The Combination Problem of Panpsychism & Cosmopsychism: A Dim Non-Issue in the Light of Biological and Physical Sciences (original) (raw)

Panpsychism is the Western philosophy which posits that all real things in some sense have consciousness, or that consciousness is co-fundamental with matter itself (Goff and Moran 2022; Seager 2021; Skrbina 2017; Vetlesen 2020). It makes this seemingly bold assertion on the basis that the ‘neural correlates of consciousness,’ i.e., brains and neurons, are thus far proven only to be that – correlates and nothing more, rather than the source of consciousness itself. The Combination Problem is the most wielded argument against Panpsychism. The rebuttal insists that micro-level conscious entities that comprise macro-level ones must inherently lend their experience, perspective, etc., to the nature of the whole (Shani and Keppler 2018:393). That is, a sort of pan-consciousness must exist for the macro-level entity whereby it has awareness of its myriad internal aspects as driving its own gestalt, or it is in some sense a highly multi-faceted or selves-aware ‘hive mind’ or, one might say, a somewhat omniscient being. In other words, the macro-level entity should not have its own unique and individuated perspective from those smaller ones that exist within it, as panpsychism allows for and has historically not elaborated upon. And indeed, we do feel we are individuals. This rebuttal, however, is a narrow notion in that it ignores the mechanisms of nature and the cosmos itself. This paper is not dissimilar in topic from others I have written, nor does it include many different or new references cited, but it is custom tailored to address a philosophical audience and not also myth-and-religion focused or entheogen-curious audiences. It first concisely introduces the philosophical rebuttal of the Combination “problem” as ignorant of nature, in a short assertion that physicality itself is premised upon the combination of multiple molecular systems, organisms, organs, and species, and yet we have no experience of or control over their operation, revealing that we therefore cannot dissect this truth from the phenomena of conscious experiences. Discussion of this mirrored nature of physical and mental processes will then give way to more direct and lengthy coverage on how awareness in varying degrees exists even for these entities, a fact displayed by observations in biology, mycology, and physics. Finally, the paper will reject the De-combination Problem, the inverse but analogous rebuttal to Cosmopsychism, a sort of Idealist perspective that the cosmos is a sentient Monad, host to myriad others, perhaps even being a sentient quantum computer. In these rejections, we can readily accept these connected philosophies as valid theory and thereby pursue further exploration of their implications and gain a greater understanding of reality and increased gnostic compassion for the environment – something lacking from mainstream domineering philosophies and religions today – which the world direly needs at this critical point in ecological and human survival.