Narrative and the Paradoxical Ethos of Contemplative Inquiry
July 8, 2024 Giovanni Rossini
This chapter argues that contemplative methodology in education is not a set of techniques but a narrative and aesthetic presence rooted in first-person inquiry. It contends that the dominant third-person voice of academic research creates a methodological divide, which can be reconciled through Bruner's concept of verisimilitude and Van Manen's phenomenological pedagogy. The author explores this through the lens of contemplative studies, drawing on Walsh and Bai's artful reflections on method and Ergas' spiritual research paradigm. The chapter proposes that story is central to contemplative method, demonstrated through the author's own narrative retellings.