....always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:7 NIV
"A new movement in some science circles could have theists wishing for the good old days of battling materialism. 2 Timothy 3:7 NIV
It’s called panpsychism. Live Science writes about it in “Minds Everywhere: ‘Panpsychism’ Takes Hold in Science.”
Here’s how the article opens:
Are humans living in a simulation?
Is consciousness nothing more than the firing of neurons in the brain?
Or is consciousness a distinct entity that permeates every speck of matter in the universe?
A conference was held in San Francisco recently at “the Victorian home of Susan McTavish Best, a
The present article reports that some scientists are moving away from materialism (which is good). But if “consciousness” is viewed as an entity that “permeates every speck of matter in the universe,” theists will have a whole new ball of wax to deal with. Actually, it’s an old ball of wax called pantheism (or panentheism).
In its extreme form, it could undo science altogether. Philosophers have put forward many notions of consciousness.
* The materialist notion holds that consciousness can be fully explained by the the firing of neurons in the human brain,
* while mind-body dualism argues that the soul or mind is distinct from, and can potentially outlive, the body.
Under the notion of panpsychism, a kind of re-boot of ancient animistic ideas, every speck of matter has a kind of proto-consciousness. When aggregated in particular ways, all this proto-consciousness turns into a sense of inner awareness. And other, Eastern philosophies have held that consciousness is the only real thing in the universe, Kuhn said. Neuroscientists and many philosophers have typically planted themselves firmly on the materialist side. But a growing number of scientists now believe that materialism cannot wholly explain the sense of “I am” that undergirds consciousness, Kuhn told the audience.
But if everything is conscious, what is science to work on? Understanding the world becomes a process of subjugation of the individual mind to the universal mind.
* Visions of Eastern meditation,
* prayers to trees and
* fear of spirits in everything comes back into view:
* a return to the paganism from which science tried to escape.
If history shows anything, though, it’s this: ideas have consequences. You can reason with a materialist because usually the person respects science, logic, and observation. Anyone who has tried to reason with an Eastern mystic or animist knows how much harder it is to come to any agreement on a propositional argument.
Pantheism robs the soul of any desire to understand the world; Christian apologists will rue the day that panpsychism replaces materialism. Better get equipped now to deal with it." CEH
