Knowledge Tree
proto-consciousness
Also known as: protoconsciousness
Facts (19)
Sources
Non-physicalist Theories of Consciousness cambridge.org Dec 20, 2023 11 facts
claimDual-aspect monism implies panpsychism (the view that consciousness is everywhere) or panprotopsychism (the view that protoconsciousness is everywhere), meaning even non-living entities like fundamental particles possess some fundamental form of consciousness or protoconsciousness.
perspectivePanprotopsychism is considered to have an advantage over panpsychism regarding the 'incredulous stare' objection because attributing protoconsciousness to particles or the cosmos is perceived as more plausible than attributing full-blown consciousness.
claimThe decombination problem is the version of the combination problem in cosmopsychism, which asks how less complex macroconsciousness arises from more complex cosmic consciousness or protoconsciousness.
claimGalen Strawson's argument regarding brute emergence supports panpsychism (in its strong version) or panprotopsychism (in its weak version), which are views that fundamental physical entities are conscious or protoconscious.
claimThe combination problem is the challenge of explaining how complex macroconsciousness (found in humans and animals) arises from the combination of simple microconsciousness (found in particles or other microphysical entities) or protoconsciousness.
claimPhysicalism is the view that the fundamental constituents of reality can be fully described by completed physics that is roughly continuous with current physics and does not treat consciousness or protoconsciousness as fundamental.
claimComplex consciousness, such as human and animal consciousness, is theorized to result from fundamental consciousness or protoconsciousness being combined in the correct manner.
claimThe recent resurgence of interest in dual-aspect monism is primarily driven by the argument that positing consciousness or protoconsciousness as the intrinsic nature of the physical offers the best explanation of how consciousness fits into the physical world, as noted by Alter and Nagasawa (2012) and Chalmers (2013).
perspectiveGalen Strawson endorses the dual-aspect monism version of panpsychism, which posits that fundamental physical entities are conscious or protoconscious because that is the intrinsic nature of their physical structure.
claimDual-aspect monists argue that positing unknown intrinsic properties is unnecessary when known properties like consciousness or protoconsciousness are available to perform the role of the intrinsic realizer of physical structure.
claimDual-aspect monism posits that everything, including particles, possesses both a physical and a (proto)mental aspect because (proto)consciousness is the intrinsic nature of physical properties, which physics describes only as structural or relational.
Quantum mechanics and the puzzle of human consciousness alleninstitute.org May 30, 2024 2 facts
claimRoger Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff hypothesize that microtubules, which are small structures found in neurons and other cells, weave moments of 'proto-consciousness' together to form full consciousness.
claimRoger Penrose, a Nobel Prize-winning cosmologist, has suggested that each collapse of a quantum superposition creates a moment of 'proto-consciousness.'
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2025 Edition) plato.stanford.edu May 23, 2001 2 facts
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 18, 2017 1 fact
claimPanprotopsychism is a position where proto-consciousness, rather than consciousness itself, is considered fundamental and ubiquitous.
AI Sessions #9: The Case Against AI Consciousness (with Anil Seth) conspicuouscognition.com Feb 17, 2026 1 fact
claimAnil Seth suggests that mini-brains constructed from biological neurons in labs are difficult to rule out as having some form of proto-consciousness because they are made of the same biological material as human brains.
Panpsychism - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimRussellian panpsychism is the view that quiddities are a form of consciousness, while Russellian panprotopsychism is the view that quiddities involve proto-consciousness.
Exploring “lucid sleep” and altered states of consciousness using ... philosophymindscience.org Jan 7, 2025 1 fact
referenceHobson (2009) proposed a theory of protoconsciousness in relation to REM sleep and dreaming, published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience.