Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation

This Handbook provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the state of the field of the philosophy of meditation and engages primarily in the philosophical assessment of the merits of meditation practices.

This Handbook unites novel and original scholarship from 28 leading Asian and Western philosophers, scientists, theologians, and other scholars on the philosophical assessment of meditation. It critically assesses the conceptual and empirical validity of meditation, its philosophical implications, its legitimacy as a phenomenological research tool, its potential value as an aid to neuroscience research, its many practical benefits, and, among other considerations, its possibly misleading interpretations, applications, and consequences.

Following the introduction by the editor, the Handbook?s chapters are organized in six parts:

? Meditation and philosophy

? Meditation and epistemology

? Meditation and metaphysics

? Meditation and values

? Meditation and phenomenology

? Meditation in Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions

A distinctive, timely, and invaluable reference work, it marks the emergence of a new discipline therein, the philosophy of meditation. The book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of philosophy, meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, theology, and Asian and Western philosophy. It will serve as the textbook in any philosophy course on meditation, and as secondary reading in courses in philosophy of mind, consciousness, selfhood/personhood, metaphysics, or phenomenology, thereby helping to restore philosophy as a way of life.

"Rick Repetti has invited the leading scholars of the philosophy of meditation to reflect on the significance of this practice. Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation is the most extensive and informative collection of articles on this topic in print. This Handbook is the first stop for anyone interested in the philosophical issues raised by meditation practice." -- Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College and the Harvard Divinity School, USA

 "Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation is first of its kind. Rick Repetti, a leader in the field, has edited this excellent collection of original articles from experts with diverse perspectives, masterfully arranging them into themes including phenomenology, metaphysics, epistemology, values, and religion, relating each to the central hypothesis that there is a philosophy of meditation." -- Miri Albahari, Philosophy, University of Western Australia

"This volume includes important new essays from prominent experts on Buddhist thought and from key contributors to the scholarly conversation about meditation. It contains careful, rigorous work from a variety of perspectives, drawing on relevant research in psychology as well as Asian textual traditions. The book will be valuable to philosophers, psychologists, and scholars of Asian religions. It will also be helpful to anyone looking for insights into what meditation is and what it can do for us, both as seekers of knowledge and as suffering humans." -- Charles Goodman, Binghamton University, USA

"The Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation is an outstanding contribution to the establishment of the academic subfield of the philosophy of meditation. Edited and introduced by Rick Repetti, it comprises 26 excellent chapters by a group of experts that integrate various elements from the West, ancient and modern, continental and analytic, as well as from the East, especially Indian traditions, although there are also references to Tibetan and East Asian traditions. [...] anyone interested in the philosophy of meditation will undoubtedly be inspired by a careful reading of the Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation, which is a meaningful contribution to establishing this subfield within the academe." -- Francisco Figueroa Medina, Kyoto University, Japan. Journal of Contemplative Studies