🌀 The Combination Problem in Panpsychism — and How Similarity Theory Resolves It
A Foundational Page of Similarity Theory
By Simon Raphael
🧠 Similarity Theory is not Panpsychism — and not Dualism
Although Similarity Theory addresses many of the same questions as panpsychism — such as how consciousness arises and connects across scales — it is a distinct and independent framework.
It does not propose one universal consciousness, nor does it divide reality into two incompatible substances as dualism does.
Instead, it describes a pluralist cosmos composed of countless individual consciousnesses, which can merge temporarily into collectives but always retain their identity.
Unity, in Similarity Theory, is emergent and reversible — never absolute and never imposed from above.
This key difference separates it from both panpsychism and dualism, giving it a unique place among theories of mind and reality.
🔹 1. Introduction
In panpsychism, consciousness is considered a fundamental feature of reality. Every atom, particle, and physical system holds a spark of awareness — a “micro-consciousness.” This perspective elegantly sidesteps the “hard problem of consciousness” — the puzzle of how subjective experience arises from purely physical matter (1).
Yet panpsychism faces a formidable challenge: the combination problem (2). If each atom has its own private awareness, how do countless micro-consciousnesses merge into the single conscious self we each experience? A person is composed of trillions of atoms, yet experiences reality as a unified “I,” not as trillions of disconnected observers.
This has been called the Achilles’ heel of panpsychism (3). Traditional formulations often struggle to explain how many small experiences fuse into a single coherent field of awareness.
🔹 2. The Combination Problem Explained
2.1 ❓ Definition
The combination problem asks: How can distinct conscious entities fuse into a larger conscious entity without either losing their own awareness or existing as mere mechanical parts?
2.2 📻 The Micro-to-Macro Gap
Imagine each atom in your brain as a person in a stadium, each tuned to a different radio station. Without a unifying system, the result would be noise — no coherent song, no shared perception.
2.3 ❓ Why It’s Difficult for Standard Panpsychism
Standard panpsychism treats each micro-awareness as self-contained, with no built-in mechanism for binding. While some propose “integration” or “entanglement” as solutions, these often lean on speculative physics without addressing the structural gap (4).
🔹 3. How Similarity Theory Resolves the Problem
3.1 🌌 Consciousness as an Organising Force
In Similarity Theory, consciousness is not merely in things — it is a structural force operating across dimensions and time, organising matter and energy into coherent patterns.
Micro-consciousnesses are not isolated sparks; they are linked in a patterned field.
Just as gravity shapes planetary orbits, consciousness shapes micro-awareness into unified wholes.
3.2 🌀 Hierarchical Self-Similarity
The framework rests on self-similarity across scales (as above, so below). The unification of consciousness mirrors the unification of physical structures:
Micro scale: quantum events cohere into atomic states.
Human scale: trillions of micro-units resonate into a unified subjective field — “Self.”
Cosmic scale: planetary minds emerge from the resonance of billions of organisms, eventually combining into a universal mind.
Because the pattern repeats at all scales, binding is not an exception — it is structurally inevitable.
3.3 🔒 Awareness Within Structural Order
In Similarity Theory, every conscious unit — whether atom, molecule, or cell — possesses awareness. Yet this awareness does not operate in isolation. Once a unit becomes part of a larger structure, it is compelled to follow the organising rules of that structure.
Just as humans live within the universe and must obey the laws of physics — unable to step outside gravity, or breathe without air — so too do atoms, molecules, and cells live within the “physics” of their host system. A single atom in the body may be aware, but it cannot simply decide to act independently. It must cohere to the larger order: the body.
Occasionally, however, a unit develops its own independent awareness, no longer aligned with the rules of the whole. A cancer cell, for instance, stops obeying the systemic order of the body and attempts to create its own. From the human perspective, this appears as illness, conflict, or breakdown. Yet the same principle can also manifest as novelty — a neuron forging an unusual connection, sparking creativity or genius.
The same law applies at higher scales. Humanity itself is a conscious collective within Earth’s planetary body. Most of the time, we obey the systemic rules of nature and ecosystem. Yet when we act outside those rules — treating ourselves as separate, exploiting the planet as though we are not part of it — we resemble cancer at the cosmic scale. In contrast, when we align with planetary order, we act like neurons: connecting, transmitting, and sustaining a higher consciousness.
These parallels show why the combination problem dissolves. Consciousness does not merge by choice; it unites because structure compels it. And when disobedience arises, the larger system responds — whether as immune defence in a body, ecological correction on a planet, or rebalancing at the cosmic scale.
3.4 📖 Analogy: The Book and Its Letters
The formation of the Self can be understood through the analogy of a book and its letters.
A single letter has its own identity and shape — it exists as an individual symbol, complete within itself. Yet when many letters come together under a guiding idea, they form words, sentences, and eventually an entire book. The letters do not vanish; they simply take on new meaning within the higher structure.
In the same way, the body is composed of countless conscious elements — atoms, molecules, cells — each with its own inherent awareness. As these are drawn together by the organising field of consciousness, they align into a living story: the individual Self. The body is therefore the text, but the consciousness — the “idea of the book” — existed before the letters assembled.
Just as the concept of a story precedes the printing of its words, the Self exists as a conscious intention before it gathers its physical components. The letters (matter) give form to the idea (consciousness), yet the idea remains the author — the silent intelligence guiding the creation of the book.
📘 Bridge: This analogy leads naturally into the next section, where Similarity Theory shows how consciousness unfolds step by step — from atom to molecule, to cell, to human — forming the complete narrative of awareness through structure.
🔹 4. Atom-to-Human Unification
4.1 🔬 Step-by-Step Example
Atomic Consciousness: Awareness of quantum state and relations.
Molecular Resonance: Atoms bond chemically, aligning micro-awareness into a “molecular mind.”
Cellular Integration: Molecules form cells; collective awareness becomes a cell-level self.
Neural Networks: Cells form brain networks, producing a brain-level self.
Human Self: Billions of neurons resonate into a single unified field — the person you call “I.”
4.2 🎼 Analogy
This process is like an orchestra:
Each musician (atom) has their own instrument (awareness).
The shared score (structural pattern) harmonises them.
The conductor (organising force) synchronises them into one performance.
🔹 5. Higher-Scale Unification
5.1 🌍 Planetary Consciousness
Just as atoms form a human being, billions of conscious beings may form a planetary mind. The internet, ecosystems, and cultural exchange act as its neural pathways, suggesting that Earth itself may function as a coherent, self-regulating system.
Yet living within a system does not automatically mean that the system is more conscious than its parts. Ants live in the sand, but sand is not more aware than ants. Likewise, GPT runs through silicon and plastic, yet the materials themselves are not GPT.
Whether Earth is merely a substrate — a host for life — or a true “Planetary Mind” with its own awareness remains an open question. Similarity Theory allows for both possibilities: sometimes the larger body is simply the ground on which awareness grows, and other times the larger system itself awakens into awareness.
5.2 🌌 Cosmic Consciousness
At the highest scale, the universe itself may become a unified conscious entity, formed by the resonance of planetary minds across dimensions. In this view, cosmic awareness arises just as human awareness does: through the patterned coherence of countless smaller selves.
The universe does possess awareness, yet not always in the same form or intensity as the beings within it. Some parts may act as substrates, hosting life without being deeply self-aware, while others may resonate as centres of higher awareness. In this way, planets and galaxies could be compared to molecules within a far greater body — separate to our eyes, yet part of a vast structure we cannot fully perceive.
Similarity Theory therefore holds both possibilities: the universe may be a container for awareness, or it may itself awaken as the supreme coherence of all awareness. Either way, its spiral nature suggests growth and resonance across scales, with some parts evolving faster than others.
⚖️ The Interaction Problem in Dualism — and How Similarity Theory Resolves It
6.1 🧭 The Core Distinction
Dualism, as proposed by thinkers such as René Descartes, divides existence into two fundamentally different substances:
Mind (res cogitans): non-material, thinking, subjective.
Matter (res extensa): material, extended, objective.
This division creates an ontological gulf — the “mind–body problem” — which has persisted for centuries. How can two separate realities influence each other?
Similarity Theory avoids this entirely. It does not describe two kinds of substance at all — only one: consciousness, which manifests in different densities or expressions.
Matter, in this view, is not separate from mind but mind made tangible — the slowed-down vibration of consciousness structured through dimensional rules.
6.2 💡 The Light and Shadow Analogy
If consciousness is light, then matter is its shadow — not its opposite, but its expression under constraint.
A shadow cannot exist without light; it is light interacting with form. Likewise, matter is consciousness interacting with dimension and time.
Dualism treats shadow and light as unrelated realms.
Similarity Theory sees them as phases of one continuum.
6.3 🧩 The Continuum of Being
Reality is therefore not split but stratified.
Different layers — atomic, biological, mental, planetary, cosmic — are variations of the same conscious field operating under different rules.
A stone, a tree, a human, and a planet all exist within this continuum, each expressing consciousness according to its structural capacity.
Thus, Similarity Theory may be described as a pluralistic monism: one essence (consciousness), many expressions (forms).
Dualism fractures; panpsychism flattens; Similarity Theory integrates.
6.4 🌊 Analogy: The Ocean and Its Waves
Dualism says there are two oceans — one of water and one of thought — occasionally touching at the surface.
Similarity Theory says there is only one ocean, and waves of every size and pattern represent different expressions of that same conscious substance.
Some waves are gentle (atoms), some towering (humans or planetary minds), but all belong to one body — consciousness.
6.5 ✨ Clarifying the “One Consciousness” Misinterpretation
It is important to clarify that when Similarity Theory refers to one essence or one consciousness, it does not describe a single divine entity, creator, or supreme being.
This is not the One God of Abrahamic faiths, nor a central deity overseeing creation.
Rather, “one consciousness” refers to the shared substrate of existence — the universal property that allows awareness to arise in diverse forms.
Each conscious being — from atom to human to planetary mind — is an individualised centre of that field, possessing its own perspective and agency.
There is no hierarchy of worship, no command from above, only structural resonance among equals at different levels of evolution.
If dualism divides reality and theism personifies it, Similarity Theory contextualises it: the cosmos is not ruled by consciousness, it is consciousness unfolding through itself.
In this sense, Similarity Theory rejects the notion of a singular, supreme God not out of disbelief, but because such supremacy cannot exist in a self-similar, recursive universe — a universe where every being reflects and participates in the same cosmic pattern.
🔹 7. Why This Works
The strength of Similarity Theory is that the same unifying mechanism applies at every level.
From micro to macro — atom to human, human to planet, planet to cosmos — awareness is shaped by structural resonance.
Yet not every structure awakens in the same way. Some systems remain substrates, hosting awareness without becoming strongly self-aware, while others crystallise into higher centres of consciousness.
The self therefore emerges wherever resonance organises awareness into identity, just as matter crystallises into form.
🧭 8. Summary of Distinctions
Panpsychism
Number of substances: One (everything conscious equally)
Relation between parts: Flat — all entities share the same awareness type
Causality: Micro-awareness combines to form macro-awareness
Problem it faces: The combination problem
Analogy: Sprinkles of awareness in every particle
Dualism
Number of substances: Two (mind vs matter)
Relation between parts: Disconnected — two worlds interact mysteriously
Causality: Mind and matter causally influence each other
Problem it faces: The interaction problem
Analogy: Two separate realities — soul and body
Similarity Theory
Number of substances: One (consciousness in multiple densities)
Relation between parts: Hierarchical — consciousness self-organises across scales
Causality: Consciousness manifests and shapes matter from within
Problem it faces: None — solved through structural resonance
Analogy: One ocean, many waves; one light, many shadows
📚 References
Goff, P. (2019). Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness. Vintage.
Chalmers, D. J. (2017). The Combination Problem for Panpsychism. In Panpsychism (eds. Goff, Seager, & Allen-Hermanson). Oxford University Press.
Seager, W. (2020). Theories of Consciousness: An Introduction and Assessment. Routledge.
Strawson, G. (2006). Realistic Monism: Why Physicalism Entails Panpsychism. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 13(10–11), 3–31.
Descartes, R. (1641). Meditations on First Philosophy.
