Stillness, Silence and Contemplation. A Trilogy of Encounter
Human Arenas May 24, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s42087-025-00503-z (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 | Stillness Silence Contemplation Embodiment Pre-reflective experience Hyper-reflexivity Existential orientation Therapeutic presence Interdisciplinary approach Subjectivity |
| Key points | Argues that stillness, silence, and contemplation are active modalities that suspend habitual reflexivity and foster embodied presence, countering modern fragmentation and reorienting the self toward deeper contact. |
Abstract
This article explores the existential and therapeutic significance of stillness, silence, and contemplation as foundational practices for accessing pre-reflective dimensions of human experience. These practices are examined not as passive or ancillary techniques, but as active modalities that suspend habitual reflexivity and foster a return to embodied presence. Drawing from phenomenological and existential philosophy, contemplative traditions in Buddhism and Christianity, and contemporary approaches in psychology and neuroscience, the paper argues that these gestures create conditions for transformation, integration, and receptivity. Stillness is approached as a form of withdrawal that opens a space for attunement to one's bodily and affective life; silence as a relational threshold that enables depth in intersubjective encounter; and contemplation as a sustained direction of attention that cultivates openness and insight. Together, they offer ways of countering the fragmentation of modern subjectivity and reorienting the self toward deeper forms of contact—with itself, with others, and with the world. The implications of these practices are discussed in relation to psychotherapy, philosophical inquiry, and the cultivation of inner depth as a path to healing and meaning.
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
Cites 14
- Uniting Contemplative Theory and Scientific Investigation: Toward a Comprehensive Model of the Mind Mindfulness April 10, 2023
- Mindfulness in the focus of the neurosciences - The contribution of neuroimaging to the understanding of mindfulness. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience October 17, 2022
- Correlates of Silence: Enhanced Microstructural Changes in the Uncinate Fasciculus. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- The Contemplation for Mental Health: A Short Review—I Open Journal of Medical Psychology 2023
- Contemplative Psychology: History, Key Assumptions, and Future Directions. Perspectives on Psychological Science 2022
and 9 more in the library