Epistemology of Mindfulness: Some Preliminary Reflections

<strong>Centre for Philosophy School of Social Sciences</strong> Talk on <strong>Epistemology of Mindfulness: Some Preliminary Reflections</strong> by <strong>Keya Maitra</strong> Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolin, USA Date: <strong>2nd September, 2015</strong> <strong>ABSTRACT: </strong>Epistemology of mindfulness has been envisioned as a response to some of the worries about the traditional epistemology's "problem-oriented approach" that have been pointed out by feminist epistemologists and virtue epistemologists. In this approach the investigator is not only separated from the object of investigation, the focus is on solving a problem in a way such that the solution turns out to be universal in nature. Interestingly, this same approach and its associated method of repeated testability have been identified as factors "that may endanger the integrity of the scientific enterprise" in an emerging body of interdisciplinary literature on Contemplative Studies. In exploring the impact of compassion and gratitude—virtues cultivated in mindfulness training, on epistemology, epistemology of mindfulness has the potency to extend the scope of mainstream epistemology that has typically ignored such virtues. In attempting to develop an epistemology of mindfulness, my primary goal is two-fold: first to bring mindfulness, more specifically, Buddhist insights on how to anchor the mind by training it to be fully present, into the focus of mainstream philosophy; second to highlight the role of first person methodologies informed by mindfulness in epistemology.