Contemplative Methods Meet Social Sciences: Back to Human Experience as It Is

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to trace a pathway connecting contemplative knowledge and practices with the social sciences. Contemplative knowledge and practices offer material for reflection in social science even concerning their very foundation. I'll found an opportunity for meshing our disciplinary tools with this knowledge as I introduced it in a health promotion program. The result will be a transdisciplinary confluence of different lines of inquiry contributing to a new perspective of self and social action.First of all I will give a definition of contemplative knowledge and practices. Then, I will make a bridge between the contemplative approach and the social sciences, showing the contribution that symbolic interactionism can play. I will illustrate the perspective drawing on an action research program called Auriga aimed at smoking cessation and reduction among health professionals. The aim of this paper is focused on the specification of the conceptual background in which such kind of program has been developed. Finally, I outline some implications it could represent for what might be called transformative sociology.I believe that contemplative knowledge could contribute to disentangle some of the unanswered questions and concerns in the social sciences, once they dismiss for a while their scientistic perspective. The secular redefinition of tools mainly belonging to the wisdom traditions represents an innovation that can reshape what we intend by the self and experience, contributing to what is called the "social transformation from within," a pragmatic and wise approach to change at any level.

Counseling Research as Caring

“…We explore the use of contemplative practice in social science research in the section to follow. Giorgino (2015) emphasized the usefulness of contemplative practice within social science research. Contemplative practice is an umbrella term for methodical/ritual actions that are based on longstanding spiritual/ religious traditions.…”

“…Other practices span meditation, movement, speech, and song in individual and communal variations. Contemplative practices invite honesty about embodied, interactional and presence-based experiences (Giorgino, 2015). In order to lead with honesty, which connects CBPAR, reflexivity, and contemplative practice, we offer the following statement of bias.…”

Academic Reflective Practice: Tools Supporting the Self-Evaluation Approach

“…108-109). Additionally, a researcher has a specific propensity (reflexivity) enabling him or her to shape methodological awareness (Mizerek, 2017a, p. 121) or even more -to develop one's observer skills, called contemplative approach (Giorgino, 2014). The reflexivity may also provide an evaluator with the knowledge affecting wise, reflective actions and also with the knowledge derived from personal experiences gathered as a result of performing professional tasks (Mizerek, 2017a, p. 123).…”

Empathy! So What?

“…I am constantly writing contemplative notes; it is my way of researching the world through my mind (Konecki 2018;. I assume that the academic mind could be empathetic enough to investigate the world from the first-person perspective (Bentz 1995;Giorgino 2015;Bentz and Giorgino 2016).…”