Skip to main content Skip to search
Producing intersubjectivity in silence: An ethnographic study of meditation practice
Ethnography
Short Title: Producing intersubjectivity in silence
Format: Journal Article
Publication Year: n.d.
Pages: 309-328
Sources ID: 21618
Visibility: Private
Zotero Collections: Contemplation by Applied Subject
Abstract: (Show)
The ‘problem of other minds’ is central to sociological theory and of immediate importance to contemporary research on subjectivity and interiority. How do we cultivate and maintain an intersubjective space during silent, private, experiences? Drawing on Alfred Schutz’s phenomenology, this study challenges the common view which regards silence as an obstacle to social relations. The data consist of two years of participant observation of vipassana meditation practices in Israel and the United States. Vipassana meditation is conducted in complete silence, discouraging group sharing of meditation experiences, thus offering an extreme case of silence and privacy. The findings illustrate how, despite the absence of direct verbal communication, the practice of meditation still holds important intersubjective dimensions. I suggest that covert mechanisms of silent intersubjectivity play an important role in everyday social life and require further ethnographic attention.
Zotero Collections