Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
We respond to eleven common objections to panpsychism.
Listen to the podcast here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/walden-pod/id1474408172
[References and further links are in the show notes of each episode]
Check out our sister show, Counter Apologetics, here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/counter-apologetics/id1273573417
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00:00 Introduction
05:20 (1) “The incredulous stare,” or an argument from strangeness, which appeals to our common sense and argues that panpsychism is forbiddingly counter-intuitive.
8:54 (2) Falsifiability. Isn’t panpsychism unfalsifiable?
11:03 (3) Isn’t physics entirely on the side of materialism?
17:33 (4) Wouldn’t panpsychism force us to add a particle to the standard model?
24:50 Interlude — a few advantages of panpsychism
27:13 (5) Pan-nifty-ism. Dan Dennett’s reductio cuts to the heart of the issue: is Nagelian consciousness reducible? Is what-it-is-like-ness analogous to élan vital or fluidity?
29:38 (6) Mysterianism. Should we even expect consciousness to be rationally intelligible?
33:36 (7) The woo accusation
35:29 (8) Is [insert inanimate object here] conscious?
36:19 (9) Won’t science eventually solve consciousness?
38:47 (10) Doesn’t panpsychism open the door to parapsychology and other pseudoscience?
42:31 (11) The Combination Problem. Widely considered to be the most serious difficulty facing panpsychism, the Combination Problem deserves a little extra time. The exact nature of the problem depends on your view of fundamental reality (the parts that are being combined) and the self (what is being formed through combination). We also discuss Galileo, the fusion view, Giulio Tononi’s Integrated Information Theory, and a few other related issues.
We respond to eleven common objections to panpsychism.
Listen to the podcast here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/walden-pod/id1474408172
[References and further links are in the show notes of each episode]
Check out our sister show, Counter Apologetics, here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/counter-apologetics/id1273573417
/ / / / / / /
00:00 Introduction
05:20 (1) “The incredulous stare,” or an argument from strangeness, which appeals to our common sense and argues that panpsychism is forbiddingly counter-intuitive.
8:54 (2) Falsifiability. Isn’t panpsychism unfalsifiable?
11:03 (3) Isn’t physics entirely on the side of materialism?
17:33 (4) Wouldn’t panpsychism force us to add a particle to the standard model?
24:50 Interlude — a few advantages of panpsychism
27:13 (5) Pan-nifty-ism. Dan Dennett’s reductio cuts to the heart of the issue: is Nagelian consciousness reducible? Is what-it-is-like-ness analogous to élan vital or fluidity?
29:38 (6) Mysterianism. Should we even expect consciousness to be rationally intelligible?
33:36 (7) The woo accusation
35:29 (8) Is [insert inanimate object here] conscious?
36:19 (9) Won’t science eventually solve consciousness?
38:47 (10) Doesn’t panpsychism open the door to parapsychology and other pseudoscience?
42:31 (11) The Combination Problem. Widely considered to be the most serious difficulty facing panpsychism, the Combination Problem deserves a little extra time. The exact nature of the problem depends on your view of fundamental reality (the parts that are being combined) and the self (what is being formed through combination). We also discuss Galileo, the fusion view, Giulio Tononi’s Integrated Information Theory, and a few other related issues.
