A landscape of consciousness

“Out of meat, how do you get thought? That’s the grandest question.” So said philosopher Patricia Churchland to Robert Lawrence Kuhn, the producer and host of the acclaimed PBS program, Closer to Truth. Now Kuhn, a member of FQxI’s scientific advisory council, has published a taxonomy of proposed solutions to, and theories regarding, the hard problem of consciousness. He produced the organizing framework in order to explore their impact on meaning, purpose and value (if any), AI consciousness, virtual immortality, survival beyond death, and free will. Kuhn's ‘landscape of consciousness’ was published in the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology in its August 2024 issue.

Closer To Truth has aired 333 television episodes since 2000, including 30 in partnership with the Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, the science think tank and funding agency. Kuhn’s article is the product of some of his many in-depth interviews with experts over the decades. “I have discussed consciousness with over 200 scientists and philosophers,” says Kuhn, who is himself trained in neurophysiology. “Landscape is the product of a lifetime.”

“I have discussed consciousness with over 200 scientists and philosophers. Landscape is the product of a lifetime,” says Kuhn.

The article begins with the classic mind-body problem: How do the felt experiences in our minds relate to the neural processes in our brains? How do mental states, whether sensory, cognitive, emotional, or even noumenal (self-less) awareness, correlate with brain states? “Although there are families of mind-body problems, I focus tightly on phenomenal consciousness: our inner awareness, ‘what it feels like to be’ something,” says Kuhn.

Kuhn presents diverse theories of consciousness from materialist/physicalist to nonmaterialist/nonphysicalist. These are categorized as: Materialism Theories (philosophical, neurobiological, electromagnetic field, computational and informational, homeostatic and affective, embodied and enactive, relational, representational, language, phylogenetic evolution); Non-Reductive Physicalism; Quantum Theories; Integrated Information Theory; Panpsychisms; Monisms; Dualisms; Idealisms; Anomalous and Altered States Theories; and Challenge Theories. “Each explanation is self-described by its adherents,” notes Kuhn. 

The taxonomy is laid out in the accompanying figure.

Seeking Insights

“My purpose must be humble: collect and categorize, not assess and adjudicate,” says Kuhn. “Seek insights, not answers.” Kuhn produced the organizing framework for these diverse theories of consciousness in order to explore their impact on “ultimate questions,” such as meaning, purpose and value (if any), AI consciousness, virtual immortality, survival beyond death, and free will, he says.  “Understanding consciousness at this point cannot be limited to selected ways of thinking or knowing, but should seek expansive yet rational diversity.”

“Understanding consciousness at this point cannot be limited to selected ways of thinking or knowing, but should seek expansive yet rational diversity," says Kuhn.

Having produced an article of around 175,000 words, Kuhn found that his opinions on certain proposals had evolved. “My own hunch, right here, right now might be something of a Dualism-Idealism mashup. Second place might go to some form of Quantum Consciousness, triggered by writing this paper and surprising me. Third place, counterintuitively, to a kind of Eliminative Materialism/Illusionism, combined with Neurobiological and Representational Theories.”

But, adds Kuhn, “Smart, serious folks believe radically different theories; what I believe doesn’t much matter.”

You can read more about Kuhn’s writing process and his thoughts on consciousness in his FQxI article: “A Landscape of Consciousness.” 

Journal reference, Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology: A Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications

ABOUT FQxI

The Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of science, particularly new frontiers in physics and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources. Visit FQxI.org for more information.

ABOUT CLOSER TO TRUTH

Closer To Truth tackles fundamental issues of existence. It is a broadcast and digital media not-for-profit organization and series. On the air continuously since 2000, the weekly, half-hour television show airs on over 200 PBS and public TV stations. Closer To Truth is created, executive produced, hosted, and written by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, and co-created, produced, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Peter Getzels.