Evaluating Panpsychism
Crítica (México D F En línea) December 17, 2025 DOI: 10.22201/iifs.18704905e.2025.1748 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Possibility theory Interpretation philosophy Information theory Metatheory Epistemology |
| Key points | Argues that weak emergent panpsychism and panprotopsychism, alone or combined, show potential for panpsychism to remain coherent and viable. |
Abstract
In this article, I evaluate which version of panpsychism is best suited to address the challenges faced by a theory of consciousness. I first argue that a panpsychist theory is more likely to be successful if it meets two conditions: (1) it must be compatible with the Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and (2) it must provide at least a preliminary indication of how to solve the combination problem. I consider three main versions of panpsychism: constitutive panpsychism micropanpsychism and cosmopanpsychism), emergent panpsychism (strong and weak), and panprotopsychism (panqualitivist and panexperientialist). I conclude that weak emergent panpsychism, together with the two variants of panprotopsychism (panqualitivism and panexperientialism), or a combination of these approaches, shows genuine potential for panpsychism to remain a coherent and viable position.