The Consciousness Atlas is an interactive web app that visualizes more
than 450 theories of consciousness. It is based on Robert Lawrence
Kuhn's 2024 paper,
"A Landscape of Consciousness". The Atlas maps theories that address phenomenal consciousness - the
subjective feel of experience, such as the redness of red.
What the Atlas is
The Atlas is a visual reference built on Kuhn's taxonomy. It presents
the full set of theories at once so you can explore the field visually
and open any theory to read its entry, like an encyclopedia with
structured entries. Each theory entry shows a concise identity line,
conceptual ground, suggested mechanism, empirical notes, implications,
and sources.
Why this exists
Consciousness is studied across disciplines - neuroscience,
philosophy, and sometimes spiritual or anomalous-state research.
Kuhn's paper collects and organizes hundreds of theories along a
spectrum from most physical to least physical. The Atlas puts that
organization into a visual form so readers, students, and researchers
can quickly see how different positions relate and where each theory
sits on the spectrum.
How it works
Theories are grouped into ten main categories, arranged by their
stance on the physical-to-nonphysical spectrum. Examples of categories
include Materialism, Non-Reductive Physicalism, Functionalism,
Quantum-based theories, Panpsychism, Monism, Dualism, Idealism,
Anomalous States, and Challenge Theories. The app shows the whole map
at once. Click any theory to read its structured entry, which includes
references to canonical sources and named thinkers.
Who it is for
- Students learning philosophy of mind and cognitive science
-
Researchers and lecturers looking for an at-a-glance comparative
resource
-
Journalists and writers who need a quick reference to the range of
positions
-
Curious readers who want a clear view of what people mean when they
talk about consciousness
What the Atlas does not do
The Atlas does not endorse or rank theories. It is a visualization and
reference based on Kuhn's taxonomy - collect and present, not judge.
It does not attempt to settle the hard problem of consciousness. It is
a tool for exploration and comparison.
A note from Kuhn
Kuhn explicitly states the project's purpose: "collect and categorize,
not assess and adjudicate." The Consciousness Atlas follows that
approach. The data and structure are derived from Kuhn's paper;
feedback and suggested corrections are welcome, but the app is a
visualization layer on top of Kuhn's work.
Kuhn was not involved in the design or content of the Consciousness
Atlas, other than his original paper, 'A Landscape of Consciousness,'
which is the sole source.
FAQ
What is phenomenal consciousness?
Phenomenal consciousness refers to subjective experience - the
qualitative feel of being aware, like the taste of coffee or the
redness of red.
How many theories does the Atlas include?
The Atlas visualizes over 220 individual theories, grouped into ten
broad categories.
Does the Atlas show which theory is true?
No. The Atlas presents theories neutrally. It is a map, not an
argument for any single position.
Is the Atlas academic?
The Atlas is based on an academic source - Robert Kuhn's 2024 paper,
"A Landscape of Consciousness" - and links to canonical sources
where available.
Summary
The Consciousness Atlas is a straightforward visualization tool: it
presents Kuhn's taxonomy as a single, explorable map and lets users
open individual theory entries to read structured, referenced
summaries. It is designed to make this complex field easier to survey
and to serve as a practical reference.
Materialism › Relational
Kojdić’s Interface Ontology of Consciousness
Consciousness as Stabilizer of the World Interface
Petar Kojdić, drawing on Kant, treats the empirical world as an interface: a boundary where a non-empirical ground becomes partly available to finite knowers. Consciousness is the capacity of an agent at that interface to lock onto, sustain, and integrate lawlike patterns so that a unified, intelligible world is present to it, which makes consciousness a condition of the world’s intelligibility rather than an add-on inside a ready-made physical world.
Petar Kojdić
What consciousness is
Consciousness is a structural capacity: the ability of a finite agent to stabilize lawlike patterns at the interface so that a coherent world appears to it.
Mind and body
Physical objects are relatively stable patterns on the interface, and space and time are the ways finite cognition charts it. Consciousness is neither produced by these patterns nor their creator: it is world-involving but not world-creating.
Mechanism
Stabilizing resonance: consciousness locks onto and integrates lawlike patterns at the interface instead of merely registering isolated inputs.
Core claims
- The right question is how a unified, law-governed, experientially coherent world is possible, not how consciousness arises inside a given physical world.
- Empirical reality is an interface between a non-empirical ground and cognitive limitation, not a self-standing domain of objects.
- Physicalist, functionalist, phenomenological, and dual-aspect theories each describe partial stabilizations of the same interface.
- Ethical and social norms are conditions for keeping a shared interface legible, so degrading agency or mutual recognition damages the empirical world itself.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Possible
- Kojdić treats consciousness as a structural capacity that some organized systems realize, and leaves open as an empirical question whether artificial systems can.
- Meaning and purpose: Uncertain
- Kojdić ties consciousness to moral and social normativity, but he leaves the non-empirical ground undescribed, so whether meaning reaches beyond human agents stays open.
Related theories
Sources
- Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant (1787)
- The Psychophysical Nexus, in Concealment and Exposure, T. Nagel (2002)
- Block 3 Philosophy of Mind, in Investigating Philosophy, D. Cavedon-Taylor (2024)
- Kojdić’s Interface Ontology of Consciousness, Landscape of Consciousness, Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
