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Relations (1)
related 12.00 — strongly supporting 8 facts
Panpsychism relates to electrons because it posits that electrons instantiate basic consciousness as part of their intrinsic nature [1][2], with human consciousness emerging from such micro-experiences in fundamental particles like electrons [3], though critics highlight issues like the combination problem for electrons' experiences [4][5].
Facts (8)
Sources
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu 3 facts
claimPanpsychism is often incorrectly characterized as the belief that fundamental particles like electrons or quarks possess complex mental states such as hopes, dreams, or existential angst.
claimMany philosophers and non-philosophers reject panpsychism because they find the idea that fundamental physical constituents, such as electrons, have conscious experience to be deeply counterintuitive.
claimThe panpsychist proposal regarding electrons suggests that while physics describes how an electron behaves, the electron itself is essentially a thing that instantiates consciousness of an extremely basic kind.
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2025 Edition) plato.stanford.edu 1 fact
perspectivePanpsychists propose that human and animal consciousness should be explained in terms of more basic forms of consciousness, which are postulated as properties of the fundamental constituents of the material world, such as quarks and electrons.
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu 1 fact
claimA person who believes that amoebas have experiences but that the quarks and electrons constituting them do not is not a panpsychist.
Critique of Panpsychism: Philosophical Coherence and Scientific ... thequran.love 1 fact
claimPanpsychism is criticized for being untestable because panpsychists do not claim that the mental aspect of particles changes their publicly observable behavior, meaning electrons behave the same under panpsychist assumptions as they do under standard physics.
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2015 Edition) plato.stanford.edu 1 fact
claimA primary objection to panpsychism is the apparent lack of evidence that fundamental physical entities, such as protons, electrons, and photons, possess mentalistic characteristics.
David Chalmers on the meta-problem of consciousness selfawarepatterns.com 1 fact
claimThe author of the source text argues that panpsychism involves an irreducible notion of consciousness, where proponents assert that consciousness in entities like neurons, proteins, molecules, atoms, or electrons is a primitive building block rather than the consciousness familiar to humans.