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.
Non-Reductive
Herath's State-Space Selection and the Sentience Factor
Consciousness as Stabilized Configuration Plus Felt Response
Herath identifies a conscious episode with the stabilization of one configuration in the brain's dynamical state-space, held past a dwell-time threshold. The felt 'overlay' of an experience, its relish or aversion, comes from a separate non-structural constituent he calls the Sentience Factor, which unites with a stabilized configuration only when the system responds to it with attachment or aversion.
Roy (Rohitha) Herath
What consciousness is
A conscious episode is the selection and stabilization of one configuration within a structured state-space. Its felt overlay is the union of that configuration with the Sentience Factor, a non-structural body of information.
Mind and body
Consciousness is the stabilized organization of a living system's dynamics, with no added substance and no mind apart from the system. Herath adds that structure alone cannot supply felt character, so a second, non-structural constituent within the living system is required.
Mechanism
Attractor selection with a dwell-time condition produces the episode, and a binary attachment-or-aversion operation triggers union with the Sentience Factor to produce felt character.
Core claims
- A conscious episode is the stabilization of one configuration in a state-space past a dwell-time threshold, in line with attractor-network models in neuroscience.
- Felt experience divides into a structural sensation and a separable overlay, and the overlay can be removed while sensation and structure remain.
- Because the overlay is removable, it is distinct from structure and needs a non-structural constituent, the Sentience Factor.
- The binary trigger can be trained down to silence, ending the overlay while sensation and structural knowledge stay intact.
Criticisms
The central evidence, removability of the overlay, can be redescribed in purely structural terms, which weakens the case for a second constituent. Calling the Sentience Factor non-structural while denying any new substance or substrate leaves its status hard to pin down.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Uncertain
- A machine could replicate attractor stabilization, but the felt overlay depends on a non-structural constituent that Herath places within living systems, so structural replication alone would not settle it.
- Survival beyond death: Unlikely
- Since the theory posits no mind apart from the living system, nothing is expected to persist once that system's dynamics end.
- Meaning and purpose: Humanistic only
- The account is ontologically conservative and confined to living systems; its practical upshot is that the felt overlay can be trained toward silence.
- Virtual immortality: Uncertain
- Copying structure would copy sensation, but whether a copy would acquire the Sentience Factor and its overlay is left open.
Related theories
Sources
- The State-Space Selection Theory of Consciousness (SSSTC), Roy (Rohitha) Herath (2026)
- The Sentience Factor of Consciousness: An Extension of the State-Space Selection Theory of Consciousness, Roy (Rohitha) Herath (2026)
- Facing up to the problem of consciousness, David J. Chalmers (1995)
- Herath's State-Space Selection and the Sentience Factor (Landscape of Consciousness), Roy (Rohitha) Herath (2026)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
