3 months ago

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Essentia Foundation
Aug 22, 2025
All 325+ Competing Consciousness Theories In One Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5G6Oc_V3Lw
Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator and host of the renowned documentary series Closer to Truth, has undertaken the monumental task of mapping 325+ scientific theories of consciousness, organising them into ten categories -from materialist accounts to quantum approaches, from Integrated Information Theory to panpsychism and all different forms of idealisms, amongst which analytic idealism.

His article, “A Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications,” does not seek to evaluate or adjudicate among these theories, but rather to classify and arrange them. In doing so, Kuhn offers the first comprehensive scientific overview of how humanity conceives of consciousness and its metaphysical underpinnings in 2025.
In this conversation, Hans Busstra speaks with Kuhn about the categories of his map and the metaphysical commitments they imply. While Kuhn was careful to remain neutral in his published work, here he speaks more openly—sharing which theories he finds more or less plausible.

Read the full paper here: "A Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

The digital landscape with all interactions: https://loc.closertotruth.com/

Closer To Truth: https://closertotruth.com/
/ @closertotruthtv

Essentia Foundation wants to thank Morgan Compagnon for scouting and arranging our recording location in Paris.

0:00:00 Intro
0:04:02 Wat made you do it?
0:07:27 To start: what is your definition of consciousness?
0:08:48 A historical view on the different categories of consciousness theories
0:18:35 On the importance and relevancy of theories of consciousness
0:20:51 On the great diversity of the theories
0:22:30 1. Materialisms
0:33:51 Are phenomenology and materialism compatible?
0:39:05 Wrapping up Materialisms
0:42:50 Robert Lawrence Kuhn's personal experience and views
0:48:52 2. Non Reductive Physicalism
0:54:43 3. Quantum theories of consciousness
1:03:30 Conscious Al in relation to quantum theories of consciousness
1:07:43 Every theory is an identity theory
1:14:45 4. Integrated Information Theory
1:22:18 On the attack on IIT
1:27:05 5. Panpsychisms
1:31:44 The scientific method and non-materialist theories of consciousness
1:35:30 The combination problem
1:39:29 One starts as a materialist, then becomes a panpsychist and then an idealist.. - Dave Chalmers
1:41:00 6. Monisms
1:46:05 7. Dualisms
1:52:49 John Wheelers 'U' as a dualist picture?
1:55:49 On the amount of work it took to map all theories
2:01:38 8. Idealisms
2:08:49 On bringing religion and spirituality together
2:11:34 On how the landsape got out too early!
2:15:39 Robert on his own personal view
2:29:17 9. Anomalous & Altered States
2:36:48 On pursuing falsification
2:42:23 I get a lot of advice to take psychedelics
2:43:57 How do you hope to change the landscape of consciousness?
2:50:08 Hans comparing the landscape of consciousness to birdwatching
2:51:09 On life after death
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