Rāmānuja’s cosmopsychist-panentheistic solution to the hard problem of consciousness
Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion July 23, 2025 A. Vaidya, S. Siddharth
A cosmopsychist-panentheistic metaphysics inspired by the 11th-century Indian philosopher Rāmānuja offers a solution to the hard problem of consciousness that is preferable to other comparable views, and can ground a panentheistic conception of God compatible with human free will. The authors argue that Rāmānuja's Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified non-dualism) Vedānta provides a more satisfactory account than the Advaita Vedānta of Śaṅkara, which has been the focus of most cross-cultural studies linking panpsychism and Indian philosophy.