Crazier hypotheses: Panpsychism
Animal Sentience July 6, 2023 José E Burgos, Giselle M. Castañeda
This commentary argues that while Segundo-Ortin and Calvo's hypothesis that plants have phenomenal consciousness or sentience may seem implausible, it is less radical than panpsychism, the view that everything is sentient. The authors use a discussion of panpsychism to raise philosophical questions about the plant-consciousness hypothesis. They contend that considering panpsychism highlights conceptual challenges that Segundo-Ortin and Calvo's behavioral evidence does not resolve.