In Defence of Cosmopsychism

A Fundamental Approach to the Problem of Consciousness

In this original study Khai Wager explores cosmopsychism – an approach that argues that the cosmos as a whole is conscious and that human consciousness is derived from it – and its relation to cognate views such as panpsychism, panqualityism and perennialism.

The problem of phenomenal consciousness surfaces when we try to understand how it can be that our human consciousness arises from entirely non-conscious matter. Reflecting the growing interest in panpsychism, which argues consciousness does not emerge from entirely non-conscious matter, but rather that all matter is in some sense already conscious, Wager draws our attention to the combination problem: how do these small instances of consciousness combine to form larger instances? He demonstrates that cosmopsychism turns panpsychism on its head, reasoning to macro-level consciousness from a more fundamental form at the cosmic level. However, it faces its own challenge in the derivation problem: how is macro-level consciousness derived from the cosmic consciousness?

This volume brings a cosmopsychism approach into critical engagement with panpsychism and investigates their respective handling of these problems, together with looking beyond these views to panqualityism and perennialism. Setting out an overall defence of cosmopsychism and attuning to enduring currents of human thought, it will be of interest to students and scholars of philosophy of mind and metaphysics as well as philosophy of religion, philosophy of psychology and cognitive science.

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