A new scientific concept has recently come to light, which scientists are calling “panpsychism.” Panpsychism says that the universe could be capable of consciousness, which could change everything.
For quite some time, scientists have been working to understand the universe, where it came from, and why we are here. However, they have often come up short until now. The scientist responsible for such a notion is Gregory Matloff, and his ideas are shocking, to say the least.
According to Matloff, a physicist at New York City College of Technology, in his recently published paper, humans could be like the rest of the universe, in substance and in spirit. Futurism reported that a “proto-consciousness field” could extend throughout all space. Basically, in lamens terms, the entire cosmos could be self-aware.
Another supporter of panpsychism is Christof Koch of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. He says that biological organisms are conscious because when they approach a new situation, they are able to change their behavior in order to thwart a bad situation. Due to this view, he is trying to see if he can measure the level of consciousness a being displays.
In order to accomplish this, he will be running a number of experiments, including one that includes wiring the brains of two mice together to see if the information will flow between the two like a fused, integrated system would.
“The only dominant theory we have of consciousness says that it is associated with complexity — with a system’s ability to act upon its own state and determine its own fate,” Koch argues. “Theory states that it could go down to very simple systems. In principle, some purely physical systems that are not biological or organic may also be conscious.”
As it stands, panpsychism is just in the experimental phase. However, if scientists are able to prove their theory, it could shake the world of science to its core. What do you think, is the universe conscious?