Epigraph:

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا 

And they ask you concerning the soul. Say, ‘The soul is by the command of my Lord; and of the knowledge thereof you have been given but a little.’ (Al Quran 17:85)

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

A large majority, at least three-fourth of the modern philosophers, scientists and mathematicians are atheists and deny the existence of God.

Panpsychism posits that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous aspect of reality, suggesting that all matter possesses some form of consciousness or experience. This perspective has garnered both support and criticism within philosophical circles.

When they deny a conscious Creator of our universe, they run into difficulty of explaining our own consciousness and encounter strange attempts to explain them. The strangest of the theories is panpsychism. The more we talk about it the stranger it gets.

Human consciousness has been baffling for scientists and philosophers for centuries. So different theories to understand consciousness abound.

In the above video Yujin Nagasawa is trying to explain one mystery with another. Attributing consciousness to each and every quark is a mystery if not total absurdity and to explain it he proposes cosmic consciousness to the whole of inanimate universe.

In a recent survey in 2020 of 1800 academic philosophers in North America, Europe and Australia, only 2% of philosophers considered Panpsychism to be true.[1]

Before, we move further let us watch a video to grasp how baffled most philosophers are by consciousness:

Now, I propose to collect some videos here in the post about panpsychism and also in the comment section, to illustrate its limitations.

Critiques of Panpsychism

1. Lack of Empirical Evidence: Critics argue that panpsychism lacks empirical support and is not falsifiable, making it speculative. Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci notes that panpsychism “amounts to the feeling that quantum mechanics sure is weird, and consciousness sure is weird, so maybe quantum mechanics can explain consciousness,” suggesting that the theory relies on tenuous connections. Wikipedia
2. Combination Problem: A significant challenge for panpsychism is explaining how simple forms of consciousness combine to form the complex consciousness observed in higher organisms. This “combination problem” questions the coherence of panpsychism, as it remains unclear how individual conscious experiences integrate into a unified, higher-level consciousness. Springer Link
3. Philosophical Speculation: Some view panpsychism as an unfounded philosophical speculation that complicates the understanding of consciousness without providing explanatory power. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that panpsychism “is an option that deserves more attention in the future,” but also acknowledges that it may receive little empirical justification, leading some critics to deem it “useless speculation.” Routledge Education Portal

Conclusion

Panpsychism presents an intriguing framework for understanding consciousness as a pervasive feature of the universe. While it offers potential solutions to longstanding philosophical dilemmas, it faces substantial challenges, including a lack of empirical evidence and unresolved theoretical issues. The debate over panpsychism continues, reflecting the complexity of the quest to comprehend consciousness.

I take all the theories to explain consciousness especially panpsychism as a compliment in disguise to the amazing creative power of God of the Abrahamic faiths, Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

Additional reading:

Panpsychism: Can it explain human consciousness

Different Philosophers Arguing God from Consciousness

Reference

1. https://dailynous.com/2021/11/01/what-philosophers-believe-results-from-the-2020-philpapers-survey/