Indic Studies
From neurocognitive and computational models to śāstra and paramparā
Exploring categorical translations between Indic darśanas and cognitive science
Abstract
Cognitive science has historically explored how information is processed in both biological
and artificial systems. By focusing on functional and structural aspects of cognition, it has given rise to
a variety of paradigms to study cognitive processes, generally described in terms of informationprocessing dynamics. From neural networks and bio-inspired algorithms to agent-based models, these
approaches have brought very valuable insights, but they have overlooked fundamental questions
regarding subjectivity, identity, and the nature of consciousness. In contrast, Indic knowledge systems
have, over centuries, developed elaborate frameworks not only to understand attention, memory or
reasoning, but also to dissect the nature of experience. Indic traditions have developed
phenomenological methods to cultivate particular bhāvas, re-architecting human experience and
deconstructing self-referential cognitive constructs. While western clinical psychology has largely been
oriented towards the preservation and regulation of the egoic self, śāstras have explored how to
transcend the ego-bound identity (ahaṃkāra). Similarly, while cognitive and computer scientists have
implemented silicon-based systems that replicate mental operations; sādhakas have focused on
empirically transcending their own cognitive and perceptual modalities. In this essay, the argument is
that a proper engagement with the ontological and epistemological frameworks preserved in the śāstras
and transmitted through living paramparās can enable cognitive scientists to move beyond their
prevailing conceptual and methodological biases. In that regard, this research argues for a transcultural
approach in which śāstras and paramparās are globally recognized in the context of cognitive science,
complementing computational and neurocentric models without reducing Indic categories to Western
equivalents or translating them into psychometric or neurophysiological terms.
Keywords
cognitive science
śāstra
indic knowledge systems
cognition
consciousness studies
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