A theoretical stance proposing that mind, consciousness, or psychological properties are not unique to
humans or animals but are fundamental and ubiquitous features of
reality. In this view, consciousness exists on a spectrum that includes electrons, rocks, ecosystems, and perhaps the cosmos itself. It doesn'
t claim rocks think like humans, but that they possess an inner, subjective aspect—a primitive form of experience. Panpsychism (its philosophical
root) offers a solution to the "hard problem of consciousness" by making consciousness a
basic building block of matter, like mass or charge. Panpsychology extends this to the study of these universal mental states, blending psychology with cosmology.
Example: A proponent of Panpsychology doesn't
think your laptop is plotting against you. They suggest, however, that the fundamental particles composing the laptop each have a microscopic, unimaginably simple "
point of view"—a
raw feeling of being. Integrated into complex systems, these micro-experiences combine into the rich consciousness of animals. This
isn't mysticism; it's a serious, if controversial, answer to why matter arranged a certain way produces inner experience.
