Scientists Believe the Universe Itself has a Conscience and is Self-Aware

An interesting, although highly controversial idea, is taking hold with at least some scientists and philosophers of late: that the universe may itself be a conscious and self-aware entity. The belief—panpsychism—is that consciousness is inherent in reality and intricately sewn into the cosmos’ very fabric.

This perhaps insults our view, held commonly today, of consciousness as solely biological. According to this theory, its proponents would argue that at different scales of the universe—from subatomic particles to galaxies—consciousness can permeate in the cosmos.

Durham University philosopher Philip Goff says, “The Universe being conscious is not as extravagant a hypothesis as you might think. Physics is just mathematical structure and there has to be something that breathes fire into the equations.” That view is one that asks us to rethink our place in the universe and our understanding of consciousness.

This is, however, very speculative theory, and the debate in the scientific community is not yet over. Researchers meanwhile are probing possible relations with quantum mechanics in trying to understand better this mysterious something called consciousness.

By contrast, Christof Koch, the chief scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and Giulio Tononi, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, came up with the Integrated Information Theory. That is to say, they take consciousness to be an integral, primary feature of the universe, not so unlike mass or charge. Thus, in their account, every device or system able to process and integrate information—from the human brain down to the thermostat—bears a small glimmer of consciousness.

“The only dominant theory we have of consciousness says that it is associated with complexity — with a system’s ability to act upon its own state and determine its own fate,” Koch explains. “Theory states that it could go down to very simple systems. In principle, some purely physical systems that are not biological or organic may also be conscious.”

Critics of the theory of the conscious universe say it anthropomorphizes the cosmos and lacks empirical evidence. Some scientists even go to the extent of suggesting that human consciousness might be an illusion. This only goes to show that the study and definition of consciousness in ourselves, let alone in the universe at large, is still a challenge.

And with this research in the field, scientists are coming up with new experiments to test the relationship between consciousness and quantum mechanics. Such studies can offer invaluable insight into the nature of consciousness and a potential relation it might have with the basic laws of the universe.

The idea of a conscious universe is, in the final analysis, highly speculative, but it has already succeeded in creating important discussions regarding the nature of consciousness, reality, and our place in the cosmos. As we go about answering these deep questions, we might just stumble upon new information that changes our perception of ourselves and the cosmos.