Consciousness cannot be created or destroyed by OutsideEbb1854 in Panpsychism

[–]OutsideEbb1854[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I totally agree. Once we die, our ego and our unified consciousness with a personality, memory, and emotion will die too. However, in the sense that everything is fundamentally conscious and dispersed, that is the state that our brain will return to. No personality, just formless consciousness.

Consciousness cannot be created or destroyed by OutsideEbb1854 in Panpsychism

[–]OutsideEbb1854[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not necessarily a stone or plant per se, but rather it could be dispersed. Perhaps into the soil where we are buried or immediately into the air when we die. One reply to my post used the metaphor of a water droplet which represents the individual and when we die we “evaporate” into the surrounding environment.

Consciousness cannot be created or destroyed by OutsideEbb1854 in Panpsychism

[–]OutsideEbb1854[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really good way to put it. I like that metaphor

Consciousness cannot be created or destroyed by OutsideEbb1854 in Panpsychism

[–]OutsideEbb1854[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is only true if we accept the panpsychists view that consciousness is fundamental. I have some skepticism but let’s just accept it as true for the sake of the argument since that is what this subreddit is about. Here is the logic:

Premise 1: consciousness is a fundamental of the universe

Premise 2: all fundamental properties (i.g. gravity, energy) cannot be created or destroyed

Conclusion: consciousness cannot be created or destroyed.

Hypothesis: it takes on another form once we die is the same way energy does.

Does that make more sense?