The Hitchhiker's Guide to Neurophenomenology - The Case of Studying Self Boundaries With Meditators.
Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, Yair Dor-Ziderman, Fynn-Mathis Trautwein, Yoav Schweitzer, Ohad Nave, Stephen Fulder, Yochai Ataria
Frontiers in Psychology 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01680 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Embodied self Magnetoencephalography meg Neurophenomenology Self boundaries Sense of self |
| Citations | 101 |
| Key points | Proposes that neurophenomenological research can be advanced by placing first-person accounts on a complexity continuum from thin to thick phenomenology and using a typology of bridges to integrate subjective and objective approaches, as demonstrated in studies on embodied selfhood. |
Abstract
This paper is a practical guide to neurophenomenology. Varela's neurophenomenological research program (NRP) aspires to bridge the gap between, and integrate, first-person (1P) and third-person (3P) approaches to understanding the mind. It does so by suggesting a methodological framework allowing these two irreducible phenomenal domains to relate and reciprocally support the investigation of one another. While highly appealing theoretically, neurophenomenology invites researchers to a challenging methodological endeavor. Based on our experience with empirical neurophenomenological implementation, we offer practical clarifications and insights learnt along the way. In the first part of the paper, we outline the theoretical principles of the NRP and briefly present the field of 1P research. We speak to the importance of phenomenological training and outline the utility of cooperating with meditators as skilled participants. We suggest that 1P accounts of subjective experience can be placed on a complexity continuum ranging between thick and thin phenomenology, highlighting the tension and trade-off inherent to the neurophenomenological attempt to naturalize phenomenology. We then outline a typology of bridges, which create mutual constraints between 1P and 3P approaches, and argue for the utility of alternating between the bridges depending on the available experimental resources, domain of interest and level of sought articulation. In the second part of the paper, we demonstrate how the theory can be put into practice by describing a decade of neurophenomenological studies investigating the sense of self with increasing focus on its embodied, and minimal, aspects. These aspects are accessed via the dissolution of the sense-of-boundaries, shedding new light on the multi-dimensionality and flexibility of embodied selfhood. We emphasize the evolving neurophenomenological dialogue, showing how consecutive studies, placed differently on the thin-to-thick 1P continuum, advance the research project by using the bridging principles appropriate for each stage.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 71
- A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics Trends in Cognitive Sciences December 22, 2022
- A landscape of consciousness: Toward a taxonomy of explanations and implications. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology August 1, 2024
- Self-Boundary Dissolution in Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation. Brain Sciences June 21, 2021
- Moving beyond the lab: investigating empathy through the Empirical 5E approach. Frontiers in Psychology 2023
- Suspending the Embodied Self in Meditation Attenuates Beta Oscillations in the Posterior Medial Cortex. Journal of Neuroscience June 26, 2024
and 66 more in the library
Cites 70
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 12, 2013
- The Oxford Handbook of 4E Cognition Oxford University Press eBooks September 13, 2018
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
and 65 more in the library