Professur für Religionsphilosophie

The philosophy of meditation is a profound exploration that integrates philosophical reflection with meditative practice, aiming to understand and experience inner peace, awareness, and wisdom. Key issues in this field include the nature of consciousness, the self, the meaning of existence, and how humans can achieve inner harmony through meditation.

A central focus of this course is the exploration of “consciousness.” In many traditional philosophical systems, consciousness is regarded as the deepest dimension of human existence. Meditation offers a means by which we can reinterpret the foundation of consciousness. For instance, is consciousness in a meditative state, or pure awareness, still characterized by the subject-object structure of consciousness and subjectivity? We will explore these questions philosophically through an examination of relevant readings.

During meditation, many philosophers have delved into concepts such as non-self (anatta) or emptiness (Sunyata). These ideas, originating from Buddhist philosophy, propose that our perception of self is an illusion. In this course, we will analyze these concepts and combine them with practical meditation exercises to assess, both experientially and logically, whether such theories hold validity.

Additionally, the course delves into the deeper meaning of “being.” Many meditation reports suggest that through meditation, individuals can more intuitively sense that their existence is interconnected with the world. We will evaluate this assertion philosophically.