Contemplative Neuroscience as an Approach to Volitional Consciousness

Abstract

This chapter presents a methodological approach to volitional consciousness for cognitive neuroscience based on studying the voluntary self-generation and self-regulation of mental states in meditation. Called contemplative neuroscience, this approach views attention, awareness, and emotion regulation as flexible and trainable skills, and works with experimental participants who have undergone training in contemplative practices designed to hone these skills. Drawing from research on the dynamical neural correlates of contemplative mental states and theories of large-scale neural coordination dynamics, I argue for the importance of global system causation in brain activity and present an " interventionist " approach to intentional causation. In this chapter I sketch a methodological approach to volitional consciousness for cognitive neuroscience based on studying the voluntary self-generation and self-regulation of mental states in meditation. Called contemplative neuroscience, this approach views attention, awareness, and emotion regulation as flexible and train-able skills, and works with experimental participants who have undergone exten-sive training in contemplative practices designed to hone these skills. My discus-sion here is premised on the following three working assumptions (Lutz et al. 2007; Lutz et al. 2008):