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Lehrende: Dr. Nicolás Novoa Artigas
Veranstaltungsart:
Seminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan:
IntL.08
Credits:
3,0
Unterrichtssprache:
Englisch
Veranstaltungsname:
Phenomenology of the meditative experience: a practical course
Veranstaltungsbeschreibung:
Meditative practices from various spiritual traditions - such as mindfulness or zazen - have arrived in the Western world making a considerable impact, probably because while the Western world has experienced unparalleled technological development in recent centuries, such a development is lacking in many crucial aspects of individual and collective existence, concerning morality, psychological well-being, spirituality and a deeper meaning of life, among others. However, a clear description and conceptual articulation of the essential elements of meditation are not always easy to find, which in turn contributes to the fact that many people remain skeptical and reluctant to the practice, because of what is felt as a vacuum in the theoretical foundation of the practice, a lack of scientific validity, or simply because of a lack of comprehension of what meditation is about. Phenomenology is a way of philosophical work which focuses on the conceptual elaboration of the sense in which we pretheoretically experience the world, as well as the possible modifications that we can and do carry out from it. The conceptual elaboration takes the character of a description of the phenomena that are given to the sight just as they are shown, trying not to introduce, as operatively valid, presuppositions that are not accredited in the donation of phenomena.
This course has a double character. First of all, it is a practical course: in order to be able to theoretically thematise the meditative experience, we must be able to immerse ourselves fully in that very experience. For this reason, in each session we will dedicate an important part of it to practice together different forms of meditation that will allow us to highlight different aspects of the meditative experience which will serve as the ground for the phenomenological and conceptual developments we will try to articulate. We take as a given that it is only on the basis of this direct relationship with the meditative experience that the effort of achieving conceptual clarity about it can have real meaning, validity and utility. Secondly, the course has a theoretical character: it is not only about being able to live the experience of meditation, but also about being able to carry out a joint investigation on how to reliably articulate its most important features, so as to achieve a more precise understanding of them that can, in turn, help us to deepen that same experience and, more generally, to better comprehend the dynamics of our own mind, which also seems essential for a genuine psychological well-being. Through phenomenological tools, the work will focus on showing comparatively how meditative practice introduces fundamental attentional, interpretative and egological modifications in the way in which we regularly experience life prior to any theory, due to the general tendencies of the human mind that can be directly recognised by reflecting on our own experience as human beings. We will include readings and analysis from European modern philosophy, from non-dualist teachings of the East and from prominent contemporary teachers of meditation, as well as aspects of the phenomenology of peace of mind developed by the teacher in charge of the course. The syllabus with a detailed list of the chosen texts will be provided in the first session.
Zusätzliche Informationen:
3 CP
Raum:
4.15.090
Tag/Zeit:
Thursdays, 16:00-18:00
Start: 20.10.
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