Mind of Nature: Cavendish’s Argument for Panpsychism
Pedro Pricladnitzky
August 7, 2023 DOI: 10.1515/9783111051802-022 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Cavendish's central argument for panpsychism is that the orderly and variable behavior of bodies is only possible if matter has sensitivity and rationality, leading to the stronger thesis that all matter, by its very nature, thinks. |
Abstract
In this text, I intend to present one of Cavendish’s arguments for the thesis that nature, or all individuals that make up nature, have mental properties. Cavendish offered many arguments to show that matter has the capacity to think, but her central argument for the position is drawn from an observation that, for her, is evident and unquestionable: bodies, or the parts of matter that make up nature, behave in an orderly and variable way and this is only possible if they have sensitivity and rationality. Cavendish’s position is not just that matter has the capacity to think or that the view that some material beings can think. Her view that intends to explain the phenomena that occurs in nature rests on a stronger thesis: all matter, by its very nature, thinks.