Consciousness, self-consciousness, and meditation

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 7 (4):463-483 (2008)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Many spiritual traditions employ certain mental techniques (meditation) which consist in inhibiting mental activity whilst nonetheless remaining fully conscious, which is supposed to lead to a realisation of one’s own true nature prior to habitual self-substantialisation. In this paper I propose that this practice can be understood as a special means of becoming aware of consciousness itself as such. To explain this claim I conduct some phenomenologically oriented considerations about the nature of consciousness qua presence and the problem of self-presence of this presence.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

What is consciousness?David M. Armstrong - 1981 - In John Heil (ed.), The Nature of Mind. Cornell University Press.
Buddhist meditation and consciousness of time.P. Novak - 1996 - Journal of Consciousness Studies 3 (3):267-77.
Consciousness-based education: a foundation for teaching and learning in the academic disciplines.Dara Llewellyn & Craig Pearson (eds.) - 2011 - Fairfield, Iowa 52557: Consciousness-Based Books, Maharishi University of Management.
Meditation and the Neuroscience of Consciousness: An Introduction.A. Lutz, J. D. Dunne & R. J. Davidson - 2006 - In Morris Moscovitch, Philip Zelazo & Evan Thompson (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness. Cambridge University Press. pp. 497-549.
Consciousness and self-consciousness.Uriah Kriegel - 2004 - The Monist 87 (2):182-205.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
300 (#61,684)

6 months
8 (#158,054)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?