Panpsychism and the Human-Nature Relationship: Historical Insights and Ethical Implications

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

What would – or should – change in our everyday behaviour if, in any interaction with the environment, we were dealing with entities capable of thought and experience? Could a different appreciation of the nature and capacities of non-human entities challenge the traditional anthropocentrism which dominates Western culture? To address these questions, this project investigates ways in which panpsychism has historically entailed a reconsideration of the role and place of humanity within the universe. It builds on the hypothesis that past panpsychist philosophical accounts can inform innovative approaches to how we understand the relationship between us and the environment in which we live. The project focuses on four prominent 17th-century panpsychist philosophers – Margaret Cavendish, Baruch Spinoza, Anne Conway, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz – alongside Renaissance sources, whose natural philosophy laid the groundwork for early modern panpsychism – such as Girolamo Cardano, Bernardino Telesio, Francesco Patrizi, Giordano Bruno, and Tommaso Campanella. It examines how panpsychist philosophy emerged and spread across the 16th and 17th centuries, and how ideas on the ubiquitous presence of mentality led these thinkers to reframe the relationship between humans and nature. The project then uses these research results to investigate the extent to which early modern panpsychism can speak to issues discussed in present-day environmental ethics. By studying the various ways in which the target authors conceived of the ubiquity of mentality, this project – hosted at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Oulu – will offer the first detailed study of panpsychism in the Renaissance and early modern period in Western Europe, and will systematize historical material that can be used today for a redefinition of the relationship between humans and the environment.