A Solution to the Combination Problem and the Future of Panpsychism

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Characteristics	Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Key points	Argues that consciousness can be understood as a pervasive field, eliminating the combination problem in panpsychism by rejecting the necessity of subjects.

Abstract

This paper supports the scientific position that panpsychism is a valid category of possible resolutions to the hard problem of consciousness, and it focuses on a solution to the 'combination problem' in panpsychism. I argue for a new way of thinking about consciousness in which consciousness is not viewed in reference to subjects, and that the concept of a 'subject' is borne of the illusion of self. Therefore, we don't face a combination problem if the notion of a subject is superfluous and consciousness itself is pervasive in the form of a field. The paper is also a more general discussion about the importance of pursuing this scientific question in the twenty-first century: is consciousness a more fundamental aspect of the universe than we have previously assumed?

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Abstract

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