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.
Quantum
Strømme’s Universal Consciousness as Foundational Field
Consciousness as the Field Underlying Space–Time
Strømme proposes that consciousness is a fundamental field from which space–time, matter, and individual minds arise. Drawing on Sydney Banks's Three Principles, she models a timeless, undifferentiated consciousness field that splits into structure through mechanisms borrowed from physics, such as symmetry breaking and quantum fluctuations. Individual minds are localized excitations of this one field, and their separateness is an illusion.
Maria Strømme, Sydney Banks
What consciousness is
Consciousness is a universal field, written Φ, that contains all possible configurations of reality before space–time exists. Individual consciousness is a localized excitation of that field.
Mind and body
The universe is inside consciousness. Brains do not generate consciousness; organisms are complex sites where universal consciousness becomes individualized, stabilized, and self-aware, and neural processes shape, constrain, or localize it.
Mechanism
Differentiation of the universal field by Universal Thought, modeled through symmetry breaking, quantum fluctuations, and discrete state selection, by analogy with how fields generate particles.
Core claims
- Universal consciousness precedes space–time, which is a product of the field's differentiation.
- Strømme aligns this with physics in which classical space–time emerges from a deeper pre-spatiotemporal order, which she identifies with consciousness.
- Individual minds are localized excitations of the consciousness field, as particles are excitations of quantum fields.
- Strømme sees parallels with Bohm's implicate order, Heisenberg's potentia, and Wheeler's participatory universe.
Criticisms
Symmetry breaking and quantum fluctuations work here as analogies for how consciousness differentiates, not as demonstrated physical processes in a consciousness field. Identifying the pre-spatiotemporal order of physics with consciousness, rather than with information or vacuum structure, is a metaphysical choice the physics does not force.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Uncertain
- Strømme frames the key question as whether computation alone can instantiate consciousness or whether conscious AI would need some relation to the universal field, and she leaves it open.
- Survival beyond death: Possible
- The end of a body and brain need not annihilate consciousness; it may mean reintegration into the field from which individuality emerged, though not necessarily as a separate person.
- Meaning and purpose: Cosmic/Ultimate
- If all selves are expressions of one field, interdependence and compassion become metaphysical facts as well as moral ideals.
Related theories
Sources
- Strømme’s Universal Consciousness as Foundational Field (Landscape of Consciousness), Maria Strømme
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
