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 › Phylogenetic
Godfrey-Smith’s Naturalist, Gradualist, Diversified Evolution of Consciousness
Consciousness as Gradually Evolved Animal Subjectivity
Godfrey-Smith argues that subjective experience evolved gradually over deep time from the basic animal task of sensing the world and coordinating action. Tracking the effects of one's own movements on one's senses (reafference) gave rise to a self-versus-other point of view, and because separate lineages such as octopuses built minds independently, experience comes in many forms with no single scale.
Peter Godfrey-Smith
What consciousness is
Consciousness is an evolved form of subjectivity, the point of view of a body actively managing its relationship with its surroundings. In humans it is a cluster of traits with different evolutionary histories.
Mind and body
Embodied and enactive: mind arises from the dynamic interaction of the whole organism with its environment, not only from the brain. Godfrey-Smith rejects the hardware-software picture of brain and mind and is decidedly against panpsychism.
Mechanism
Reafference, the handling of the effects of action on the actor's own senses, which organizes neural processing around a self-other distinction. Godfrey-Smith stresses that early nervous systems evolved largely to form and coordinate action.
Core claims
- If materialism is true, felt experience must also have arisen gradually, so threshold models with a sharp on/off criterion are wrong.
- Invertebrate evidence shows that sensory and evaluative complexity can come apart, which counts against single-criterion tests for consciousness.
- Octopuses evolved complex nervous systems and intelligence independently of vertebrates, so evolution built minds at least twice.
- Plants, fungi, and bacteria sense, respond, and in some cases remember, which leaves a grey zone where mind is neither wholly present nor wholly absent.
Criticisms
A graded, multidimensional picture without a threshold makes it hard to say whether a given organism has any experience at all. Godfrey-Smith hopes the evolutionary story narrows the explanatory gap, but tracing how subjectivity arose does not by itself show why it feels like anything.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Unlikely
- Since Godfrey-Smith ties experience to living bodies sensing and acting in the world and rejects the software model of mind, a disembodied computer program would lack what consciousness requires.
- Survival beyond death: No
- On this view consciousness is the lived perspective of an active body, so it follows that it ends with the body's life.
- Meaning and purpose: Humanistic only
- Mind is a product of animal evolution, with no cosmic purpose behind it.
- Virtual immortality: Unlikely
- Because the view rejects treating mind as software that could run on other hardware, uploading a mind would not preserve experience.
Related theories
Sources
- Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, Peter Godfrey-Smith
- Godfrey-Smith’s Naturalist, Gradualist, Diversified Evolution of Consciousness, Peter Godfrey-Smith (Landscape of Consciousness entry) (2014)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
