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62Objectives Practitioners in contemplative traditions commonly report experiencing an awareness that is distinct from sensory objects, thoughts, and emotions (“awareness itself”). They also report experiences of a void or underlying silence that is closely associated with this awareness. Subjects who carry out the Headless Way exercises frequently report an experience of emptiness or void at the same time as other contents (void-like experiences). The goals of this study were to (1) assess the re…Read more
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45Micro-Phenomenological Self-InquiryPhenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 22 (1): 247-266. 2022.This article presents and discusses the method of micro-phenomenological self-inquiry. Micro-phenomenology is usually performed with two persons, one interviewer and one interviewee. Micro-phenomenological self-inquiry consists of one person investigating their own experience. The different aspects of the regular micro-phenomenological interview are reviewed in relation to the process of self-inquiry. Examples of recent studies that apply micro-phenomenological self-inquiry are presented. Finall…Read more
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29Rudolf Steiner’s Idea of FreedomEpoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 21 (1): 173-196. 2016.Rudolf Steiner’s work contains many different claims about human freedom spread out in over three hundred books. A basic challenge for the research on Steiner is to create an overview of his idea of freedom, but also to consider potential conflicting claims. One of the main tensions in Steiner’s work is the one between his early philosophical and later anthroposophical accounts of freedom. The former focuses on individual freedom while the latter puts the emphasis on the greater whole in which t…Read more
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28Phenomenology and Contemplative Universals: The Meditative Experience of Dhyana, Coalescence, or Access ConcentrationJournal of Consciousness Studies 26 (7-8): 130-156. 2019.Are there universal structures or stages of experience, so-called contemplative landmarks, that unfold during meditative practice? As commonly described in contemplative manuals or handbooks, there is a transition from a form of meditation where the subject must exert continual effort in order for consciousness to remain focused. As Kenneth Rose has recently shown, these manuals, stemming from the Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian traditions, agree that a transition will take place from effortful m…Read more
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16Defining Meditation: Foundations for an Activity-Based Phenomenological Classification SystemFrontiers in Psychology 12. 2022.Classifying different meditation techniques is essential for the progress of meditation research, as this will enable discerning which effects are associated with which techniques, in addition to supporting the development of increasingly effective and efficient meditation-based training programs and clinical interventions. However, both the task of defining meditation itself, as well as defining specific techniques, faces many fundamental challenges. Here we describe problems involved in this e…Read more
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14Hegel's Conception of the Determinate NegationBrill. 2014.In Hegel’s Conception of the Determinate Negation , Terje Sparby develops a comprehensive account of the three forms of the determinate negation in Hegel’s philosophy
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13Rudolf Steiner’s Idea of FreedomEpoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 21 (1): 173-196. 2016.Rudolf Steiner’s work contains many different claims about human freedom spread out in over three hundred books. A basic challenge for the research on Steiner is to create an overview of his idea of freedom, but also to consider potential conflicting claims. One of the main tensions in Steiner’s work is the one between his early philosophical and later anthroposophical accounts of freedom. The former focuses on individual freedom while the latter puts the emphasis on the greater whole in which t…Read more
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7The Problem of Higher Knowledge in Hegel's PhilosophyHegel Bulletin 35 (1): 33-55. 2014.There are two main aspects of the problem of higher knowledge in Hegel's philosophy. Firstly, how exactly does Hegel appropriate Kant's conception of higher knowledge in the shape ofintellectual intuitionandintuitive understanding? Secondly, how does Hegel envision the connection of higher knowledge to empirical reality? Recent attempts at answering these questions pull in opposite directions. According to Eckart Förster, Hegel claims knowledge of a supersensible reality, while others, such as J…Read more
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5The Nature of Contemplative Science and Some Prospects for its Future DevelopmentJournal of Consciousness Studies 24 (5-6): 226-250. 2017.Contemplative science is usually conceived either as an introspective investigation of the meditative mind or as following methods of other scientific disciplines to study the mind in meditation. Here, I suggest a conception of a comprehensive contemplative science that includes both. Drawing on Paul Hoyningen-Huene's work in the philosophy of science, I develop an understanding of contemplative science based on the idea that science consists of systematicity in nine dimensions of scientific act…Read more
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2Intersubjektivitet, kartesiansk subjekt eller kosmisk ånd?- Om Hambermas og Taylors fortolkning av Hegels åndsbegrepNorsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift 46 (2): 131-145. 2011.This article presents a critique of two influential interpretations of Hegels concept of spirit: Jürgen Habermass and Charles Taylorss. Habermass interpretation focuses on the break he sees Hegel undertaking when moving from the early to the late Jena-period. Hegel, Habermas claims, first formulates, but then abandons, a «detranscendentalized» and intersubjective conception of spirit, essentially regressing to a pre-critial mentalistic metaphysics. I argue that there is no such break and tha…Read more
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The ‘Open Closure’ of Hegel’s Method and System: A Critique of Terry Pinkard’s Naturalized HegelClio: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History 44 (1): 115-146. 2015.