Panpsychism is a New Form of Creationism

In a recent post, I criticized panpsychism for following the same mantra as creationists. Just as creationists could not believe in Darwinian evolution because it challenged their cherished beliefs in the divine and in our uniqueness within creation, panpsychists are hesitant to explain consciousness in terms of physical processes out of a fear that this would rob consciousness of its magical properties. The fact that science makes only gradual progress, and that there is always more to learn about complex phenomena, is taken by both creationists and panpsychists as a reason to reject the possibility of a scientific explanation outright.

Unsurprisingly, panpsychists resisted my charge that their view constitutes a potential case of pseudophilosophy, just as creationism is a pseudoscience. However, in a recent post, the panpsychist Nino Kadic who I have previously engaged with, tellingly reveals an anti-Darwinian attitude shared perhaps by the majority of philosophers in treating consciousness as binary. This is a common attitude shared by many philosophers who have refused to take Darwin seriously because of his radical implications for philosophy. It is here that we can see the close relationship between panpsychism and the pseudoscience of creationism once more.

Let’s dissect his essay, which summarizes the vagueness discussion about consciousness well.

Get full access to Walter Veit at walterveit.substack.com/subscribe