#150 Materialist AND Panpsychism are True - Galen Strawson

#150 Materialist AND Panpsychism are True - Galen Strawson

From Within Reason by Alex J O'Connor

April 8, 2026 · 58 min

About this episode

Galen Strawson discusses the compatibility of materialism and panpsychism in relation to consciousness.

Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.Galen Strawson is a British analytic philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Is Radical Emergence Possible?08:15 - Can Physics Describe Consciousness?12:01 - Is Everything Made of Consciousness?18:34 - Why Are People Resistant to Panpsychism?21:19 - Can Experience Alone Tell Us What Consciousness Is?23:50 - Does Consciousness Require Complexity?29:03 - Panpsychism vs Idealism: What’s the Difference?36:08 - The Combination Problem40:03 - What is the “Self”?43:16 - Do We Even Need to Explain Consciousness?48:25 - Is Consciousness a Scientific or Philosophical Question?53:25 - Is It Possible for AI to Become Conscious?

People in this episode

Host: Alex J O'Connor

Guest: Galen Strawson

Topics covered

  • philosophy of mind
  • panpsychism
  • consciousness
  • metaphysics
  • resistance to panpsychism

Keywords

  • panpsychism
  • consciousness
  • philosophy
  • metaphysics
  • Galen Strawson

Sponsors

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Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche

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