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
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Researchers and lecturers looking for an at-a-glance comparative
resource
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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.
Materialism › Embodied
Pretel-Wilson’s Human Systems Theory
Consciousness Superseded by Actual–Possible Duality
Manel Pretel-Wilson argues that the concept of consciousness, inherited from Descartes’s split between a thinking subject and an extended world, should be replaced by spatial and temporal dualities that structure everything that exists. For human beings the key duality is between the actual and the possible, realized through human systems that people build together to shape the human world.
Manel Pretel-Wilson
What consciousness is
Pretel-Wilson identifies nothing as consciousness; he holds that the concept becomes redundant once the spatial duality (peripheral and central, inner and outer) and the temporal duality (actual and possible) of beings are made clear.
Mind and body
He rejects the Cartesian split of mind and body. Inner and outer are two sides of one spatial duality, so organism and environment, and human beings and the human world, cannot be separated.
Mechanism
The actual–possibility duality: human beings, working through shared systems, turn possible states into actual ones and so shape the human world.
Core claims
- The concept of consciousness comes from Descartes’s opposition between a thinking subject and an external world.
- Inner and outer are two sides of one spatial duality, ruling out a split between organism and environment.
- The actual–possibility duality of human systems explains human agency without a ‘collective person’ with its own consciousness or an ‘artificial man’ without its own purpose.
Criticisms
If consciousness is redundant, the framework still has to say what anchors subjective experience.
Implications
- Meaning and purpose: Humanistic only
- Pretel-Wilson locates purpose in human beings working together through human systems to realize ideas that shape the human world.
Related theories
Sources
- Utopics: The Unification of Human Science, Manel Pretel-Wilson (2020)
- The Ethics of Human Systems: Creating Economic Value with Impact for Good, Manel Pretel-Wilson (2025)
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
