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The Ethical Implications of Panpsychism

Joseph Gottlieb, B. Fischer

Australasian Journal of Philosophy May 8, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/00048402.2024.2350708 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Key points Argues that panpsychism probably expands the moral circle but likely lacks practical significance.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The history of philosophy is a history of moral circle expansion. This history correlates with a history of expansionism about consciousness. Recently, expansionism about consciousness has exploded: to invertebrates, to plants, to logic gates, and to fundamental entities. The last of these expansions stems from a surge of interest in panpsychism. In an exploratory spirit, this paper considers some largely uncharted territory: the ethical implications of panpsychism. Our conclusion is that while panpsychism probably does significantly expand our moral circle, it's also probably short on anything of practical significance.

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