The Ethical Implications of Panpsychism
Australasian Journal of Philosophy May 8, 2024 Joseph Gottlieb, B. Fischer
The history of philosophy shows a pattern of expanding the moral circle—the set of entities considered worthy of moral concern—alongside expanding beliefs about which entities possess consciousness. Recently, proposals for consciousness have extended to invertebrates, plants, logic gates, and fundamental entities, the last driven by renewed interest in panpsychism. This paper explores the ethical implications of panpsychism, concluding that while panpsychism likely expands the moral circle significantly, it probably offers little of practical significance.