Eye on A.I. · Monday, June 29, 2026
Philip Goff notes a historical trend in attributing consciousness to a wider range of beings, starting with only humans, then extending to animals, and recently to insects and reptiles. This progression suggests a broader understanding of consciousness, which aligns with the pansychist view that consciousness is a fundamental property present even in the simplest building blocks of the universe.
“I mean, in a way you might see it as a continuation of a trend that's been going on for some time now. You know, at the start of the scientific revolution, we thought only we were conscious and animals were sort of unfeeling mechanisms. And then over time, we've attributed consciousness to more and more animals, starting off with higher primates, other mammals, only fairly recently, birds and fish are typically attributed consciousness.”
“And then, um, maybe a couple of years ago now, there were a couple of hundred scientists signing a letter that they take insect and reptile consciousness seriously.”
“So pansychists take this to its logical conclusion, holding that not only the simplest forms of life, but the molecules, atoms, subatomic particles making up life, has its own very, very simple forms of consciousness.”