Papers by Johannes Wagemann
RoSE – Research on Steiner Education, Dec 29, 2011
The article begins by registering the fact that meditation is extremely popular nowadays and surv... more The article begins by registering the fact that meditation is extremely popular nowadays and surveying the current state of meditation research. The radical differences between normal and meditative consciousness call forth the question as to whether modern science and meditative practice must-in terms of their basic assumptions and empirical justification-be viewed as ultimately incompatible, or whether there is some theoretical framework in which they can be seen as structurally related. By way of an initial approach to this question, the extent to which the experience of meditation can be systematically described from a qualitative, cross-disciplinary perspective is explored. Whereas it is perfectly possible-within the span of the dynamic between the "profound meditation state" and the consciously employed "mental technique"-to give detailed descriptions of meditation processes in their own terms, there are still basic methodological refinements to be made in relation to the question posed above. Conceptual considerations on the communicability and structure of meditative experience open up wider possibilities for investigating it from a more intrinsic perspective. Here this is attempted on the basis of the structural phenomenology of cognition. The conceptual integration of two typical mental techniques (focused attention and open monitoring) brings into play a third descriptive dimension: that of the semantics of meditative experience in relation to the established framework within which the functioning of the human organism is currently understood. On this basis it becomes possible to derive meditative from normal consciousness. In conclusion, some light is thrown upon the role of meditation in professional skills development, using the teacher in the classroom situation as an example.
European Psychologist, Apr 1, 2021
RoSE – Research on Steiner Education, 2019
RoSE – Research on Steiner Education, 2015
Zusammenfassung. Geteilte Intentionalität (shared intentionality) gilt als Schlüsselaspekt zum Ve... more Zusammenfassung. Geteilte Intentionalität (shared intentionality) gilt als Schlüsselaspekt zum Verständnis sozialer Beziehungsbildung. Anthropologische Studien zeigen, dass Kinder schon sehr früh damit beginnen-anders als z. B. Affenbabies-, im Modus geteilter Intentionalität (z. B. mittels der Zeigegeste) auch solche sozialen Beziehungsformen aufzubauen, die über die Befriedigung biologischer Bedürfnisse hinausgehen. Statt, wie heute meist üblich, davon auszugehen, dass kleine Kinder lernen müssen, Sinnstrukturen nach und nach aus zusammenhanglosen Reizen zu generieren, lässt sich die früh auftretende ko-intentionale Fähigkeit aus waldorfpädagogischer Perspektive durch eine ursprünglich holistische Bewusstseinsverfassung des Kindes erklären. So gesehen kann der mentale Zustand von Kindern nicht durch einen Mangel an Sinnstruktur charakterisiert werde, sondern vielmehr durch das Streben, passende Bedeutungsmuster aus ihrer holistischen Verfassung herauszulösen und an erfahrungsmäßig auftretenden Bruchstellen zu individualisieren, um die Welt zu erkunden und soziale Beziehungen aufzubauen. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden psychologische und philosophische Modelle diskutiert, um zu einer angemessenen Konzeption des Phänomens geteilter Intentionalität zu gelangen. Weiterhin scheint bei Kindern die zur kognitiven Distanzierung von Objekten erforderliche Aktivität in direkter Konkurrenz zu den vitalen Ressourcen zu stehen, die ein gesundes körperliches Wachstum ermöglichen. Als pädagogische Herausforderung folgt daraus, intellektuelle und abstrahierende Kompetenzen nicht zu früh bei Kindern anzuregen oder zu erzwingen. Stattdessen ist nach Wegen zu suchen, wie sich altersangemessene Formen von Sinnstrukturen in der Kommunikation und Interaktion mit Kindern finden bzw. im Umgang mit geeignetem Material evozieren lassen, um eine psychisch und physiologisch gesunde Entwicklung zu fördern.
RoSE – Research on Steiner Education, Mar 4, 2013
Zusammenfassung. Wie ist das Verhältnis praxisrelevanter Konzepte der Waldorfpädagogik zu Steiner... more Zusammenfassung. Wie ist das Verhältnis praxisrelevanter Konzepte der Waldorfpädagogik zu Steiners Anthroposophie zu bestimmen? Zu dieser Frage werden zunächst zwei polare Positionen und ein anfänglich vermittelnder Ansatz dargestellt. Anknüpfend an diesen und an vorangegangene Arbeiten wird eine hermeneutische Vorgehensweise skizziert, die einen Weg weisen kann von bereits etablierten Methoden und ihren Ergebnissen zur strukturellen Rekonstruktion esoterischer Aspekte aus Steiners pädagogischer Anthropologie. Ausgehend vom Prinzip des problemorientierten Unterrichts und unter Einbeziehung der Objektiven Hermeneutik erfolgt eine Bestandsaufnahme schulpädagogischer Krisentypen. Zur genaueren Analyse dieser Krisen und entsprechender Bewältigungsprozesse werden der genetische Strukturalismus Oevermanns und Witzenmanns Strukturphänomenologie verglichen sowie ihre Differenzen und Gemeinsamkeiten herausgestellt. Die letzteren erlauben die Formulierung eines integrativen Modells pädagogisch-sozialer Strukturbildung, welches das Paradigma von Krise und Routine in einen zyklischen Prozesszusammenhang einbettet. Von hier aus lassen sich erste Bezüge zur Waldorfpädagogik herstellen: 1) Selbsterziehung von Lehrer und Schüler als symmetrischer Strukturkern, 2) Partielle Gebundenheit von Eigenaktivität zur leiblichen Entwicklung als asymmetrischer Beziehungsaspekt. Eine weitere Konkretisierung des strukturgenetischen Modells ergibt sich anhand der diagnostischen und therapeutischen Leitmotive des Verfahrens "Wege zur Qualität". Hierdurch lässt sich insbesondere die prozessuale Verwobenheit rollenhafter und auf die ganze Person bezogener Beziehungsanteile begründen. Schließlich werden unter Bezugnahme auf das Rhythmusmotiv aus Steiners "Allgemeiner Menschenkunde" pädagogische Interpretationen der menschlichen Wesensgliederung sowie des Reinkarnationskonzepts vorgenommen.
New Ideas in Psychology, 2020
While mainstream psychology and cognitive science still rely on the measurement of external behav... more While mainstream psychology and cognitive science still rely on the measurement of external behavioural data, systematic recording and analysis of qualitative and process-related first-person data is largely missing. However, it is possible to overcome these limitations leading to an incomplete picture by adapting conventional methodological criteria to first-person research. This study gives an example of this, referring to perceptual reversals and exploring the phenomenal and processual qualities of mental action and emotion as they occur during the task of holding a particular percept while the stimulus changes. The results are in support of a fourphase dynamics of voluntary mental action and indicate a processual correlation of mental action and concomitant emotional experience. This is discussed in the context of common psychological constructs such as self-control and self-efficacy, other introspective research results, the bottom-up/top-down debate and in view of neurophysiological studies in this field.
Current Psychology, Nov 23, 2018
Awe and wonder are precious but elusive psychological states that are difficult to research exper... more Awe and wonder are precious but elusive psychological states that are difficult to research experimentally. We conducted a first person phenomenological enquiry in an effort to explore awe and wonder conceptually. Awe is typically described as a state in which vastness and the need to adjust to new information is experienced. Based on a literature review and on observations from our phenomenological exploration we propose that vastness and need to adjust are not necessary, only possible characteristics of awe and wonder. Both phenomena are characterized by a range of other critical attributes that we with explored in our enquiry, such as receptiveness and quality of attention. They can also be differentiated on a number of dimensions-for instance by the extent to which they evoke the experience of a subject/object divide. We propose a set of qualifications to the existing concepts and discuss the relevance of awe and wonder in research settings where such approach-related capacities provide an important complement to the common mindset of skepticism and critique.
New Ideas in Psychology, 2015
Die Psychologie ist als wissenschaftliche Disziplin sowohl mit externen (Verhalten) als auch inte... more Die Psychologie ist als wissenschaftliche Disziplin sowohl mit externen (Verhalten) als auch internen (Erleben und Bewusstsein) Dimensionen von Forschung befasst. Zur Messung von Verhalten können Psychologen heute auf ein breites Spektrum ausgereifter Untersuchungsmethoden zurückgreifen. Diese Methoden eignen sich allerdings kaum zur Untersuchung der qualitativen Natur innerer Erfahrung: Sie produzieren Daten, die durch ihre quantitative Repräsentationsform vom ursprünglichen Phänomen wegführen. Daher erscheint es konsequent, zur Untersuchung der qualitativen Zustände von Erfahrung eine der Ersten-Person-Perspektive entsprechende introspektive Methode zu verwenden. Jedoch besteht nach wie vor ein gespanntes Verhältnis zwischen Psychologie und introspektiver Forschung. In diesem Artikel untersuchen wir die gegenüber Introspektion-als Forschungsgegenstand wie auch als Methode-bestehenden Bedenken, skizzieren die Stärken sowie auch Grenzen des heutigen experimentellen Paradigmas und entwerfen einen integrativen Ansatz, indem wir prüfen, wie zentrale Komponenten der experimentellen Methode auf eine Phänopraxie der Ersten-Person-Perspektive übertragen werden können.
Applied Cognitive Psychology, Mar 30, 2018
Mind wandering is an inherently inner (or first-person) phenomenon that leaves few direct traces ... more Mind wandering is an inherently inner (or first-person) phenomenon that leaves few direct traces for third-person enquiry. Nonetheless, psychologists often study mind wandering using third-person (e.g., behavioral or neuronal) research methods. And although research-participants may well be asked to introspect on their mind wandering experiences (e.g., via experience-sampling or think-aloud techniques), such introspective self-observations typically lack methodological rigor and are hence of only preliminary value. Here, we argue that it is a missed opportunity to not train researchers to introspect on their own mind-wandering experiences to better understand the associated mental processes. We propose a novel approach to cultivating an educated form of introspection in the study of attentional focusing and mind wandering. Our research adds to the current theoretical understanding by explicating conditions that facilitate mind wandering (e.g., the shifting and broadening of concepts) and help find the way back to the primary task (e.g., commitment; deliberate shifts between focusing and defocusing).
Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 9, 2019
Frontiers in Psychology, Jan 11, 2018
The processual relation of thinking and perceiving shall be examined from a historical perspectiv... more The processual relation of thinking and perceiving shall be examined from a historical perspective as well as on the basis of methodically conducted first-person observation. Historically, these two psychological aspects of human knowledge and corresponding philosophical positions have predominant alternating phases. At certain historical points, thinking and perceiving tend to converge, while in the interim phases they seem to diverge with an emphasis on one of them. While at the birth of modern science, for instance, these two forms of mental life were deeply interlinked, today they seem to be separated more than ever before-as a number of scientific crises have shown. Turning from the outer to the inner aspect of this issue, a phenomenological view becomes relevant. In terms of the consciousness phenomenology developed by Steiner (1861-1925) and Witzenmann's (1905-1988) Structure Phenomenology, this article will show how a methodical integration of thinking and perceiving can be carried out on the basis of first-person observation. In the course of a skilled introspective or meditative self-observation the individual's own mental micro-actions of separating and integrating come into view, jointly constituting what we usually call thinking and perceiving. Consequently, this approach includes a conceptual as well as a perceptual dimension the experimental confluence of which ties in with the methodological core principle of modern natural science. At the same time, making this principle explicit may open the way to a further development of human consciousness and its scientific delineation.
Advances in Cognitive Psychology, Dec 1, 2018
In view of the unresolved mind-brain problem, we examine a number of prototypical research attitu... more In view of the unresolved mind-brain problem, we examine a number of prototypical research attitudes regarding the question, how the mental and the neuronal realms are related to each other, both functionally and ontologically. By discussing neurophilosophical and neuropsychological positions, the mind-brain problem can be recast in terms of a structural relation between methodological and content-related aspects. Although this reformulation does not immediately lead to a solution, it draws attention to the necessity of searching for a new way of balancing separating and integrating elements regarding content as well as method. As a relatively unknown alternative in this context we investigate an approach by the philosopher Rudolf Steiner. It comprises a firstperson method, along with the theoretical background of what has come to be known as the mirror metaphor-an analogy for the brain as a necessary but not a sufficient basis for mental activity. Through a first-person study, this approach is scrutinized using volitionally controlled perceptual reversals. The results allow for a phenomenological distinction of processual phases which can be summarized as engaging and disengaging forms of mental activity. Finally, we initiate a discussion in view of related philosophical concepts and give an outlook on the next possible research steps.
New Ideas in Psychology, Oct 1, 2015
Psychological phenomena can be described on different levels of analysis: on an experiential leve... more Psychological phenomena can be described on different levels of analysis: on an experiential level (e.g., what is it like to be attentive); and on a behavioral level (e.g., how does it become evident that someone is attentive). In the following, we outline how the widely prevalent focus on exclusively behavioral characteristics is insufficient and how our understanding of psychological phenomena can be enriched by taking the qualitative dimension of experience into consideration. We then scrutinize components of this experiential realm and report how it provides the stage for a third level: conceptual insight (e.g., what types or phases of attention can be distinguished). We subsequently look at the history of science and relate the behavioral aspect to the material realm (the realm of the body); the experiential aspect to what has been historically referred to as the soul realm; and the conceptual aspect to what has been historically referred to as the spirit realm. Finally, we add a first-person trial to delineate these concepts further and scrutinize them in light of contemporary theory-building.
Current Psychology, Feb 9, 2022
In perceptual psychology, audition and introspection have not yet received as much attention as o... more In perceptual psychology, audition and introspection have not yet received as much attention as other topics (e.g., vision) and methods (third-person paradigms). Practical examples and theoretical considerations show that it nevertheless seems promising to treat both topics in conjunction to gain insights into basic structures of attention regulation and respective agentive awareness. To this end, an empirical study on voluntary auditory change was conducted with a non-reactive firstperson design. Data were analyzed with a mixed methods approach and compared with an analogous study on visual reversal. Qualitative hierarchical coding and explorative statistics yield a cross-modal replication of frequency patterns of mental activity as well as significant differences between the modalities. On this basis, the role of mental agency in perception is refined in terms of different levels of intention and discussed in the context of the philosophical mental action debate as well as of the Global Workspace/Working Memory account. As a main result, this work suggests the existence and structure of a gradual and developable agentive attention awareness on which voluntary attention regulation can build, and which justifies speaking, in a certain sense, of attentional self-perception.
Philosophical Psychology, Jul 18, 2021
ABSTRACT While the general topic of agency has been collaboratively explored in philosophy and ps... more ABSTRACT While the general topic of agency has been collaboratively explored in philosophy and psychology, mental action seems to resist such an interdisciplinary research agenda. Since it is difficult to empirically access mental agency beyond externally measurable behavior, the topic is mainly treated philosophically. However, this has not prevented philosophers from substantiating their arguments with psychological findings, but predominantly with those which allegedly limit the scope and conscious controllability of mental action in favor of automated subpersonal processes. By contrast, the call for a methodological extension through introspective access is particularly noticeable among proponents of a wider significance of mental action. Taking this up, it is shown how an empirical-introspective methodology can obtain a differentiated structure of mental activities occurring in directed thought. The empirical results gained under replicable conditions with 32 participants lead to insights about mental activity regarding (1) immanent causation, (2) content-free intention, (3) active receptivity and (4) its selective openness to mental content, and (5) different levels of observational awareness. These arguments speak for assigning an agentive status to the activities studied and hence for a more significant role of mental action in cognitive processes.
Cognitive Processing, Apr 5, 2021
Counting objects, especially moving ones, is an important capacity that has been intensively expl... more Counting objects, especially moving ones, is an important capacity that has been intensively explored in experimental psychology and related disciplines. The common approach is to trace the three counting principles (estimating, subitizing, serial counting) back to functional constructs like the Approximate Number System and the Object Tracking System. While usually attempts are made to explain these competing models by computational processes at the neural level, their firstperson dimensions have been hardly investigated so far. However, explanatory gaps in both psychological and philosophical terms may suggest a methodologically complementary approach that systematically incorporates introspective data. For example, the mental-action debate raises the question of whether mental activity plays only a marginal role in otherwise automatic cognitive processes or if it can be developed in such a way that it can count as genuine mental action. To address this question not only theoretically, we conducted an exploratory study with a moving-dots task and analyze the self-report data qualitatively and quantitatively on different levels. Building on this, a multi-layered, consciousness-immanent model of counting is presented, which integrates the various counting principles and concretizes mental agency as developing from pre-reflective to increasingly conscious mental activity.
European Psychologist, Jul 1, 2018
. Memory is typically conceptualized as a mental space where information is stored until it is re... more . Memory is typically conceptualized as a mental space where information is stored until it is retrieved for current processing. This archive account has been undermined by a multitude of findings, however, calling for a theoretical and also a methodological reorientation. In particular, we consider it timely to include an introspective mode of research into the study of memory because such introspective enquiry can provide insights into the recall process that go beyond those of third-person research. The limitations often associated with introspection (e.g., its seemingly subjective quality and its post hoc nature) are well justified – but only as long as the more immature impromptu introspections are concerned. A more systematically developed form of introspection can overcome these limitations. Such a systematic approach is outlined and used here to develop a taxonomy of mental processes involved in recall. Our observations lend support to a reconstruction account and allow for a differentiation of mental activities involved in various types of recall.
RoSE – Research on Steiner Education, 2019
ABSTRAKT. Dieser Artikel ist die schriftliche Fassung eines im Dezember 2017 an der Alanus-Hochsc... more ABSTRAKT. Dieser Artikel ist die schriftliche Fassung eines im Dezember 2017 an der Alanus-Hochschule im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Die philosophischen Quellen der Anthroposophie" gehaltenen Vortrags. Er verfolgt Herbert Witzenmanns (1905-1988) Ringen um das philosophisch Eigene der Anthroposophie in den Spannungs-und Entwicklungsfeldern seiner Biographie und versucht zu zeigen, inwiefern dieses gerade in der Beziehung individueller Aneignungsbewegungen bezüglich universeller Sinnstrukturen zu finden ist. Dieser von Witzenmann selbst als Grundstruktur bezeichnete Kern der Anthroposophie wird in exemplarischen Aspekten seines Bewusstwerdens und zum Ausdruck Kommens umrissen, insbesondere in Witzenmanns Schul-und Studienzeit, seiner Tätigkeit im Familienunternehmen, seinem Wirken in der Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft und seinem Bestreben die Anthroposophie an akademische Formen von Wissenschaft anschlussfähig zu machen. Mit dem Aufweis des doppelseitigen, methodologischen und strukturlogischen Quellpunktes der Anthroposophie steht Witzenmann produktiv innerhalb des unvollendeten Werkes Steiners und weist damit zugleich über seine aktuelle Erscheinungsformen hinaus-und regt zu seiner Weiterentwicklung an.
RoSE – Research on Steiner Education, 2017
Zusammenfassung. Traditionell stimmungsbildend in der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Rezeption der ... more Zusammenfassung. Traditionell stimmungsbildend in der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Rezeption der Waldorfpädagogik wirkte bisher überwiegend das von Heiner Ullrich nochmals auf den Punkt gebrachte Diktum einer "bemerkenswerten Praxis und dubiosen Theorie zugleich" (Ulrich, 2015, S. 173). Anknüpfend an Albert Schmelzers kritische Replik (Schmelzer, 2016) behandelt der vorliegende Beitrag die pädagogisch-anthropologische Dimension dieses Spannungsfeldes. In historisch-systematischer Absicht werden zunächst anthropologische Reflexionsniveaus bzw. Forschungshaltungen unterschieden, welche in "positive" (dem Menschen bestimmte Merkmale zuschreibende) oder "negative" (sich eines geschlossenen Menschbildes enthaltende) anthropologische Entwürfe münden. In der kritischen Diskussion dieser Ansätze wird deutlich, dass ihre innere Widersprüchlichkeit und apodiktische Gegenüberstellung zur Entwicklung eines weiteren, integrativen Reflexionsniveaus herausfordern. Ein solches wird in der ihrer selbst prozessual bewusstwerdenden Selbstbeschreibung des Menschen benannt und methodisch mit einer bewusstseinsphänomenologischen Forcierung und Kultivierung der innermenschlichen Perspektive begründet. Indem alltägliche Bewusstseinsprozesse zunehmend bewusst vollzogen, reflektiert und beschrieben werden, lässt sich der anthropologische Kern der Selbstbeschreibung freilegen. Von hier aus wird anhand exemplarischer introspektiver bis meditativer Beobachtungsfolgen die der Waldorfpädagogik und ihrem Entwicklungsmotiv zugrundeliegende Wesensgliederkunde entwickelt und im Kontext anderer anthropologischer Konzeptionen diskutiert.
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Papers by Johannes Wagemann