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Panpsychism and Physical Idealism

Killian Francis McGrath

Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung June 1, 2023 DOI: 10.3196/004433023837453551 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Key points Proposes that a Schelling-inspired perspective on the intrinsic nature of consciousness can help resolve the decomposition problem in panpsychist theories.

Abstract

There is a significant convergence between some contemporary panpsychist theories and idealism. Traditional phenomenal, macro idealism has been widely criticised for its implausible account of physical facts. This paper examines three idealism friendly contemporary panpsychist philosophies and suggests that with some revisions a plausible realist and physical idealism can be articulated. Taking from information-theoretic models of consciousness and metaphysical arguments for the ontological primacy of mind, it is suggested via a Schelling inspired perspective that aspects of consciousness??? intrinsic nature provide a promising approach to the decomposition problem which is currently a significant challenge to pan/cosmopsychist theories.