Mindfulness in Good Lives

The myriad meanings of mindfulness are connected by the core idea of value-based mindfulness: paying attention to what matters in light of relevant values. When the values are sound, mindfulness is a virtue that helps implement the kaleidoscope of values in good lives.

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Mindfulness is celebrated everywhere—especially in health psychology and spiritual practices, but also in the arts, business, education, environmentalism, sports, and the use of digital devices. While the current mindfulness movement may be in part the latest fad in a narcissistic and therapeutic culture, it is also worthy of greater philosophical attention. As a study in ethics and moral psychology, Mindfulness in Good Lives remedies the neglect of this subject within philosophy. Mike W. Martin makes sense of the striking variety of concepts of mindfulness by connecting them to the core idea of value-based mindfulness: paying attention to what matters, in light of relevant values. When the values are sound, mindfulness is a virtue that helps implement the kaleidoscope of values in good lives. Health psychologists, who currently dominate the study of mindfulness, often present their research as value-neutral science. Yet they invariably presuppose moral values that should be made transparent. These values, which lie at the interface of morality and mental health, form bridges between philosophy and psychology, and between literature and spirituality.