Epiphenomenalism Vs Panpsychism

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by its ability to further conceptualize ideas not previously revealed to us. Most people in their lives will not have the opportunity to witness either masterpiece first hand, yet we can conceptualize the physical images in our minds.

How does consciousness, something that is purely mental and different from the brain which is physical, interact with the brain and body? The Epiphenomenalist proposes that states of consciousness cannot have casuation on physical states. Take into account our own natural introspection of mental occurrences. This skill was never taught to us yet we are introspectively aware of our capability and our daily utilization of the power of deduction. Consider a moment of genuine inspiration- putting pen to paper or developing a new belief based from our previous disposition. Furthermore, if Epiphenomenalism is correct in that our brains should not have knowledge about our mind or that we are currently conscious. Then the mind cannot affect anything that is physical such as our brain, knowing you have a mind.

The greatest criticism of panpsychism is its lack of scientific evidence. We cannot show that a rock or another object, inanimate or otherwise, has any amount of mentality or subjective experience to any degree. Similarly, we cannot scientifically detect nor measure a mind or consciousness in anything. Where does consciousness and, or the mind end and begin? While there is no definitive answer we can suppose that nothing, including consciousness, arises from nothing. Therefore consciousness or some form of it must have been present at the origins of our universe. This goes directly against the theory of Emergence, which states that consciousness is possible in systems that are complex enough to develop the basis for a mind. I, on the other hand, believe that the subjective human experience, that is consciousness, is more complex and is far deeper than objective empirical numbers and figures can account for.

At its core, consciousness is difficult to grasp on paper or otherwise. Both Epiphenomenalism and Panpsychism attempt to describe the boundaries of the mind and consciousness. The Epiphenomenalist would tell us our minds have no effect on our bodies while the Panpsychist would describe a world where everything has a mind. Hard empirical evidence that can be repeated and explained by the physical laws that govern the world as far as we understand, cannot prove the legitimacy of Epiphenomenalism nor Pansychism. These theories provide a starting point to the study of the most mysterious phenomenon that man has ever witnessed, the subjective, human experience that we call consciousness.

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