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 › Philosophical
Bayne’s Unified, Multidimensional Consciousness: Structure Before Mechanism
Consciousness as One Unified, Multidimensional Field
Tim Bayne argues that consciousness science is too immature for detailed mechanistic theories and should first fix the structural constraints any theory must meet. His Unity Thesis holds that all of a subject’s simultaneous experiences are necessarily parts of one total conscious state. He also argues that global states such as sleep, anesthesia, and psychedelic states vary along several dimensions rather than one ‘level’ of consciousness.
Tim Bayne
What consciousness is
Bayne makes no claim about what consciousness is. He claims that a subject’s phenomenal field is one experience with parts, not a collection of experiences that happen to co-occur.
Mind and body
Bayne takes no stand on physicalism. The Unity Thesis is a claim about the structure of experience and constrains dualist and idealist theories as much as materialist ones.
Mechanism
Structure before mechanism. Phenomenal unity, defined as subsumption of experiences under a single encompassing phenomenal state, is a constraint any mechanism must explain, not itself a mechanism.
Core claims
- Necessarily, all of a subject’s simultaneous conscious states are subsumed by a single total conscious state.
- In split-brain patients, conscious perception switches between hemispheres rather than splitting into two streams; apparent disunity reflects shifts in attention.
- Global states cannot be ranked on one scale: psychedelic states heighten some dimensions and degrade others, so no single number can report a subject’s conscious state.
- None of IIT’s five axioms is genuinely axiomatic or substantively constraining.
Criticisms
Schechter defends a two-subjects reading of split-brain cases, and Duindam argues the Unity Thesis becomes trivial unless ‘subject’ is specified more precisely than Bayne does. Pinto and colleagues report divided perception with undivided consciousness in split-brain subjects, which bears on the switch model.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Uncertain
- Bayne treats AI consciousness as an open question for validated tests of consciousness rather than something settled in advance.
Related theories
Sources
- The Unity of Consciousness and the Split-Brain Syndrome, Tim Bayne (2008)
- The Unity of Consciousness, Tim Bayne (2010)
- On the Axiomatic Foundations of the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness, Tim Bayne (2018)
- Dimensions of Consciousness and the Psychedelic State, Tim Bayne and O. Carter (2018)
- What Is the Unity of Consciousness?, Tim Bayne and David J. Chalmers (2003)
- Are There Levels of Consciousness?, Tim Bayne, J. Hohwy and A. M. Owen (2016)
- Are There Islands of Awareness?, Tim Bayne, A. K. Seth and M. Massimini (2020)
- Tests for Consciousness in Humans and Beyond, Tim Bayne, A. K. Seth, M. Massimini et al. (2024)
- Self-Consciousness and ‘Split’ Brains: The Minds’ I, E. Schechter (2018)
- Split Brain: Divided Perception but Undivided Consciousness, Y. Pinto et al. (2017)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
