- This article is about integral theory in philosophy, psychology, and society. It is unrelated to the concept of an integral in calculus.
Integral theory is a term often used to describe the intellectual teachings and work of the American philosopher Ken Wilber. It may refer to Wilber's theories in general, or to specific aspects thereof, whether theoretical or in practical application.
Integral Theory
Integral theory refers to the systematic holistic philosophy developed originally by Ken Wilber, and more recently incorporated with the
Spiral Dynamics theory of
Don Beck. It is an all-encompassing
evolutionary theory that addresses all aspects of
consciousness studies (Wilber 1997), as well as such diverse fields as
ecology and
politics.
Integral theory builds upon the ideas of previous integral thinkers like James Mark Baldwin, Jürgen Habermas and Jean Gebser, but also contains many new elements. Wilber intends to break away from metaphysics to develop a theory of spiritual evolution that is acceptable to the modern secular world. Integral theory is discussed on the Integral Naked website, and constitutes the syllabus of Integral University.
Applications of Integral Theory
Wilber's theories in general, or specific aspects such as the
Four Quadrants or Wilber and Beck's Integral Spiral Dynamics, have been applied in the world of business and
business leadership (Cacioppe and Edwards, 2005; Landrum and Gardner 2005),
International development (Hochachka 2005), and even
marine ecology (Tissot 2005).
Other movements
Integral yoga refers to the work of the
Hindu guru Sri Aurobindo.
Integral thought may refer variously not only to Wilber's own teachings or those that have adopted them, but also to authors that were influenced by Aurobindo but not Wilber (e.g. Indra Sen, Haridas Chaudhuri), have been influenced by both but don't necessarily follow Wilber's position, or Wilber's position only, or have broken with Wilber but retain certain elements of Integral theory.
See also
References
- Ron Cacioppe and Mark Edwards, "Seeking the Holy Grail of organisational development: A synthesis of integral theory, spiral dynamics, corporate transformation and action inquiry", Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Mar 2005 Vol 26, no.2 pp. 86 - 105
- Gail Hochachka, Developing Sustainability, Developing the Self: An Integral Approach to International and Community Development, Polis Publications, 2005.
- Nancy E. Landrum and Carolyn L. Gardner, "Using integral theory to effect strategic change", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Jun 2005, Vol 18, no.3 pp 247 - 258
- Brian N. Tissot - Integral Marine Ecology: Community-based fishery management in Hawaii, the Journal of General Evolution, 2005 vol. 61 pp.79-96
- Ken Wilber, An integral theory of consciousness, Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 4, Number 1, 1997, pp. 71-92(22)
External links
Integral theory | Transdisciplinarity | Futurology | Holism | Philosophical schools and traditions | Philosophical theories | Spiritual evolution
Integrale Theorie | Enfoque integral | ทฤษฎีบูรณาการ