Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Education

Kuhn received a bachelor's degree in human biology from Johns Hopkins University (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1964, a PhD in anatomy and brain research from the University of California, Los Angeles' Brain Research Institute in 1968 and a Master of Science in management as a Sloan fellow from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1980.

Career

From 1991 to 2001, Kuhn was president and co-owner of the Geneva Companies, a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm representing privately owned, middle-market companies. In 2000 Kuhn sold the Geneva Companies to Citigroup.

Closer to Truth is a continuing television series on PBS and public television stations, created, executive-produced, written and hosted by Kuhn, and produced and directed by Peter Getzels. The series premiered in 2000 and is in its 19th season (Closer to Truth: Cosmos. Consciousness. Meaning/God). It offers conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, theologians and scholars on topics such as cosmology, physics, philosophy of science, consciousness (brain/mind), and philosophy of religion. Kuhn's presentation, "Asking Ultimate Questions", serves as the foundation of Closer To Truth.

In 2024, Kuhn published a paper titled A Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications in the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. According to an article written by theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín, “Kuhn articulates a taxonomy of about 225 theories of consciousness.” In 2025, Kuhn expanded this work in a feature article for New Scientist titled What 350 different theories of consciousness reveal about reality, presenting an accessible overview of more than 350 theories organized across ten categories ranging from materialism to idealism. In 2026, Kuhn further discussed the Landscape of Consciousness framework in a review article published in Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, examining its relevance for neurology and neuroscience and suggesting that the diversity of theories may inform research and clinical perspectives on disorders of consciousness.

China-related work

In 1989, Kuhn was invited to China by its director of the State Science and Technology Commission, Song Jian, whom Kuhn considers his mentor.

Kuhn wrote The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin. It was the first biography of a living Chinese leader and was a best-seller in China in 2005.

Kuhn is the author of the 2011 book How China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's Past, Current and Future Leaders. He has also written about Xi Jinping as the latest core leader of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government response to COVID-19.

Kuhn has created or hosted TV and web series such as China's Challenges (with Peter Getzels as director), Closer To China with R.L. Kuhn (with Adam Zhu as co-producer), and The Watcher.

Kuhn provided live commentary on CNN during Xi Jinping's policy address in Seattle on September 2, 2015, during a state visit to the US. He had spoken at the launch ceremony of Xi's book, entitled The Governance of China, at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 8, 2014.

In 2017, during the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Kuhn was interviewed extensively, including multiple times on CNN, BBC World News and BBC World Service, CGTN, and China Central Television (CCTV). In 2018 Xi Jinping awarded Kuhn the China Reform Friendship Medal for his contributions to the reform and opening up over the past four decades.

After Jiang Zemin died on November 30, 2022, Kuhn published his personal reflections, concluding that "history will be kind to Jiang Zemin."

Responses

In a book review essay published in Foreign Affairs, Bruce Gilley said Kuhn's The Man Who Changed China was actually better understood as an officially sanctioned autobiography, presenting an image that China's leaders want the world to see. Additionally, he said the writing of the book was, beginning in 2001, overseen by a secret state propaganda team. John Walsh, an assistant Professor at Shinawatra University, presumed that as a result of interviewing people who had favorable views of Jiang Zemin, he said that the first part of this book was "close to hagiography". Gilley stated that the official government of China had censored as much as 10 percent of the content from the book in the Chinese language version, whereas the English language version was also modified to suit what the Chinese government deemed appropriate for Chinese and non-Chinese audiences to see. Gilley is quoted as saying,

Kuhn responded in 2006 in Foreign Affairs, saying,

According to The Wire China, in the 17 years since his book's publication, "Kuhn has regularly deflected accusations that he is a propagandist for the Chinese government." He has carved out a niche as "one of the Western world’s most prolific interpreters of Beijing’s policies," "currying favor with China’s leadership and gaining remarkable access." Kuhn says that he has spent the past few decades 'helping the world understand China and China understand the world' — efforts he hopes are in the best interest of the U.S. and China.”

Select publications

References

References

1. "Dr. Robert Kuhn". [[ichannel]].
2. (September 27, 2020). "Inside Man".
3. Global Horizons: America's Challenge in Science and Innovation. "Speaker Biographies". University of Southern California.
4. Reckard, E. Scott. (September 14, 2000). "Citigroup to Acquire Irvine-Based Geneva Group for $200 Million". [[Los Angeles Times]].
5. "Robert Lawrence Kuhn". [[International Society for Science and Religion]].
6. (March 25, 2022). "Asking Ultimate Questions on ''Closer To Truth''".
7. Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. (2024). "A Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology.
8. Gómez-Marín, Àlex. "Seeing the Consciousness Forest for the Trees".
9. Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. (October 25, 2025). "What 350 different theories of consciousness reveal about reality".
10. Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. (2026). "What a “Landscape of Consciousness” Means for Neurology and Neuroscience". Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports.
11. Robert Lawrence Kuhn. (November 19, 2009). "How China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's Reform and What This Means for the Future". [[John Wiley & Sons]].
12. (January 11, 2005). "The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin".
13. Gilley, Bruce. (September–October 2005). "In China's Own Eyes". [[Foreign Affairs]].
14. (March 9, 2005). "A U.S. Flop, American's Book On Jiang Zemin Wows China". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
15. (July 30, 2015). "Xi Jinping's 'Four Comprehensives' show the depth of his leadership". [[South China Morning Post]].
16. (May 26, 2015). "To know China, one must understand the Communist Party". [[South China Morning Post]].
17. (November 20, 2016). "Why China needs Xi Jinping as its core leader".
18. Rolland, Nadѐge. (2020). "China's Pandemic Power Play". [[Journal of Democracy]].
19. "TV series aims to 'decode' China". [[China Daily]].
20. "The Watcher – RLK".
21. (September 23, 2015). "Xi Jinping visits the United States".
22. "Xi's book on governance debuts at German fair". sina.com.
23. "Historical starting point for new stage of development - Opinion".
24. "New era on the road to 2050 - Opinion".
25. (December 18, 2018). "China salutes 10 foreign friends".
26. (December 6, 2020). "History will be kind to the meticulous and curious Jiang Zemin".
27. "The Asian Review of Books". asianreviewofbooks.com.
28. (January 28, 2009). "One Country, Two Prisms".