Deep meditation as a valid “scientific” method: A flawed argument

An interventional neurologist recently responded to my two-year-old article suggesting that Ayurveda should be approached in a qualia-centric manner. He questions the fundamental assumptions of what he calls "Western" science yet tries to use the same to claim that ancient Ayurveda and Yoga masters gained the knowledge of the functioning of human body through deep meditation. He appears to consider deep meditation as a valid scientific method, despite it lacking external validity. At the same time, he advocates for external validity to test Ayurveda therapeutics. I draw attention to this contradiction in his argument.

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Publication Details

Journal
Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
Published
2025-02-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.20529/ijme.2025.009
Primary Topic
Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Deep meditation as a valid “scientific” method: A flawed argument

Kishor Patwardhan
Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
article

Deep meditation as a valid “scientific” method: A flawed argument

Kishor Patwardhan
article en

Abstract

An interventional neurologist recently responded to my two-year-old article suggesting that Ayurveda should be approached in a qualia-centric manner. He questions the fundamental assumptions of what he calls "Western" science yet tries to use the same to claim that ancient Ayurveda and Yoga masters gained the knowledge of the functioning of human body through deep meditation. He appears to consider deep meditation as a valid scientific method, despite it lacking external validity. At the same time, he advocates for external validity to test Ayurveda therapeutics. I draw attention to this contradiction in his argument.

Indian Journal of Medical EthicsVol. 10(1)
Banaras Hindu University (IN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 97%
Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
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