Theoretical modeling of the subject: Western and Eastern types of human reflexion.
Vladimir A Lefebvre
Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology December 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2017.06.006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Chakra Neural network Reflexion Thermodynamics |
| Key points | Proposes that mental phenomena are connected to thermodynamic properties of large neural networks, modeling reflection and meditation as sequences of heat engines where each compensates for the previous engine's lost available work. These engines are interpreted as mental images of the self, and their work as emotions. Two meditation types are analyzed: dissolution in nothingness, beginning with the engine yielding heat to the coldest reservoir, and union with the Absolute, beginning with the engine taking heat from the hottest reservoir. |
Abstract
The author puts forth the hypothesis that mental phenomena are connected with thermodynamic properties of large neural network. A model of the subject with reflexion and capable for meditation is constructed. The processes of reflexion and meditation are presented as the sequence of heat engines. Each subsequent engine compensates for the imperfectness of the preceding engine by performing work equal to the lost available work of the preceding one. The sequence of heat engines is regarded as a chain of the subject's mental images of the self. Each engine can be interpreted as an image of the self that the engine next to it has, and the work performed by engines as the emotions that the subject and his images are experiencing. Two types of meditation are analyzed: The dissolution in nothingness and union with the Absolute. In the first type, the initial engine is the one that yields heat to the coldest reservoir, and in the second type, the initial engine is the one that takes heat from the hottest reservoir. The main concepts of thermodynamics are reviewed in relation to the process of human reflexion.
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 |