Kobe Philosophy Seminar Series(22): The theory-ladenness of meditative introspection (2026年11月10日（火））

Kobe Philosophy Seminar Series(22): The theory-ladenness of meditative introspection
 

Date: 10 November, 2026

Time: 16:50-18:20

Place: Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University (Room to be announced)

 

Speaker: Chris Letheby (The University of Western Australia)
 

16:50-18:20 : Chris Letheby co-authored with Agnes Bolinska  "The theory-ladenness of meditative introspection”

Meditation is often seen, in both traditional and contemporary contexts, as a means of acquiring knowledge. By meditating, it is held, we can learn things about the nature and workings of our own minds, about the human mind in general, and perhaps about the very nature of reality. Against this view, it is sometimes alleged that meditative introspection is theory laden and therefore epistemically problematic. If Buddhist meditators “discover” the non-existence of the self, while Hindu meditators “discover” the existence of a true self, in accordance with their prior metaphysical commitments, then meditative introspection would seem to be theory-laden and its epistemic credentials questionable on these grounds. On the other hand, a widespread consensus in the philosophy of science holds that scientific observation is theory laden in some sense(s) but can nonetheless serve as a source of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to look to the older debate over theory-ladenness in science for lessons for the analogous debate concerning meditation. A central aim will be to clarify the various kinds of epistemic benefits meditation is thought to provide, the various senses in which meditative introspection may be theory laden, and the consequences of the latter for the former.


Contact: Takuya niikawa (niikawa@ferret.kobe-u.ac.jp)

This workshop is supported by Project Innovation Ethics, KOBELSI and KAKENHI grant number 25K24749