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.
Phenomenology
Gurwitsch’s Structured Field of Experience
Consciousness as a Field of Theme, Context, and Margin
Aron Gurwitsch argues that conscious experience is always an organized field with three parts: a focal theme, a thematic field of unattended but relevant material, and a margin of co-present but irrelevant data. He fuses Gestalt principles of organization with Husserl's descriptive phenomenology and holds that this structure is an a priori feature of any field of consciousness. The field's own relations of relevance unify it, so no ego is needed to hold experience together.
Aron Gurwitsch
What consciousness is
Phenomenal consciousness is a dynamically organized whole, the field of consciousness, in which every content takes its character from its position relative to a theme.
Mind and body
Gurwitsch keeps Husserl's claim that consciousness is the source of all meaning but declines his transcendental idealism, adopting a levels-of-existence approach. Contemporary extensions look for neural and computational principles that could realize the field's organization.
Mechanism
Relevance: a structural relation among contents, distinct from intensity or attention, that decides whether a content belongs to the thematic field or the margin.
Core claims
- Every field of consciousness has the same three-part structure of theme, thematic field, and margin, as an a priori feature.
- Relevance is a dimension of experience separate from attention, which extends William James's focus-and-fringe model.
- The field needs no ego to unify it, since its organization supplies its unity.
- Yoshimi and Vinson propose testing ‘causal relevance’ by varying peripheral contents while holding thematic contents fixed and checking whether later themes diverge.
Criticisms
The main dispute is whether the three-part structure is a priori, as Gurwitsch held, or a well-supported generalization about human experience. His non-egological view is a minority position against for-me-ness accounts of self-awareness.
Related theories
Sources
- The Field of Consciousness, Aron Gurwitsch (1964)
- A non-egological conception of consciousness, Aron Gurwitsch (1941)
- Studies in Phenomenology and Psychology, Aron Gurwitsch (1966)
- Marginal Consciousness, Aron Gurwitsch (L. Embree, ed.) (1985)
- Extending Gurwitsch's field theory of consciousness, J. Yoshimi and D. W. Vinson (2015)
- The Sphere of Attention: Context and Margin, P. S. Arvidson (2006)
- Gurwitsch’s Structured Field of Experience, Landscape of Consciousness (Closer To Truth)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
