Contemplative Science: First-Person Inquiry, Public Corrigibility, and a Minimal Research Horizon
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) February 19, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21722782 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes contemplative science as a field of inquiry centered on public corrigibility, in which first-person experience becomes relevant to inquiry when it can be made more articulable, comparable, and open to correction. Argues that first-person inquiry and third-person investigation should be distinguished without being isolated or collapsed, and that within the syntropic framework concepts such as coherence, fractal personhood, reduced egoic appropriation, trust seeking understanding, and responsible conduct function as methodological orientations rather than predetermined conclusions. |
Abstract
This essay proposes contemplative science as a field of inquiry concerned with the disciplined relation between first-person experience and public forms of investigation. Its central criterion is public corrigibility: lived experience matters for inquiry insofar as it can become more articulable, comparable, and open to correction. The essay distinguishes first-person inquiry from third-person investigation without isolating or collapsing them, and asks how trained attention, precise description, dialogue, and multiple forms of evidence may become mutually informative. Within the syntropic framework, coherence, fractal personhood, reduced egoic appropriation, trust seeking understanding, and responsible conduct function as methodological orientations rather than predetermined conclusions. The essay presents contemplative science not as a completed discipline, but as an open and oriented research horizon.