Scientists Are Taking Seriously a Theory That Says Animals, Plants — Even Atoms May Have Consciousness

Consciousness is the state of being aware of yourself, that you know you exist, and being aware of your environment, that you exist in a specific place. It combines both internal factors, like your emotions, thoughts, senses, and memories, with external factors such as the sounds, other beings, and objects.

It is the unique perspective of reality that each intelligent individual has, also known as subjective experience. Scientists argue that there are different levels of consciousness in conscious beings, but a new theory is suggesting that everything from animals and plants to atoms may all have consciousness.

A Radical Shift in Understanding Consciousness

For hundreds of years, since the term consciousness was invented back in the 17th century, scientists believed that only humans and a few animals have this trait. However, a growing number of experts are taking this new theory seriously and giving it a chance to be explored, a theory named panpsychism.

Panpsychism states that consciousness is a fundamental aspect of everything, whether it’s animals, plants, or even atoms themselves. This new theory challenges the traditional views we have about only a select intelligent life being conscious. Now, we have to consider if subjective experience is spread throughout the universe.

Read more: WIRED

Consciousness Beyond the Animal Kingdom

New Science Thinks Atoms Are Conscious

While animal consciousness is widely accepted, because we know a few of them are aware of themselves, the idea that plants, down to atoms, are conscious is new.

Scientists who believe in panpsychism argue that if consciousness derives from a physical process, then all matter could have basic consciousness. Which simply means that it is a trait that is not only exclusive to complex organisms but a natural feature of all matter.

Scientific Theories Supporting Panpsychism

There are already some theories that support panpsychism, such as the Integrated Information Theory (IIT). It is a mathematical theory that argues consciousness is also a fundamental property of the universe because everything has information integrated in it to form a system.

This is a theory that aligns well with panpsychism; the main difference is that Integrated Information Theory is mathematical or quantitative, while panpsychism is philosophical, but both are rooted in science and physics.

Integrated Information Theory did not specifically say this point, but an atom could be considered a system because it has multiple particles, such as neutrons, electrons, and protons, interacting with each other to form atoms. With this logic, panpsychism could be right, because if even the smallest particles are working together to be something else, then it could be a great sign that they may have consciousness.

Read more: Psychology Today

Implications and Future Directions

Embracing panpsychism will change almost everything we have ever known, because all matter is made up of atoms, and if the fundamental building blocks of everything have consciousness, then we have to reevaluate how we interact with the world around us.

As research continues, our very understanding of reality might change if it is proven. The exploration of consciousness in all levels of existence might give us the answer we are looking for: how we and everything came to be.

Is Every Living Thing Conscious? Even Plants?

Author's Final Thoughts

Panpsychism is gaining traction in the scientific community. If all animals, plants, and even atoms are conscious, then we might realize just how interconnected and intentional our universe is. Maybe we are not a product of a big explosion, but were designed by small, tiny conscious particles deciding for themselves to work together to form an even higher form of intelligence, until we arrive at a state of something that we call alive.

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