Some philosophers argue every particle in the universe has a trace of consciousness
Panpsychism holds that mind or experience isn't something that switches on only in brains, but a basic feature of matter itself, present in some minimal form all the way down to electrons. Proponents argue it solves a gap no other theory fully closes: how physical stuff could give rise to felt experience if none of the ingredients have any experience to begin with. It's a minority position, but has gained serious academic defenders as other proposed solutions to consciousness kept falling short.
— Philip Goff, Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness — Pantheon Books, 2019
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