Publication Date

1-1-2020

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Informal Logic

Volume

40

Issue

4

DOI

10.22329/il.v40i4.6311

First Page

545

Last Page

586

Abstract

This essay argues for the permissibility of teaching Buddhist mindfulness meditation in a critical thinking course. One might object that Buddhist mindfulness meditation is part of a religion, and religions are thought to be dogmatic and uncritical, and thus inappropriate for a critical thinking course. However, I argue that there is a pathway from the importance of self-regulation for good critical thinking to the permissibility of including mindfulness meditation in a critical thinking course. I offer three arguments for the permissibility of inclusion: the self-regulation argument, the expansion by way of cognitive science argument, and the persistence through emotional volatility argument. I then defend mindfulness meditation as an appropriate form of meditation to include in a critical thinking course.

Keywords

attention, mindfulness meditation, self-regulation emotion regulation, stereotype threat

Comments

"Is it Permissible to Teach Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation in a Critical Thinking Course?" was originally published in Informal Logic, 2020, Volume 40, Number 4, pp. 545-586.

Department

Philosophy

Download

Share

COinS