Where does Consciousness Stop? | Dr Niki Young

About the Talk
What is it like to be an atom? Could consciousness be as basic to reality as space, time, or energy? Panpsychism suggests that the mind is not confined to humans or (some?) animals but is rather a fundamental feature of the physical world; rather than emerging from complexity, consciousness might be built into matter itself. In this talk, Niki Young explores the history and philosophical motivations behind panpsychism, its contrast with materialist and dualist accounts, and the questions it raises about how we understand mind, nature, and the fabric of experience. Whether persuasive or provocative, panpsychism offers a lens through which one of philosophy’s oldest problems - namely, the issue of experience - takes on a different shape.


About the Speaker
Dr Niki Young is a Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Malta. His areas of interest include 20th and 21st Century Continental Philosophy, Phenomenology, Aesthetics, Deconstruction, as well as various forms of New Realism and Materialism. He has contributed to a number of publications related to philosophy and contemporary art. He currently also acts as an advisor for Graham Harman’s forthcoming work which seeks to provide an elaborate synthesis and development of the ideas advanced by the author during the past two decades.

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