Witold Wachowski

Without an exaggeration we can adapt an expression “from a manifesto to progress” as a motto for neurophenomenology. As the manifesto can serve an article: “Neurophenomenology – a methodological remedy for the hard problem”. The aim of the research program initiated by the late Francisco Varela was to naturalize phenomenology in the frame of neurobiology, and to apply it to the different areas of theory and practice in science and philosophy. It meets certain challenges like the explanatory gap or the problem of clarity and credibility of the subjective reports.

There can be seen a strong relationship between mental activity and physical experience in the field of communication. Cognitive linguistics underlines the linguistic ubiquity of metaphor, which engages physicality, embodiment and manipulation, even in regard to abstract concepts. The model of metaphor that seems to be particularly interesting for its creativeness and provocation, is characterized by the general name: Mental Activity is Manipulation. To introduce its clear example I suggest to refer to representative works of Buddhist literature instead of the colloquial speech. The metaphors present in Buddhist literature are reduced to the pure manipulation of simple objects, without ambiguity, transcendence or mysticism. The highest form of mental activity is like eating porridge and washing up the cup afterwards.