Hedda Hassel Mørch (pronounced "Murk") is a Norwegian philosopher specializing in philosophy of mind and metaphysics. She is known for her work on panpsychism, neutral monism, liberal versions of physicalism, and the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of consciousness.
Dispositional panpsychism is a variety of panpsychism that integrates dispositionalism, which is the view that fundamental physical properties are irreducible causal powers, with the thesis of phenomenal consciousness, which is the qualitative “what it is like” aspect of consciousness. The view is advocated by Hedda Hassel Mørch, who argues that the only causal powers we can positively conceive of are mental properties, specifically those involving volition, motivation, or agency.[1] Drawing on the "argument from the experience of causation”, historically traced to philosophers such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Arthur Schopenhauer, and William James, the view posits that our direct experience of our own agency serves as the only positively conceivable model for the intrinsic nature of physical causation, so that all relations in the world involve a phenomenal aspect, making the view a form of panpsychism.[2] Central to this account is the "phenomenal powers view”, according to which phenomenal properties, such as pain or pleasure, are not merely qualitative but are intrinsically powerful. For example, the feeling of pain necessarily motivates avoidance behavior in virtue of its specific phenomenal character.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 Mørch, H.H. (2020), "Does Dispositionalism Entail Panpsychism?", Topoi, 39, Springer: 1073–1088
- ↑ Mørch, Hedda Hassel (2019), Seager, William (ed.), The Argument for Panpsychism from Experience of Causation, The Routledge Handbook of Panpsychism. Routledge.
- ↑
- "Beyond Physicalism: Philosopher Hedda Hassel Mørch defends the idea that consciousness pervades the cosmos", John Horgan, Scientific American, December 9, 2019