Does Panpsychism Mean That 'We Are All One'?

If panpsychism—the view that all things are associated with consciousness—is true, it may imply that egoism, or bias toward what we normally consider the self, is not only immoral but fundamentally irrational or imprudent. The author argues that panpsychism suggests a sense in which 'we are all one,' challenging the rational basis for prioritizing one's own interests over others. This practical or ethical implication extends the philosophical theory beyond the mind–body problem into questions of how we ought to live.

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Abstract

Panpsychism is the view that all things are associated with consciousness. Panpsychism has a number of significant theoretical implications, with respect to the mind–body problem and other problems in metaphysics. Here I will consider one of its potential practical or ethical implications; specifically, whether, if panpsychism is true, it follows that 'we are all one', in a sense that implies that egoism (understood as bias towards what we normally take to constitute the self or ego) is not only immoral but fundamentally irrational (or imprudent).