Neurophenomenology and Contemplative Experience

Neurophenomenology combines first-person accounts of experience with third-person neuroscientific data to study contemplative practices. The chapter explains how this approach can deepen understanding of meditative states and their effects on consciousness, and discusses its implications for dialogues between science and religion. By integrating subjective reports with brain measurements, neurophenomenology offers a rigorous method for exploring the nature of mind and experience that bridges empirical science and contemplative traditions.

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Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of neurophenomenology, its importance for investigating contemplative experience, and its relevance to considerations about science and religion.