How can contemplative techniques and the acquisition of mindfulness impact or be impacted by mental attitudes and consciousness? Theorizing a ‘the chicken or the egg’ correlation.

Mental Attitudes

“There is a phenomenology to many intuitively non-sensory propositional attitudes, such as making an occurrent judgement, daydreaming, and remembering. It might be objected that in these cases the connection between content and phenomenology is contingent rather than necessary; but it is controversial whether there is a necessary connection between content and phenomenology even in paradigm cases of perceptual experience” (Speaks, 2007, p. 1).

Consciousness

“While self-knowledge can rely on sensory data not available in the case of other people (including one’s own visual imagery and inner speech), and while various factors may make self-knowledge more reliable than other-knowledge, both are equally indirect and interpretive in nature. In consequence, if conscious thoughts are those that one has immediate introspective knowledge of, then it follows that there are no such things” (Carruthers, 2017, p. 235).

Mindfulness

Nonsensory mental attitudes (judgements, decisions, goals) are abstract, never becoming conscious. Our interpretation of those attitudes, however, become conscious narratives we create for ourselves. If we can utilize mindfulness to acknowledge and interact with adverse situations as objective and non-personally, we may be able to ultimately control our consciousness and further develop positive, productive reflective practices (Ayan & Carruthers, 2018).

Because mindfulness builds awareness, we can begin to see the world and situations more acutely, perhaps lessening our inattentional blindness; we are not searching for anything in particular, but rather being aware of our own thoughts (Ayan & Carruthers, 2018).

Mindfulness builds not only an awareness of oneself, but an awareness and compassion for others (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Keep in mind, though, not to assume others are aware of their own thoughts. The acknowledgement of our own interpretations and perceptions of the world and situations is just that: our own. Others have their own interpretations and perceptions, and may or may not acknowledge them the way you do. Therefore, spending time attempting to interpret another’s interpretations or perceptions is an overwhelming and potentially impossible task. Control what you can and reflect to understand yourself, even if what you believe to be true is actually not true at all. 

“Consciousness is the very substance of mental life that not only makes life personally manageable but worth living. A functional consciousness involves purposive accessing and deliberative processing of information for selecting, con- structing, regulating, and evaluating courses of action. This is achieved through intentional mobilization and productive use of semantic and pragmatic representa- tions of activities, goals, and other future events” (Bandura, 2001, p. 3).

The theory of ‘what we believe, we become’ (Bandura, 1989) is true, but having the power to shift that belief or truth is also true. Mindfulness allows individuals to begin understanding themselves in an objective way, identifying underlying triggers or biases, and interacting with one’s mental and emotional reactions in a productive way. Consistent inquiry is necessary to continually understand the situation (objective) and oneself (subjective). In this way, productive mindfulness necessitates an intentional investigation of both while maintaining an objective lens to allow growth and not hindrance. We just need to actively apply this understanding.

References

Ayan, S. (2018, December 20). There Is No Such Thing as Conscious Thought. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-no-such-thing-as-conscious-thought/

Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44(9), 1175–1184. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.9.1175

Bandura, A. (2001). Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 1–26. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1

Carruthers, P. (2018). The Illusion of Conscious Thought. The Bloomsbury Companion to the Philosophy of Consciousness. doi: 10.5040/9781474229043.0021

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/bpg016

Speaks, J. (2007). Perceptual experience, sensation, and non-sensory propositional attitudes.