Consciousness,self-consciousness,and meditation

Many spiritual traditions employ certain mental techniques (meditation) which consist in inhibiting mental activity whilst nonetheless remaining fully conscious, which is supposed to lead to a realisation of one’s own true nature prior to habitual self-substantialisation. In this paper I propose that this practice can be understood as a special means of becoming aware of consciousness itself as such. To explain this claim I conduct some phenomenologically oriented considerations about the nature of consciousness qua presence and the problem of self-presence of this presence.

The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale: Development and psychometric validation

As interest grows in near-death experiences (NDEs), it is increasingly important to accurately identify them to facilitate empirical research and reproducibility among assessors. We aimed (1) to reassess the psychometric properties of the NDE scale developed by Greyson (1983) and (2) to validate the Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale that quantifies NDEs in a more complete way. Internal consistency, construct and concurrent validity analyses were performed on the NDE scale. Based on those results and the most recent empirical evidence, we then developed a new 20-item scale. Internal consistency, explanatory and confirmatory factor, concurrent and discriminant validity analyses were conducted. Results revealed (1) a series of weaknesses in the NDE scale, (2) a 5-factor structure covering relevant dimensions and the very good psychometric properties of the NDE-C scale, including very good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.85) and concurrent validity (correlations above 0.76). This new reliable scale should facilitate future research.     

Reasoning about conscious experience with axiomatic and graphical mathematics

We cast aspects of consciousness in axiomatic mathematical terms, using the graphical calculus of general process theories (a.k.a symmetric monoidal categories and Frobenius algebras therein). This calculus exploits the ontological neutrality of process theories. A toy example using the axiomatic calculus is given to show the power of this approach, recovering other aspects of conscious experience, such as external and internal subjective distinction, privacy or unreadability of personal subjective experience, and phenomenal unity, one of the main issues for scientific studies of consciousness. In fact, these features naturally arise from the compositional nature of axiomatic calculus.     

Reflections on Bion's 'elements of psychoanalysis' Experience, thought and growth

This paper aims to follow, in Bion's conception of analytic work, an axis of refl ection organized around three preoccupations: favoring emergence of emotional experience, symbolic elaboration of that experience and resuming growth through symbolic thought. The overarching issue and condition of all three is the capacity to contain the largest possible range of transferential and countertransferential facts in analytic sessions. This range is likely to be reduced if the analyst listens to the experience of a session with too great a number of theoretical elements in mind. Hence the dictum 'To listen without memory and desire', which will be commented upon here in parallel with the process of abstraction, a process serving in Bion's writings the purpose of dealing both with the epistemological problem of communication among analysts and with the clinical problem of receptiveness to the unknown.