Stoic mindfulness of the "here and now"
Donald Robertson
May 8, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780429482748-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that Stoicism's emphasis on the present moment, mortality, and self-awareness, especially its practice of meditating on death, is a neglected resource for modern cognitive-behavioural therapy, which the author contends lacks an explicit system of positive values. The paper also notes Hellenistic philosophy's influence on New Testament authors and Christian contemplative themes. |
Abstract
The Stoic emphasis upon the here and now is closely associated with a sense of mortality, transience, and urgency. The emphasis upon “mindfulness” is probably the most notable aspect of Stoicism to be neglected by early proponents of cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT). The modern CBT seems to fall short of explicitly endorsing a system of positive values of the kind found in Stoicism, although they are clearly assumed in its prescriptions. A corollary of the emphasis upon self-awareness in philosophical therapeutics was the recommendation that extreme emotions should be handled with care. The influence of Hellenistic philosophy upon the authors of the New Testament has long been noted, and there are some well-known illustrations of this “here and now” theme in Christianity. The meditation on death is one of the grandest, most pervasive, enduring, and influential themes in the whole field of ancient contemplative practice.
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 |