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
Weisberg’s Explanatory Optimism via Automated Compression Theory
Hard-Problem Intuitions as Artifacts of Compressed Access
Josh Weisberg argues that the hard problem looks hard because first-person access to experience is systematically misleading. His Automated Compression Theory holds that we access experience through automatic retrieval of compressed sensory information, which makes experience seem direct, indescribable, simple, and only contingently tied to the brain. Once that appearance is explained in ordinary physical terms, it no longer counts as evidence against physicalism.
Josh Weisberg
What consciousness is
Phenomenal consciousness is a physical phenomenon that can be explained in ‘easy’ terms. What resists explanation is only the way it appears to us, an appearance produced by automated, compressed access.
Mind and body
Conscious experience is physical. The apparent gap between mind and brain comes from how we access experience, not from any non-physical property.
Mechanism
Automated Compression Theory: automaticity makes experience seem Direct, and compression makes it seem Indescribable and Simple. Because the constitutive connections are hidden, experience seems only Contingently related to the mind’s machinery. Together these are the ‘DISC’ properties.
Core claims
- If the way consciousness appears can be explained without exceptional properties, that appearance stops justifying belief in such properties.
- DISC appearances explain why zombies seem conceivable, why Mary seems to learn a new fact, and why there seems to be an other-minds problem.
- Chess experts and fluent readers grasp complex patterns as single units they struggle to decompose, showing that automated compression can make complex content look simple.
- Mary on release gains the ability to access automatically, in compressed form, information she already knew in decompressed form.
Criticisms
The debunking argument depends entirely on its first premise, that a plausible physical explanation of the appearances exists. Weisberg notes that physicalist explanations he finds well motivated are often treated by others as non-starters.
Implications
- Survival beyond death: No
- Since consciousness here is a physical process with no exceptional properties, nothing of it continues once that process stops.
Related theories
Sources
- Explanatory Optimism about the Hard Problem of Consciousness, Josh Weisberg
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
