Mind: A Brief Introduction (John R. Searle) / quote 108 of 138
Panpsychism: consciousness is everywhere
Pan-psychism is the view that consciousness is everywhere. This view is seldom stated explicitly, but it is implicit in several authors particularly among the mysterians who think that if we are going to explain consciousness in terms of microprocesses, then, somehow or other, some form of consciousness must already be present in the microprocesses. At one time Thomas Nagel flirted with this view, and David Chalmers8 explores it and supports it, though he does not explicitly endorse it. On this view, everything is conscious to some degree. In giving an example of the ubiquity of consciousness, Chalmers eloquently describes what it might be like to be a conscious thermostat.