Is panpsychism compatible with Christianity?

The result is a position I call ‘theological panpsychism’; a version of panpsychism compatible with traditional, mainstream Christian theology.

What is the central idea of panpsychism?

Panpsychism is the view that all things have a mind or a mind-like quality. Panpsychists typically see the human mind as a unique, highly-refined instance of some more universal concept. They argue that mind in, say, lower animals, plants, or rocks is neither as sophisticated nor as complex as that of human beings.

Is panpsychism a religion?

It seems to me that panpsychism is a numinous concept that feeds into religion by asserting that the whole universe is conscious, which some people consider a religious attitude. Some, for instance, consider the “mind of the universe” to be God—that God is a mind that pervades the entire Universe.

Is panpsychism a form of dualism?

Dualism. David Chalmers and Philip Goff have each described panpsychism as an alternative to both materialism and dualism.

What is the meaning of the existence of God?

Existence of God, in religion, the proposition that there is a supreme supernatural or preternatural being that is the creator or sustainer or ruler of the universe and all things in it, including human beings.

What is the difference between pantheism and Panentheism?

Unlike pantheism, which holds that the divine and the universe are identical, panentheism maintains an ontological distinction between the divine and the non-divine and the significance of both. While pantheism asserts that “all is God”, panentheism claims that God is greater than the universe.

What is a panpsychism theory?

Panpsychism is the view that mentality is fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world. Panpsychism, strange as it may sound on first hearing, promises a satisfying account of the human mind within a unified conception of nature.

Can panpsychism solve the mind-body problem?

I find that panpsychism avoids many of the issues that dualism and materialism must explain. Further, it provides a more coherent account of the universe. For these reasons, I conclude that panpsychism is the best solution to the mind-body problem.

What is a religion with multiple gods called?

Polytheism, the belief in many gods. Polytheism characterizes virtually all religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which share a common tradition of monotheism, the belief in one God.

What is the opposite of panpsychism?

Mørch: Physicalism and dualism are the two main alternatives to panpsychism. Sign up for Scientific American’s free newsletters. Sign Up. Physicalism implies that consciousness doesn’t exist.

What are the main arguments for the existence of God?

The argument claims that the universe is strongly analogous, in its order and regularity, to an artifact such as a watch; because the existence of the watch justifies the presumption of a watchmaker, the existence of the universe justifies the presumption of a divine creator of the universe, or God.

How is emergentism related to the philosophy of mind?

In philosophy, emergentism is the belief in emergence, particularly as it involves consciousness and the philosophy of mind, and as it contrasts (or not) with reductionism. A property of a system is said to be emergent if it is a new outcome of some other properties of the system and their interaction, while it is itself different from them.

When was the anti emergence argument for panpsychism published?

An important form of the anti-emergence argument for panpsychism (discussed below) was published by Thomas Nagel in 1979. Later David Griffin, in Unsnarling the World Knot (1998), espoused an atomistic panpsychism in the form of an explicit interpretation, extension and defense of Whitehead’s version of the doctrine.

What is the history of panpsychism in philosophy?

The view has a long and venerable history in philosophical traditions of both East and West, and has recently enjoyed a revival in analytic philosophy. For its proponents panpsychism offers an attractive middle way between physicalism on the one hand and dualism on the other.

How is Emergentism compatible with the theory of physicalism?

All varieties of emergentism strive to be compatible with physicalism, the theory that the universe is composed exclusively of physical entities, and in particular with the evidence relating changes in the brain with changes in mental functioning.