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.
Challenge
Owen’s Mind-Body Powers: NCC are Philosophically and Religiously Neutral
Consciousness as a Mental Power Co-Manifesting with the Brain
Matthew Owen argues that the search for neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) commits no one to physicalism, so atheist materialists and theistic dualists can pursue it together. His own Mind-Body Powers model reads NCC through Aristotelian-Thomistic hylomorphism: neural mechanisms and conscious states are the joint manifestation of a person's bodily and mental powers, and consciousness is prior to its neural mechanisms.
Matthew Owen
What consciousness is
Consciousness is a power of the soul, the form that unifies a living human body. Conscious states are manifestations of that mental power, paired with bodily powers expressed in neural mechanisms.
Mind and body
Mind and body are form and matter of one subject. Following Aquinas, the body and its parts exist so that the soul can manifest its powers, which requires a ‘well-ordered brain’; neural mechanisms exist because the body is unified by a form with the power to be conscious.
Mechanism
Co-manifestation of mind-body powers. NCC exist because neural correlates and conscious states jointly express interdependent bodily and mental powers.
Core claims
- Crick and Koch meant ‘correlates’ to be ontologically neutral, and Koch cites Owen's model as a nonphysicalist reading of NCC.
- Reductive physicalism has not managed to reduce consciousness to its neural substrate.
- Non-reductive physicalism faces Kim's exclusion problem: supervening conscious states risk losing any causal role to their neural base.
- The hylomorphic framework has been applied to measuring consciousness, detecting it in brain-injured patients, and assessing brain organoids.
Criticisms
Physicalists can argue, following Smart, that reductive physicalism gives the most parsimonious explanation of NCC. The neutrality claim sits alongside a model that is itself explicitly dualist and theologically motivated.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Uncertain
- Owen is applying the model to artificial neural networks, but on hylomorphism consciousness is a power of the form of a living body, and he gives no verdict on machines.
- Survival beyond death: Possible
- Owen holds that the hylomorphic framework is compatible with life after death and gives warrant for anticipating bodily resurrection.
- Meaning and purpose: Uncertain
- The model is designed to welcome atheists and theists alike, though its Thomistic roots fit a theistic picture.
- Virtual immortality: Unlikely
- Since consciousness belongs to the unifying form of a living body and is prior to neural mechanisms, copying those mechanisms would not carry the subject over.
Related theories
Sources
- Owen's Mind-Body Powers: NCC are Philosophically & Religiously Neutral (Landscape of Consciousness entry), Matthew Owen (2020)
- The Feeling of Life Itself, Christof Koch (2019)
- De Anima, Aristotle
- Metaphysics, Aristotle
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
