Philosophy East & West
July 7, 2017
L. Gasparri
38 citations
Priority cosmopsychism, which holds that individual consciousness derives from a universal cosmic consciousness, has been compared to ideas in Advaita Vedānta. This article critically evaluates that comparison, arguing that the Advaitic account of consciousness does not fit the priority cosmopsychism model. It highlights key differences between the two views and proposes an alternative way to position Advaita Vedānta within current philosophical debates on monism and panpsychism.
Philosophy East & West
October 1, 2023
V. Hejjaji, A. Sadasivan, Padmakumar Pr
5 citations
Classical Advaita Vedanta offers a non-eliminativist view of the empirical world, treating it as real while grounding all consciousness in a universal consciousness (Brahman). This essay argues that macro-level consciousnesses are reflections of Brahman in individual intellects (buddhi), a position that distinguishes Advaita from other cosmopsychist theories. This reflection model provides an elegant solution to the decombination problem, addresses the explanatory gap between consciousness and matter, and accounts for mental causation.
Philosophy East & West
April 1, 2025
Travis Chilcott
Jīva Gosvāmin, a 16th–17th century Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologian, advanced a theory of mystical pluralism that parallels Steven Katz's constructivist thesis from over four centuries later. Both argue that mystical experiences are shaped by prior learning, conceptual frameworks, and expectations. Research on cognition, learning, and perception supports the idea that practices Jīva described help individuals internalize a specific conception of divine reality, including what it feels like to experience it. As these concepts become deeply internalized, they influence perception and create conditions for experiences that align with what one has learned to expect.
Philosophy East & West
March 25, 2021
Hayden Kee
The essay argues that yogic mantra meditation and phenomenology each offer insights that can enrich the other's understanding of language. Mantra meditators' experiences of sound and repetition reveal formative, pre-linguistic processes that shape linguistic meaning, which phenomenologists have largely overlooked. Conversely, phenomenology's analysis of intentionality and meaning provides a fresh perspective on the debate among mantra researchers about whether mantras are linguistic. The author suggests that mantras operate in a space between language and non-language, and that combining these two traditions can deepen our grasp of how meaning arises from embodied, meditative practice.