In order to help explain why brains have complicated thoughts, philosophers have long realized that it would help to suppose that rocks and trees have simple thoughts. Such, at least, is the genetic argument for panpsychism. In order to avoid positing a special creation for the human psyche, we would do well to suppose that matter generally has a tendency toward the psychological. Even atoms then must have a potential or actual inner life.

Modern philosophers, wanting to avoid the atavistic associations of panpsychism, prefer phrases such as 'neutral monism' or 'agnostic materialism' to describe their position. Thus do they hope to avoid the pitfalls of materialism, immaterialism and dualism. But is there a solid or coherent middle ground?

Panpsychism posits a necessary link between mind and matter. It tolerates no discarnate spirits. Quantum theory does seem to support such linkage, if only in the sense that quantum systems do engage in some rather 'spooky' behavior, well beyond what could be tolerated mechanistically. The extra degrees of freedom in the quantum domain might well support some sort of hidden, inner presence.

Neutral monists can and do cite the quantum domain as a locale for psychological laws and potencies that are exploited in higher organisms. This teleological requirement puts a much greater strain on the already overburdened 'Anthropic principle.' Besides the very stringent constraints imposed upon physics to enable the evolution of planetary life, there are further design considerations needed to channel psychological evolution into the robust inner lives of, say, higher primates. The initial conditions for an observable universe are becoming unwieldy to an extreme.

What I find most peculiar in this recent philosophical development is the presupposition of a mind-matter link. It is arbitrary and somewhat antiquated. It is much less arbitrary to posit the unintelligibility of an unobservable universe.

The next step is to appreciate the Kantian realization that if a space-time manifold did not already exist, then surely intelligences would and could create such a construct out of the noumenal domain. If one is able to imagine the evolution of mind out of physics, then why not consider the converse?

As a final observation, notice that this modern panpsychism is beholden to an atomistic materialism. It seems to require those atomic hooks to prevent the mental potentiality from sliding off into the noumenal void.

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rev. 11/16/97