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
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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
Halligan and Oakley’s Species-Enhancing Epiphenomenalism
Consciousness as a Causally Inert Social Broadcast
Halligan and Oakley argue that subjective awareness is an epiphenomenon, an inner feeling with no causal power, generated by the brain alongside outputs that fast non-conscious systems have already produced. Selected outputs are internally broadcast as a personal narrative, and the evolved purpose of this broadcast is to let people share its contents with others, supporting sociality, the human species' central survival strategy.
Peter Halligan, David Oakley
What consciousness is
Halligan and Oakley define consciousness as embodied subjective awareness including meta-cognition. They identify it as a brain-generated accompaniment to selected outputs of non-conscious processing, felt but without causal power.
Mind and body
Both conscious and non-conscious aspects of mind depend on neural processes. The brain does the work, and awareness is a by-product that cannot act back on brain or behaviour.
Mechanism
Internal broadcasting: non-conscious systems select some of their outputs and broadcast them as the contents of experience. That broadcast exists so its contents can be externally broadcast to other people.
Core claims
- Executive functions usually attributed to awareness are carried out by fast, efficient non-conscious brain systems, according to the authors' reading of cognitive neuroscience.
- Belief in mental causation stems from intuitive mind-body dualism found across cultures and in young children, and it persists because legal, political, and moral institutions endorse it daily.
- Both the contents and the experience of consciousness are end products of unconscious processes.
- Free will, justice, and moral responsibility make sense when attributed to persons in a social community, even if not to an assembly of nerve cells.
Criticisms
If awareness has no causal powers, natural selection could not have selected it for its own effects, so the evolutionary story has to rest on the underlying processes. The view also clashes with strong intuitions of free will and agency, which the authors treat as scientific misconceptions to be revised.
Implications
- Survival beyond death: No
- Since awareness is a by-product of brain processes, it ends when the brain does.
- Meaning and purpose: Humanistic only
- Halligan and Oakley locate the value of experience and of social realities such as morality and democracy in persons living in communities, with no cosmic purpose.
Related theories
Sources
- Halligan and Oakley’s Species-Enhancing Epiphenomenalism, Peter Halligan and David Oakley (Landscape of Consciousness entry)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
