Abstract
This chapter explores how the intersection between Buddhism and neuroscience is presented for a Buddhist audience specifically, a Western Buddhist audience in popular Buddhist magazines like The Shambhala Sun, Tricycle, and Buddhadharma. The problem is that in the “collaboration” represented between Buddhism and neuroscience in these magazines, only one voice is accorded the cultural authority to make factual pronouncements in the West; only one mode of observation is given the privilege to contribute to knowledge rather than serving as an interesting object of study. The “neuroessentialism” found in some neuroscholarship is only amplified in science journalism, which has often been critiqued for exaggerating the certainty of primary research. While scientific knowledge about the brain may be altered in the sense that it is revised or expanded, the scientific methods and epistemology used to generate that knowledge remain intact. However, as Heuman argues, it seems that Buddhist methods and epistemology do not remain intact, particularly for a Western audience.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Neuroscience and Media |
Subtitle of host publication | New Understandings and Representations |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
Pages | 46-61 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781317608486 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781138811508 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Social Sciences