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
Derrida’s Deconstruction of Self-Presence
Self-Presence as an Effect of Différance
Jacques Derrida argues that consciousness is never purely present to itself. Working through Husserl’s account of the inner voice and the ‘living present’, he claims that every conscious moment is already divided by difference, deferral, repetition, and trace, so the felt immediacy of experience is an effect to be explained rather than a foundation for philosophy or science.
Jacques Derrida
What consciousness is
Derrida offers no positive identification of consciousness. He treats conscious self-presence as an effect produced by more basic structures of differentiation (différance, trace, spacing) rather than an original ground.
Mind and body
Derrida does not address the mind-body problem directly. He argues that exteriority, space, and the body already inhabit the supposedly pure interior of consciousness.
Mechanism
Différance, Derrida’s term for the play of differing and deferring that constitutes presence while preventing it from ever being complete.
Core claims
- Western philosophy has privileged presence, immediacy, and self-coincidence over mediation, repetition, and absence.
- Hearing-oneself-speak cannot deliver pure self-presence because the signs of inner speech are repeatable and general.
- Husserl’s retention places the just-past inside the present, so the now is never simple or self-identical.
- The felt immediacy of experience is real as an effect but cannot be the self-identical foundation that Descartes and Husserl took it to be.
Criticisms
Zahavi argues that pre-reflective self-awareness is not a representational or sign-mediated relation, so Derrida’s claim that every self-relation passes through the trace may miss its target. It remains contested whether Derrida refutes immediacy or over-extends a linguistic and semiotic model to experience itself.
Related theories
Sources
- Speech and Phenomena, and Other Essays on Husserl's Theory of Signs, Jacques Derrida (1967)
- Of Grammatology, Jacques Derrida (1967)
- Is the Present Ever Present? Phenomenology and the Metaphysics of Presence, R. Bernet (1982)
- Jacques Derrida (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), L. Lawlor (2019)
- Subjectivity and Selfhood: Investigating the First-Person Perspective, D. Zahavi (2005)
- Derrida’s Deconstruction of Self-Presence, Landscape of Consciousness, Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
