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.
Phenomenology
Shanon's Cartography and Structured Spectrum
Consciousness as a Mapped Spectrum of Experiential Types
Benny Shanon maps consciousness as a structured system running from basic sentience through ordinary mental awareness and reflective ‘metamentation’ to non-ordinary and self-transcendent states. He argues that ordinary consciousness can only be described well by comparing it with dreams, hallucinations, psychedelic visions, and mystical states, which expose features that normally stay hidden. The theory charts the types, parameters, and transformations of experience and proposes no neural mechanism or metaphysics.
Benny Shanon
What consciousness is
Consciousness is the region of internal subjective experience, differentiated into hierarchically ordered, interdependent types and extended into non-ordinary states continuous with ordinary ones.
Mind and body
Shanon deliberately imports no metaphysics. Following Gibson, he treats mind as a dynamic participant in the world, not an inner theater that models it.
Mechanism
Dynamic operations that build consciousness: differentiation and crystallization (levels arise), distancing (subject separates from object), internalization (a mental domain for when action is not feasible), reflexivization (mentation feeding on its own products), and externalization (creating objects experienced as real).
Core claims
- Ordinary consciousness cannot be adequately characterized without comparison with dreams, hallucinations, psychedelic visions, and mystical states.
- Phenomenal experience is distinct from reflective consciousness, since perceiving or feeling need not involve judging that one does so.
- Ayahuasca states, charted from more than a hundred of Shanon's own sessions and cross-cultural interviews, act as a natural laboratory that makes the self, the sense of reality, and time salient.
- Experience as a whole shows coherent internal structure, which Shanon treats as the theory's central empirical claim.
Criticisms
Critics of phenomenological cartography hold that introspective reports are theory-laden and unreliable and that classification is not explanation. Reliance on psychedelic material invites the charge of generalizing from atypical experience.
Implications
- Meaning and purpose: Uncertain
- Shanon lists meaningfulness and a capacity for transcendence among the features of experience, but declines to say whether transcendent states reveal anything beyond the mind.
Related theories
Sources
- A psychological theory of consciousness, Benny Shanon (2008)
- The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience, Benny Shanon (2002)
- The Representational and the Presentational: An Essay on Cognition and the Study of Mind, Benny Shanon (1993)
- What is the function of consciousness?, Benny Shanon (1998)
- Altered temporality, Benny Shanon (2001)
- Altered states and the study of consciousness: The case of ayahuasca, Benny Shanon (2003)
- Shanon's Cartography and Structured Spectrum, Landscape of Consciousness (Closer To Truth)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
