Once ridiculed, panpsychism – the idea that all matter has some degree of consciousness – has gone mainstream. Philip Goff, one of the main defenders of panpsychism, now turns his attention towards another taboo question: does the universe as a whole have a purpose? In this interview, Ricky Williamson asks Goff how to make sense of fine-tuning, and what role psychedelics and mystical experience might have in coming to view the universe as a conscious mind.

You are most well-known for your arguments against physicalism - the idea that unconscious matter has combined in some way, namely in brains, to create consciousness - and your arguments in favour of panpsychism - the idea that matter itself has some spark of consciousness within it. You are now moving beyond discussing consciousness towards discussing topics ranging from cosmological fine-tuning, cosmopsychism (the idea the universe is a conscious mind) and whether the universe has a teleology, a purpose. Are these topics all related to your rejection of physicalism, or do you see these as separate areas of inquiry?