Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Robert Lawrence Kuhn (born November 6, 1944) is an American public intellectual and investment banker. He is also an author, television producer, columnist and commentator, especially on topics related to China. Kuhn is the creator of the PBS series Closer to Truth which focuses on science and philosophy. He has been called "one of the Western world's most prolific interpreters of Beijing's policies". Some of his work has been criticized as pro-China propaganda. cosmology, philosophy of mind, and science and religion, as well as books and commentaries examining China's political leadership, economic development, and global role.

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 completed its 33rd season in 2026 (Closer to Truth: Cosmos. Life. Mind. Meaning). It offers conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, theologians,and scholars on topics such as cosmology, physics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind (consciousness), philosophy of biology, and philosophy of religion. Kuhn's presentation, "Asking Ultimate Questions", serves as the foundation of Closer To Truth. One series was partially funded by Jeffrey Epstein who paid less than half of what he committed.

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's article is described as “perhaps the most comprehensive” recent account of the landscape of theories of consciousness, noting that Kuhn's taxonomy encompassed approximately 225 theories. 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. Also in 2026, Kuhn published an article in the Journal of Consciousness Studies examining the implications of the Landscape of Consciousness framework for broader philosophical questions, including artificial intelligence consciousness, virtual immortality, meaning and purpose, free will, and life after death. In 2026, Kuhn discussed the range of theories included in the project with philosopher and podcaster Alex O'Connor on the Within Reason podcast in an episode titled “Every Theory 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.

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).

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. 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,

My book is unprecedented -- the first biography of a living leader published on the mainland. Furthermore, there is inside information in it that Chinese media and officials aver that they never knew. One reporter complained publicly about the fact that this breakthrough was made by a foreigner.

Awards and recognition 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.

Select publications