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.
Materialism › First-Order
Carruthers’s First-Order Representationalism
Consciousness as Globally Broadcast Perceptual Content
Peter Carruthers holds that phenomenal consciousness consists in first-order perceptual representations of the world that are globally broadcast to the brain’s many consumer systems for report, decision, and motor control. No inner monitoring or higher-order representation is needed. He reached this view by reversing his own earlier arguments for a higher-order (dual-content) theory.
Peter Carruthers
What consciousness is
Phenomenal consciousness is globally broadcast first-order, nonconceptual perceptual content, available to the systems that guide thought, speech, and action.
Mind and body
Conscious states are brain states with representational content and a particular functional role. Carruthers rejects mysterian and property-dualist accounts and aims at a reductive explanation.
Mechanism
Global broadcasting: a perceptual state is conscious when it is broadcast to, and disposed to be taken up by, a wide range of consumer systems.
Core claims
- Phenomenal consciousness requires no inner monitoring or self-representation of one’s own states.
- Extensive evidence shows conscious experience co-occurs with global broadcasting of first-order nonconceptual content.
- That evidence is most easily accommodated by first-order representationalism, making it preferable to any higher-order account.
- Carruthers now judges his earlier arguments against first-order theories (about recognitional concepts and the conscious/unconscious distinction) unsuccessful.
Criticisms
Carruthers’s own earlier work argued that first-order theories cannot ground purely recognitional phenomenal concepts and can accommodate, but not explain, the difference between conscious and unconscious experience. He has since rejected both arguments, but they remain the main objections from the higher-order side.
Implications
- AI consciousness: Possible
- Since consciousness is a matter of representational content and global broadcasting architecture, a system built with that architecture could in principle qualify.
- Survival beyond death: No
- Since consciousness is broadcasting of perceptual content in the brain, it ends when the brain does.
- Meaning and purpose: Humanistic only
- The account is reductive and naturalistic, with no cosmic purpose.
- Virtual immortality: Possible
- Since the theory is functional and representational, reproducing the relevant contents and broadcasting architecture would in principle reproduce the consciousness.
Related theories
Sources
- Carruthers’s First-Order Representationalism, Landscape of Consciousness, Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Explore all theories on the Consciousness Atlas
