Philip Goff — Exploring Consciousness and Non-Ordinary Re...
Tim Ferriss·2026-07-14·via Comments for The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss
“Panpsychism is the view that consciousness goes all the way down to the fundamental building blocks of reality.” — Philip Goff
Philip Goff (@Philip_Goff)is a professor of philosophy at Durham University. His main research focus is consciousness, but he is interested in many questions about the nature of reality. He is most known for defending panpsychism, the view that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical world. Fifteen years ago, panpsychism was laughed at, if it was thought of at all. Goff has led a movement that has made panpsychism a mainstream position, taught to undergraduates and widely discussed in academic journals.
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Philip Goff — Exploring Consciousness and Non-Ordinary Religion, Galileo's Error, Panpsychism, Heretical Ideas, and Therapeutic Belief
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Gareth Cook: Pulitzer Prize-winning author who interviewed Philip for Scientific American.
Annaka Harris: Author, friend of Philip, sympathetic to Panpsychism.
Roger Penrose: Nobel Prize-winning physicist, proponent of quantum consciousness theories.
Stuart Hameroff: Scientist who collaborated with Penrose on consciousness theories.
Kurt Gödel: Logician known for incompleteness theorems.
Christof Koch: Neuroscientist involved in consciousness research, made a bet with Chalmers, associated with IIT.
David Chalmers: Philosopher known for work on consciousness, made a bet with Koch, proponent of Panpsychism, author of Reality+.
Giulio Tononi: Neuroscientist, key figure in Integrated Information Theory — IIT.
Max Planck: Physicist, father of quantum theory, quoted on consciousness being fundamental.
Galileo Galilei: Scientist pivotal in the scientific revolution, discussed for separating consciousness from physical science.
David Presti: Neuroscientist at UC Berkeley, editor of Mind Beyond Brain.
Steve Jurvetson: Venture capitalist discussed regarding quantum computing (Tim Ferriss Show #317).
Bertrand Russell: Philosopher and logician, key influence on Philip, proponent of ideas foundational to modern Panpsychism, author of Why I Am Not a Christian.
Charles Darwin: Biologist, used as a comparison for Russell’s impact.
Arthur Eddington: Scientist who confirmed Einstein’s theory, worked on consciousness/Panpsychism with Russell.
Albert Einstein: Physicist, creator of the theory of general relativity.
Isaac Newton: Physicist whose theory of gravity was updated by Einstein.
Stephen Hawking: Physicist, author of A Brief History of Time.
William James: Philosopher and psychologist, major influence on Philip, known for Varieties of Religious Experience and The Will to Believe.
Karen Armstrong: Historian of religion, author of The Case for God.
Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT): A functional architecture that relates consciousness to cognitive abilities such as perception, attention, memory, and evaluation.
Soul: Immaterial essence, traditionally seat of consciousness.
Dualism: Philosophical view of mind and matter as distinct.
Lisan al Gaib: From Arabic — in Dune, this is the Fremen term for their offworld prophet or messiah.
Concepts (Science/Math/Psychology)
Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems: Mathematical theorems showing limits of provability in formal systems, with deep implications for mathematics and logic.
Predicate Logic: A branch of formal logic incorporating quantifiers, variables, and predicates to express relationships and make inferences about objects.
Microtubules: Cellular structures in neurons’ cytoskeleton proposed by some theorists to play a role in consciousness through quantum processes.
Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC): The minimal neural systems sufficient for specific conscious experiences, forming a key research program in neuroscience.
Integrated Information Theory (IIT): Scientific theory proposing that consciousness emerges from complex integrated information systems in the brain.
Phi: Measure of integrated information used in IIT to quantify the amount of consciousness in a system.
Schrödinger Equation: Fundamental equation in quantum mechanics describing how quantum states evolve over time.
Schrödinger’s Cat: Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment in quantum mechanics that is simultaneously kind and unkind to a feline frenemy.
Superposition: Quantum mechanical principle where particles exist in multiple states simultaneously until measured.
Born Rule: Fundamental rule in quantum mechanics that determines probability distributions of measurement outcomes.
General Relativity: The geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915.
Cosmological Constant: The simplest possible explanation for dark energy, used in the standard model of cosmology known as the ?CDM model.
MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors): Class of chemicals that inhibit monoamine oxidase enzymes, used in antidepressants and found in ayahuasca.
[00:11:19] Common misunderstandings about panpsychism.
[00:16:08] Roger Penrose and quantum consciousness.
[00:17:26] Gödel’s incompleteness theorem.
[00:19:22] The challenges of scientific consensus on consciousness.
[00:21:35] Integrated Information Theory (IIT).
[00:27:17] What early quantum pioneers like Max Planck and Niels Bohr thought about consciousness.
[00:33:15] Defining consciousness and qualia.
[00:35:41] Galileo’s Error: How science removed consciousness from study.
[00:41:03] Materialist vs. panpsychist.
[00:43:30] The neuroanatomical seat of consciousness debate.
[00:45:41] Scientific challenges around the public observation of consciousness.
[00:50:35] Exploring potential payoffs and ethical considerations of figuring out consciousness.
[00:57:01] How virtual reality reminded Philip to appreciate ordinary reality.
[01:00:31] Bertrand Russell and William James as philosophical heroes.
[01:02:05] Science seems mum on the matter of matter.
[01:06:53] William James and mystical experiences.
[01:09:20] Philip’s journey as a “heretical Christian.”
[01:19:23] Why Philip left Christianity at age 14.
[01:20:20] Rediscovering mystical traditions within Christianity.
[01:31:41] Karen Armstrong on the modern corruption of religious belief.
[01:33:56] Is true belief a prerequisite for building a community through religion and enjoying its therapeutic benefits?
[01:48:40] Psychedelics and numinous experiences.
[01:51:36] Sufism and mystical poetry.
[01:56:10] Renaming traditional religious terms for broader accessibility.
[02:01:09] The potential resurgence of religion and new spiritual movements.
[02:05:42] Philip’s billboard.
[02:08:36] Parting thoughts.
MORE PHILIP GOFF QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW
“Panpsychism is the view that consciousness goes all the way down to the fundamental building blocks of reality.” — Philip Goff
“Don’t start from ‘What do I want?’ Start from ‘How can I contribute?’ I think happiness flows from that.” — Philip Goff
“The way the word ‘consciousness’ is standardly used, I think in both science and philosophy, it just means subjective experience. Your consciousness is just what it’s like to be you.” — Philip Goff
“I’m not here saying, ‘Oh, this is the one true faith you’ve got to believe.’ … I’m interested in different experiments in living, and I think there’s a way of engaging religion that perhaps not everyone is fully aware of.” — Philip Goff
“Physical science doesn’t really tell us what matter is … ultimately, at base, physics just gives us mathematical structure. And so in a sense, physics doesn’t care what matter is, it doesn’t care what physical reality is, it just cares what its mathematical structure is.” — Philip Goff
“We don’t know if we can get consciousness out of physics, but we know we can get physics out of consciousness.” — Philip Goff
[On the integrated information theory:] “The proposal is that at the exact moment when a system has more integrated information in the whole than in the parts, that’s when the lights come on. That’s when you get consciousness.” — Philip Goff
