Mysterianism

Varieties of Consciousness Theories with Robert Lawrence Kuhn

New Thinking AllowedAug 13, 2026

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator of PBS's Closer to Truth, explains how he built the Landscape of Consciousness, a sweeping map of more than 400 competing theories ranging from hardcore materialism to idealism. He recounts his early ties to parapsychology pioneer J.B. Rhine, a childhood terror that turned out to be the question 'why is there anything at all?', and his fight to keep parapsychology and religious views of the soul in a peer-reviewed science journal. Kuhn argues that questions like life after death, free will, and AI consciousness cannot be answered without first choosing a theory of consciousness, and he admits he leans toward a blend of dualism and idealism.