A Panpsychist Interpretation of Evolutionary Theory
Hitit İlahiyat Dergisi January 12, 2025 Ferhat Onur
This article proposes panpsychism as a metaphysical framework to explain adaptive evolution, the hypothesis that some mutations occur purposefully rather than randomly. The author argues that dual-aspect panpsychism, where mentality and physicality are two aspects of the same substance, can naturalistically account for non-random mutations without attributing higher cognitive functions to cells. Instead, such mutations arise from an organism's behavior being directed toward environmental conditions for survival. The article first establishes the scientific-philosophical possibility of non-random mutations, then shows compatibility with dual-aspect panpsychism, aiming for a synthesis that explains seemingly purposeful actions in nature.