A Reductive Account of Mindfulness as Metacognitive Control
Review of Philosophy and Psychology February 3, 2025 Victor Lange
Mindfulness research spans philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and Buddhist studies, yet it remains unclear what psychological capacity is essential to mindfulness and sets it apart from other mental activities. The leading idea—that mindfulness is a special form of metacognitive control—is examined and found inadequate in current formulations. A novel account is proposed, based on metacognitive goals, which explains the explicit self-awareness and self-regulation in mindfulness and distinguishes it from ordinary cognitive control. On this account, metacognitive control is necessary but not sufficient for mindfulness. The account further suggests that the metacognitive control of mindfulness can be reduced to other psychological capacities and that this control is a form of mental action.