Contemplative Studies

专业介绍

The concentration in Contemplative Studies investigates the underlying philosophical, psychological, and scientific bases of human contemplative experience.

Students pursue a “third person” academic approach drawn from the humanities and sciences to analyze the cultural, historical, and scientific underpinnings of contemplative experiences in religion, art, music, and literature. This is developed in combination with a “critical first-person” approach based in practical experience of contemplative techniques and methods to provide an integrated understanding of the role of contemplative thought and experience in societies and on the individuals who constitute them.

Student Goals

Students in this concentration will:

• Identify the wide variety of contemplative experiences across cultures and across time
• Examine scientific and philosophical explanations for contemplative experiences
• Cultivate direct first-person knowledge of contemplative experiences
• Assess the meaning and significance of contemplative experiences both within the traditions from which they emerged and on a personal level for our students
• Produce and present a humanities- or science-based independent research project