Panpsychism is a philosophical theory that proposes mind or consciousness as a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality. It posits that all things possess mind or a mind-like quality. The term "panpsychism" originates from the Greek words "pan" (all) and "psyche" (soul or mind), and was coined in the sixteenth century by Italian philosopher Francesco Patrizi.
This concept is one of the oldest philosophical theories, with roots tracing back to pre-Socratic Greek philosophers like Thales (c. 624–545 BCE), who suggested that "everything is full of gods". Other figures associated with early panpsychist thought include Plato, Spinoza, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, William James, Alfred North Whitehead, and Bertrand Russell. While it saw a decline in the mid-20th century, recent interest in the "hard problem of consciousness" and developments in neuroscience, psychology, and quantum mechanics have led to its revival. Contemporary panpsychists generally believe that conscious experience is present everywhere at a fundamental level, but do not necessarily attribute complex mental states to microphysical entities.
Different forms of panpsychism exist, including cosmopsychism, panexperientialism, and Russellian monism. Panpsychism is distinct from hylozoism (the belief that all matter is living) and pantheism (the belief that everything is God). While the theory has garnered renewed attention, it faces criticisms regarding empirical testing, the problem of mental causation, and the combination problem.
