How does panpsychism explain that the universe is conscious? Some philosophers have started saying that the universe contains integrated information like our brain and therefore the universe is conscious just like our brain is conscious, but unlike the universe our brain exchanges information through a computing system while the universe is not a computing system like the brain, how do panpsychism who believe that consciousness is a fundamental matter like mass and energy explain this?
1 Answer
Sheldrake thinks the Sun and stars are conscious. He even uses this to explain dark matter. The stars are volatile stars lookiñg for other stars to eat but only in the plane of motion.
This behavior is explained by the stars emitting matter rays in the desired direction (which magically coincides with direction in which gravity seems to diverge from normal matter gravity).
The consciousness originates in the complex motioons of plasma and the associated magnetic fields. It's a very low form of consciousness though. It has a huge basis (the Sun is a zillion times bigger than the brain). The complexity can't top, or even tip the complexity of the brain.
If you consider the whole universe than then you see that most parts are not in causal contact. This is needed for conscsciousness. Only parts are causally connected like parts of our observable universe. Parts over the horizon don't know anything of parts in front of it.
What about the causally connected parts? I think you agree that there are no processes complex enough. Not even the process of the whole. Unless you see us and all living creatures as part of the universe. Which we are. So the universe can be conscious!