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.
Phenomenology
Meinong's Self-Presenting Experience
Consciousness as Self-Presenting Directedness Toward Any Object
Alexius Meinong splits every experience into a mental act, an immanent content that carries its phenomenal character, and an object the act is directed at, which need not exist at all. Consciousness can therefore be about golden mountains and round squares as readily as about real things. A state is conscious because it is self-presenting: it is directly available to its subject when the subject turns to it, without any higher-order thought or inner perception.
Alexius Meinong
What consciousness is
Consciousness is intentional directedness carried by real mental contents, open to objects of any status (existent, possible, fictional, incomplete, impossible), and made conscious by its self-presentation to the subject.
Mechanism
Self-presentation as a dispositional openness of the state to its subject, a third option beside higher-order and same-order theories that avoids a regress without positing a second act.
Core claims
- Separating content from object, prompted by Twardowski, resolves Brentano's instability over whether intentional objects are literally in the mind.
- Under the independence of being-so (Sosein) from being (Sein), an object can be round and square while lacking existence or subsistence.
- Conscious experiences are self-presenting, available to the subject without higher-order thought or Brentanian inner perception.
- Complex perceptual wholes are produced by operations on elementary contents, a thesis his student Vittorio Benussi tested experimentally at Graz.
Criticisms
Bertrand Russell's theory of descriptions offered an analysis of non-referring expressions without non-existent objects, and his criticism pushed Meinong out of analytic philosophy for decades. The overpopulated ‘Meinongian jungle’, a nickname probably due to William Kneale, was derided by Russellian and Rylean critics.
Related theories
Sources
- Über Gegenstände höherer Ordnung und deren Verhältnis zur inneren Wahrnehmung, Alexius Meinong (1899)
- Über Gegenstandstheorie, Alexius Meinong (1904)
- Über Annahmen (2nd ed.), Alexius Meinong (1910)
- Über emotionale Präsentation, Alexius Meinong (1917)
- On the Content and Object of Presentations, Kazimierz Twardowski (1894)
- On denoting, Bertrand Russell (1905)
- Meinong's Theory of Objects, J. N. Findlay (1933)
- Meinong's Self-Presenting Experience, Landscape of Consciousness (Closer To Truth)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
