Panpsychism and Physical Idealism
Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung June 1, 2023 Killian Francis McGrath
Some contemporary panpsychist theories share substantial common ground with idealism. While traditional phenomenal macro idealism has faced broad criticism for its implausible explanation of physical facts, this paper examines three idealism-friendly panpsychist philosophies and proposes that with revisions a plausible realist and physical idealism can be articulated. Drawing on information-theoretic models of consciousness and metaphysical arguments for the ontological primacy of mind, the author suggests, through a Schelling-inspired perspective, that aspects of consciousness's intrinsic nature offer a promising approach to the decomposition problem—a significant challenge facing panpsychist and cosmopsychist theories.