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The first part of the paper focuses on the narrow philosophical question of whether one can know ultimate reality through meditation. I argue that such knowledge is not possible, that experience is always mediated. Interpreting the Buddha naturalistically, I argue that his aim was less about knowledge and more about providing insight into how one can live a flourishing life. In the second section of the paper, I discuss ways in which a philosophical approach (broadly understood) may benefit a team engaging in neurological studies of meditation. Such an approach might help in linguistic analysis, as well as in understanding the cross-cultural context of traditional meditation traditions. I further suggest that mindfulness might make one more open to scientific discovery. Finally, I propose that the study of meditation will both benefit and be benefited by theories of extended cognition.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-01634-4_16

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