The idea that the cosmos can be conscious has intrigued scientists and philosophers for centuries.
Known as 'panpsychism', this fascinating concept suggests that the universe is a conscious entity and that stars and other bodies have the ability to think and direct their own ways.
It may seem strange, but the number of supporters of this concept is growing in the scientific community, and the number of those who categorically refuted it is decreasing.
Physicist Gregory Matloff of the New York College of Technology recently published a new paper on the subject. In it, he assumes that the “field of protoconsciousness” can spread throughout the entire Universe and that, like humans, the cosmos itself can have consciousness.
“This is all very speculative, but it is something that we can check and either confirm or deny,” he said.
Much of today's interest in panpsychism stems from the work of British physicist Sir Roger Penrose, who, 30 years ago, put forward the idea that a conscious universe is rooted in the statistical principles of quantum physics regarding the microscopic spaces between neurons in the brain.
This idea is supported by the German physicist Bernard Heisch, who suggests that quantum fields permeating empty space are responsible for the transfer of consciousness.
This manifests itself not only in our own brains, but in any sufficiently complex structure.
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Whether this is something that we will truly ever be able to understand, however, remains to be seen.