Is consciousness a basic property of the universe?

Have you ever heard of panpsychism? It's the ancient notion, pre-dating the Stoic philosophers and going back all the way to the pre-Socratic Heraclitus, that the universe itself is permeated by intelligence.

Some contemporary philosophers have revived the idea in order to solve what they call the "hard problem" of consciousness, i.e., how is it possible that matter gives rise to first-person experiences. The reasoning is that if consciousness is elemental, then of course beings with a lot of atoms in their bodies will be highly conscious.

Is this good metaphysics or pseudo-philosophy? Do we have any empirical way to find out? Does modern physics have anything to tell us about it?

Suggested reading: https://aeon.co/amp/ideas/why-panpsychism-fails-to-solve-the-mystery-of-consciousness

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