.

[Did You See Them]

Posted by Foxie Loxie (here)
!!! Consciousness is Primary.....it is all the eternal One!

Consciousness is ALL - without it how could creation be appreciated.

[Cardillac]

@Carmody

your posting is just exactly what David Icke has been trying to drive into our numbskulls for yrs.- we are living in a 3-dimensional universe which is a distortion/fractionalization of the original light source and we with our puny eyes are only seeing a tiny fraction, among many other things, of what is really out there-

another great source is Michael Talbot's "The Holographic Universe" (Icke sources him) in which he explains how a holograph/gram is created- truly revealing stuff-

please stay well Carmody and all other readers-

Larry

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Posted by Did You See Them (here)

Posted by Foxie Loxie (here)
!!! Consciousness is Primary.....it is all the eternal One!

Consciousness is ALL - without it how could creation be appreciated.

And what's more, maintained and expanded.

[Bill Ryan]

'Scientists' haven't 'discovered' this.

It's barely new knowledge. A few of them have simply started to recognize what Buddhists have known and directly experienced for 2500 years, and shamans in every indigenous culture, worldwide, for MUCH MUCH longer.

[bearcow]

So now, the best scientists the democratic party can afford are now hard at work trying to prove that all matter is, in fact, racist.

[Alanantic]

"God sleeps in the rocks, stirs in the plants, dreams in the animals, and finally awakens in man." -- Vedic Quote

[Foxie Loxie]

Thank you, Alanantic! I was trying to remember that quote this morning, so now have copied it down so I can refer back to it!!

[liderr]

Jane Roberts, (who channeled Seth) stated this in her book "Seth Speaks" back in the 70's. Academia catching up to this concept comes as little surprise to me.

[Flash]

Posted by bearcow (here)
So now, the best scientists the democratic party can afford are now hard at work trying to prove that all matter is, in fact, racist.

We must not have read the same text because nowhere have I seen anything related to racism from far or near

[Star Tsar]

This is also what contactees, A number too numerous to mention have been claiming for years.

[MorningFox]

It'll give vegans pause for thought

[Iloveyou]

Posted by Alanantic (here)
. . . and finally awakens in man." -- Vedic Quote

We are still waiting for that to happen. Wait . . . who is speaking here?

[The Freedom Train]

Posted by MorningFox (here)
It'll give vegans pause for thought

HAHAHA! Hilarious! (and I am currently vegan)

I too think to myself - plants are also highly sensitive, and I suspect sentient, in their own way. I suppose the only way to avoid that whole circular argument is to stop eating altogether, and live on air. But then what about the "microfauna" in the air that we inadvertently ingest when we inhale?? https://www.livescience.com/9469-air...-microbes.html

Perhaps it is impossible to avoid eating things, even if a lifelong breatharian diet was a real possibility.

And let's not forget about the simple act of walking around! Imagine - all of the life you are crushing with each step!

[Fellow Aspirant]

Posted by dynamo (here)

Posted by Star Mariner (here)
This is encouraging and quite surprising coming from academia. To my mind, this research is a huge leap in the right direction.

Exactly, Star Mariner. I'd like to think that most Project Avalon Members already realize that all matter is sentient and the original post is merely a reminder for those who are trying to "wrap their heads" around the concept.

I'm always looking for such information so that I can use it to "enlighten" those who have expressed an interest in such truths.

Thanks!

& namaste

Brian