At the Edge of the Sensible: Cultivating Doubt in Radically Engaged Anthropology and Spirituality
Transformative experiences have long been a central interest for anthropologists studying spiritual phenomena. During fieldwork, many ethnographers have themselves undergone such experiences, caused by and fueling their confidence in radical participation as the soundest approach to understanding sp...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2021
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| In: |
Ethos
Year: 2021, Volume: 49, Issue: 3, Pages: 308-328 |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Transformative experiences have long been a central interest for anthropologists studying spiritual phenomena. During fieldwork, many ethnographers have themselves undergone such experiences, caused by and fueling their confidence in radical participation as the soundest approach to understanding spiritual phenomena. These anthropologists inadvertently find themselves faced with the question of the ontological status of such phenomena, responses to which range from embracing them as ontologically real to steering clear of judgment. Arguments pertaining to the authority of the anthropologist follow a similar path, belief either framed as a precondition for understanding such matters or as undermining analytical validity. This article outlines the third position. Based on radically engaged fieldwork conducted with people dedicated to spiritual and mindfulness–meditation training in Denmark, I explore doubt as a transformative experience. Doubt, I hold, destabilizes both ontological certainty and the alleged analytical invalidity of engaged anthropology, making doubt, I argue, a valuable anthropological disposition. [Denmark mindfulness–meditation epistemologyand methodology] Danish abstract Transformerende oplevelser har længe været et centralt emne for antropologer, der studerer spirituelle fænomener. Som radikalt-deltagende oplever mange af disse antropologer selv at blive transformeret i løbet af feltarbejdet, hvilket forstærker deres vurdering af radikal-deltagelse som den mest egnede måde at undersøge spirituelle fænomener på. Samtidig rejser oplevelserne spørgsmålet om spirituelle fænomeners ontologiske status, og her deler vandene sig mellem dem, der omfavner fænomenerne som ontologiske sandheder, og dem, der afviger fra at afgive vurdering. Denne splittelse forplantes ligeledes i diskussioner om antropologisk autoritet, hvor tro enten ses som afgørende for at forstå spirituelle fænomener eller som underminerende for analytisk validitet. Denne artikel skitserer en tredje position. Baseret på radikalt-deltagende feltarbejde blandt mennesker i Danmark, som er dedikerede til spirituel og mindfulness-meditations træning, udforsker jeg tvivl som en transformerende oplevelse, der destabiliserer både ontologisk vished og den angivelige analytiske invaliditet, og argumenterer for tvivl som værende en værdifuld antropologisk disposition. |
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| ISSN: | 1548-1352 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Ethos
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/etho.12314 |