Theories of Consciousness
Theories of consciousness have proliferated over the past few decades. Perhaps the most comprehensive attempt to provide an overview of all known theories has been made by Robert Lawrence Kuhn (2024) in his paper The Landscape of Consciousness. Kuhn explores the concept of consciousness from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, and theology. His paper provides a framework for clarifying the different approaches that have been made to understand consciousness.
- Materialist Views: Consciousness as an emergent property of physical processes in the brain.
- Dualist Views: Consciousness as an independent reality that interacts with the physical world.
- Panpsychist and Idealist Views: Consciousness as a fundamental aspect of the universe.
- Mystical and Theological Views: Consciousness in the context of spirituality and divinity.
See a Summary of A Landscape of Consciousness
Alex Gomez-Marin has created a diagram which visually portrays the different theories included in Kuhn’s paper.
