Nondual awareness: Consciousness-as-such as non-representational reflexivity.
Progress in Brain Research 2019 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.021 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Consciousness-as-such Nondual awareness Reflexivity |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Proposes that consciousness-as-such is a non-conceptual nondual awareness whose essential property is non-representational reflexivity, making it irreducible to contents, functions, or states. |
Abstract
I introduce arguments toward a non-representational reflexivity theory of consciousness-as-such to address one of the key issues in the science of consciousness today: lack of understanding of the nature of consciousness itself. An expanded map of consciousness is outlined, which includes, in addition to the well-known contents of awareness and levels of arousal, the indeterminate substrate and consciousness-as-such or nondual awareness. The central idea presented is that consciousness-as-such is a non-conceptual nondual awareness, whose essential property is non-representational reflexivity. This property makes consciousness-as-such phenomenologically, cognitively and neurobiologically a unique kind, different from and irreducible to any contents, functions and states, including the indeterminate substrate. Our previous hypothesis on the precuneus network for nondual awareness is further discussed in relation to non-representational reflexivity, and in the light of other hypotheses on the neural correlates of consciousness-as-such.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 63
- The Computational Boundary of a “Self”: Developmental Bioelectricity Drives Multicellularity and Scale-Free Cognition Frontiers in Psychology December 13, 2019
- From many to (n)one: Meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews September 1, 2021
- Nondual Awareness and Minimal Phenomenal Experience. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Cessations of consciousness in meditation: Advancing a scientific understanding of nirodha samāpatti. Progress in Brain Research 2023
- Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation "cessation" experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study. Neuropsychologia September 28, 2023
and 58 more in the library
Cites 42
- Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems Nature Reviews Neuroscience April 20, 2016
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Consciousness, accessibility, and the mesh between psychology and neuroscience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences December 1, 2007
- Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology December 1, 2011
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
and 37 more in the library