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.
Integrated Info
Hoel’s Causal Emergence
Consciousness as Causally Emergent Information
Erik Hoel argues that a system’s causal structure can be more informative at a macroscale than at its microscale, and that consciousness resides at the level where this ‘causal emergence’ peaks. In his words, ‘Consciousness is what it’s like for information to be causally emergent’, and in humans that level is structured like a narrative.
Erik Hoel
What consciousness is
Consciousness is what it is like for a macro-level system to realize its own causal efficacy: experience resides at the scale where effective information is maximized.
Mind and body
The mind is not reducible to neurons or atoms. It exists at the macro level where the brain has maximal control over its own future, a level with real causal power of its own.
Mechanism
Causal emergence: a macroscale description (the map) can use more of a system’s causal capacity than a full microscale description (the territory), by analogy with Shannon’s channel capacity.
Core claims
- Information-theoretic causal analysis shows that some systems’ causal structure is more informative at a macroscale than at the microscale.
- The causal structure of some systems cannot be fully captured by even the most detailed microscale description.
- In a conscious system, the level where causal emergence peaks is the level where experience resides.
- Narratives are causally real high-level phenomena that scaffold conscious life.
Criticisms
Critics of causal emergence argue that greater informativeness at a macroscale may reflect our descriptions rather than extra causal power in nature. Moving from causal-emergence mathematics to claims about experience, free will, and meaning is a large step.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Conditional
- Since experience follows causal structure rather than substrate, an artificial system would be conscious only if its causal emergence peaked at a macro level in the right way.
- Survival beyond death: Unlikely
- Consciousness is a macro-level feature of a working brain’s causal structure, so it should not continue once that structure is gone.
- Meaning and purpose: Humanistic only
- Hoel treats narratives and meanings as causally real emergent layers, which grounds meaning in minds and cultures rather than in a cosmic purpose.
- Virtual immortality: Uncertain
- A copy would need to reproduce the brain’s macro-level causal structure, not just its information content; the view does not settle whether a simulation could.
Related theories
Sources
- The World Behind the World, Erik Hoel (2023)
- Hoel’s Causal Emergence, Erik Hoel (2017)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
