Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy
- Downloads：4705
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-12 09:53:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ken Wilber
- ISBN：1570625549
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
The goal of an "integral psychology" is to honor and embrace every legitimate aspect of human consciousness under one roof。 This book presents one of the first truly integrative models of consciousness， psychology， and therapy。 Drawing on hundreds of sources—Eastern and Western， ancient and modern—Wilber creates a psychological model that includes waves of development， streams of development， states of consciousness， and the self， and follows the course of each from subconscious to self-conscious to superconscious。 Included in the book are charts correlating over a hundred psychological and spiritual schools from around the world， including Kabbalah， Vedanta， Plotinus， Teresa of Ávila， Aurobindo， Theosophy， and modern theorists such as Jean Piaget， Erik Erikson， Jane Loevinger， Lawrence Kohlberg， Carol Gilligan， Erich Neumann， and Jean Gebser。 Integral Psychology is Wilber's most ambitious psychological system to date and is already being called a landmark study in human development。
Reviews
Joseph Knecht
，
A true attempt to integrate all of human psychology。 Wilber investigated many models of the evolution of human psychology and tries to create an integrated model and integrates them all。 He looks at inner subjective/objective and outer subjective/objective traits and creates a quadrant that showcases how consciousness can create body， mind， spirit， soul， and Self。His research is informed by eastern and western sources。 Also， he looks at premodern， modern， and postmodern ways of thinking。Much of A true attempt to integrate all of human psychology。 Wilber investigated many models of the evolution of human psychology and tries to create an integrated model and integrates them all。 He looks at inner subjective/objective and outer subjective/objective traits and creates a quadrant that showcases how consciousness can create body， mind， spirit， soul， and Self。His research is informed by eastern and western sources。 Also， he looks at premodern， modern， and postmodern ways of thinking。Much of his research has already been elaborated in his magnum opus， but this is good introductory material for those who have not read it yet。 Some Quotes:Thus， the first seven years of life involve adaptation to the physical realm （especially food， survival， safety）。 The second seven years involve adaptation to the emotional-sexual-feeling dimension （which culminates in sexual maturation or puberty）。 The third seven years of life （typically adolescence） involves the emergence of the logical mind and adaptation to its new perspectives。 This brings us to around age twenty-one， where many individuals’ overall development tends to become arrested。Each time the self （the proximate self） encounters a new level in the Great Nest， it first identifies with it and consolidates it; then disidentifies with it （transcends it， de-embeds from it）; and then includes and integrates it from the next higher levelIt was this scientific materialism that very soon pronounced the other value spheres to be worthless， “not scientific，” illusory， or worse。 And for precisely that reason， it was scientific materialism that pronounced the Great Nest of Being to be nonexistent。The self， at every level， will attempt to defend itself against pain， disruption， and ultimately death， and it will do so using whatever tools are present at that level。 If the self has concepts， it will use concepts; if it has rules， it will use rules; if it has vision-logic， it will use vision-logic。We might say， only as consciousness gained some distance from nature could it paint nature more realistically。We are all the sons and daughters of a Godhead that is the Goal and Ground of every gesture in the Kosmos， and we will not rest until our own Original Face greets us with each dawn。Constructivism means consciousness doesn’t merely reflect the world， it helps construct it。 Contextualism means that holons are nested， indefinitely。 Integral-aperspectivism means that as many perspectives as humanly possible must be included in an integral embrace。 That the Kosmos is endlessly holonic—there is the message of postmodernism 。。。more
Atanas Karadzhov
，
A micro perspective on integral theory vs the more macro approach of A Brief History of Everything。 It helped me solidify my understanding of integral theory， while adding a few extra insights。 Next question: how to develop an integral practices？ The theory is great， but without practice it is just that a theory。 So， to establish that my next reads are One Taste， Spiral Dynamics and the work of Dalai Lama among others。
Cássius Carvalho
，
the information here is very valuable， but the book is poorly organized and repetitive。 it's very detailed though。 it works better if instead of trying to read it all， you use it as a reference book and make periodic visits to it。 the information here is very valuable， but the book is poorly organized and repetitive。 it's very detailed though。 it works better if instead of trying to read it all， you use it as a reference book and make periodic visits to it。 。。。more
Michael
，
I nominate Ken Wilber for the greatest thinker of our age。 I have read about his work before and decided to read this original work， which， although it is already 20 years old， is still ahead of its time。 This is an incredibly wide spanning book， integrating the vast fields of consciousness， science， morality and culture with the phenomenal charts that Wilber is famous for。 Wilber has set himself no less a task than orienting us to the full span of premodern wisdom， the revolutions of modernity I nominate Ken Wilber for the greatest thinker of our age。 I have read about his work before and decided to read this original work， which， although it is already 20 years old， is still ahead of its time。 This is an incredibly wide spanning book， integrating the vast fields of consciousness， science， morality and culture with the phenomenal charts that Wilber is famous for。 Wilber has set himself no less a task than orienting us to the full span of premodern wisdom， the revolutions of modernity and the critique of postmodernity bringing us to the brink of our current age， that Wilber proposes will be the "Integral" age of synthesis and ultimately transcendence。 You may already see why some refer to Wilber as the new Hegel。 Wilber's writing is efficient， articulate and extremely potent。 This is not a difficult to read book if you are prepared for a mind expanding experience。 Those who proceed will be introduced to the concept of the four quadrants of human experience that all interact。 These are the quadrants of subjective personal experience （mind）， subjective interpersonal experience （culture）， the objective physics and biology of the individual （science） and the objective physics and biology of the collective （social science）。 In broad terms Wilber gives his understanding of the emergence of form in all of these quadrants in "waves" and "lines" of transcendent and inclusive development called Holons。 He then demonstrates convincingly how development of consciousness follows this model （as famously demonstrated by Jean Piaget） to levels that we in the West have forgotten about。 Premodern cultures all agreed on transcendent levels of consciousness including soul and spirit。 However premodern cultures did not differentiate culture from morality or rational inquiry， limiting our ability for progress with the repressive force of tribal and religious dogma。 The Modern age， according to Wilber， liberated and differentiated the quadrants of culture， science and morality from these strictures， an impressive feat that brought the blessings of science， liberalism and individual freedoms。 On the other hand it also had the unfortunate consequence of raising the rational mind to the level of repressive agent， dismissing the subjective and the moral and ultimately disavowing all levels of transcendent conscious development。 Everything was reduced to the material and the objective， in what Wilber refers to as the calamity of "Flatland"， with its resulting alienation， ideologies and the disasters of the 20th century。 Wilber then turns to postmodernism and the realizations of relativism， pluralities of interpretation and egalitarianism with the potential to begin the process of integrating the moral， rational and subjective。 However he points out the derailments of post modernism in its tendency towards moral relativism and outright abandonment of any theoretical authority。 Finally and most importantly Wilber presents a very cohesive picture of how we can move forward bringing back the best of the premodern， with its higher levels of conscious and spiritual development， the modern， with its differentiations of the "four quadrants" and the postmodern with its respect for context and cultural construction， into what he refers to as an "all quadrant， all level" integral approach to psychology and frankly all of human understanding。 In this paradigm shifting argument Wiber has succeeded over the many decades of his career in leading nothing less than an integral revolution， that is our greatest hope of solving the many challenges of our time。 I recommend this book to all serious thinkers ready to pursue their development past the barriers of the conventional。 Transcend and include！！ 。。。more
Marco
，
Most of Ken's book are similar， each expanding a bit to one side of the theory or the other。 If you don't know his theory and are interested in developmental psychology you should definitely check him out。 Most of Ken's book are similar， each expanding a bit to one side of the theory or the other。 If you don't know his theory and are interested in developmental psychology you should definitely check him out。 。。。more
Jon Terry
，
Wilber presents an introduction to a pretty comprehensive model of adult mental / emotional / spiritual development。 I found this book extremely insightful - the ideas here have really helped me to make sense of this crazy world that we live in。 At times I got lost in the terminology， but for the most part it was plenty accessible。
Andrew Nelson
，
These reads just keep on coming to me at the right time。
Jeremiah Oakes
，
This was a very good book。
S
，
The last couple months， I've been talking to my coworkers about this weird author I can't figure out。 I tell them， my coworkers， that I can't decide if he's a honest-to-God systems philosopher or a crazy person。 Don't get me wrong: I have a special fondness for crackpots （because I worry about how I myself have crackpot tendencies: trying to read graduate level stuff without a grad-degree， drawing diagrams in my little hovel， not on the cognitive level to build up a bibliography like Joseph Tain The last couple months， I've been talking to my coworkers about this weird author I can't figure out。 I tell them， my coworkers， that I can't decide if he's a honest-to-God systems philosopher or a crazy person。 Don't get me wrong: I have a special fondness for crackpots （because I worry about how I myself have crackpot tendencies: trying to read graduate level stuff without a grad-degree， drawing diagrams in my little hovel， not on the cognitive level to build up a bibliography like Joseph Tainter or Jonathan H。 Turner， but willing to buy the books and work on them in my own humble way {it wouldn't be a Scott-Review if it didn't have the self-flagellation I routinely employ}）。This is my second Ken Wilber book I've read in toto， among others I've skimmed or half-read。 My conclusion is that Ken Wilber is definitely brilliant， and his heart's in a good place， but there is like a solid 16% New-Age Snake-Oil vibe that permeates his writing （as opposed to someone like Talcott Parsons， in whom there is a -79% New Age Anything vibe）。 There's probably a reason he's published by Shambala and not by Wiley or SUNY， like some of the other transpersonalist/integralist writers。 If you haven't investigated this super weird semi-academic niche， I'm going to give you a brief play-by-play of my own experience， because I don't know how else to situate this phenomenon that I've accidentally stumbled into: Academically Geared New Age。I went through some personal stuff recently， and my general sense of well-being sort of collapsed （these are the periods when we open ourselves up to all sorts of odd things， isn't it？ We can only pray that we're surrounded by genuinely good people and institutions when we have our little disintegrations， otherwise， who knows what might happen？）。 So， in my search for meaning and healthy practices， I started looking into psychology and positive psychology。 I'd heard of some of the humanistic psychologists， who were like Heidegger and Sarte-lite: Rollo May and Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow。 But all these dudes are dead。 What happened to that sort of Human Potential wave after that generation？ It got picked up by a cousin in human-development: the New Age Movement。 I haven't read enough about the social Origins of the New Age movement， but I know that my mom was really into that stuff。 And I was in to it too when I was little。 But then my friend lent me an Academic text on Lao Tzu， and I realized that New Age was the softest non-fiction that was out there， and even though it said nice things， it wasn't rigorous and it seemed to just glide over all the hard-stuff that we encounter in living: suffering， responsibility， obligation， and institutions。 That， and so much of it was based on woo-woo magical-thinking that， as far as I could tell， had no basis in reality。 There of course are limits to this sort of critique: at what point do we as rational compatriots in dialectic draw the line between sound-faith and hogwash？ Obviously， we end up having faith in something。 The general contemporary trend I identify in my peers is a sort of low-definition scientism， if I had to give it a name。 But even that ideology has the basic structure of a faith-relationship （as does political allegiance， or even the Cult of Literature）。 A person may never sit down and write out their manifesto， but they have general ideas about how there may be a God， but it's maybe sort of like a pantheistic thing， but mostly science accounts for our experience of reality， but why are we talking about this， it's pretty deep， huh？ （I slipped into free-indirect-discourse: I'm not saying that's my opinion， that's just the general vibe I get）。So， anyway， while digging through positive psychology stuff （stuff grounded in clinical research， I did not want to start wading through self-help New Age woo-woo）， I eventually stumbled into this super weird discourse on mystical experiences and personal growth。 That's stuff I'm totally into！ The more I dug around into the Transpersonal literature， the more I kept on seeing the name "Ken Wilber。" And I was like， "who the hell is this guy？" He has a humble little Wikipedia page。 Salon did an interview with him。 He has an online presence。 He's written a ton of stuff。 From what I could gather， latter-day positive psychology developed into Transpersonal Psychology， and Ken Wilber is one of its major luminaries。 I asked my friends who got psychology degrees if they had ever heard of him。 One told me no and I should read the Psalms。 The other told me he hadn't either， and we still haven't made definite coffee plans yet。 So I just decided to begin reading him。I should probably talk about the book。 The above is an awful lot of preamble for a book review。 But we never just read a book。 We read a book in a certain period of our lives， under definite historical-social circumstances， and unless we're hardcore completitionists， we only take a book seriously if it answers some question we can't sort out on our own。 Wilber kind of does this。 I mean， enough to convince me he has important insights to share。 But I don't think he and his messianic Integralism is the panacea that his circle apparently is convinced that it is。 Next to his genuinely astute psychological observations， he's selling vacuum cleaners， man。Wilber is at his best when he's discussing developmental-psychological schemes （he loves charts; I can't fault him， though: I love diagrams）。 He's basically doing systems science， but his argument is that systems science doesn't extend far enough into the transpersonal domains。 And there's a good reason for that。 But first， let me explain what these guys are talking about when they talk about "The Transpersonal。" This is the idea that Eastern-Style Enlightenment/Satori/Moksha is a higher level of human evolution。 And via serious religious practices， a person can tap into these higher domains。 I have a long， complicated history with the idea of Eastern-Style-Enlightenment， but let me say generally that， well， obviously， some people have their cognitive shit together a lot better than others。 And there's no doubt that this sort of highly-tuned mental discipline can produce some incredibly important interior experiences。 But， what I believe， is that these sort of mystical experiences are deeply， profoundly personal。 And though a person may communicate some of the insights the experience reveals， the verbal communications don't count for much when held up next to the genuine personal article。 Wilber， which is the weirdest thing about his writing， Wilber just glibly goes along like these Eastern-Style-Enlightenment experiences are a sure thing and to be intellectually taken for granted。 That's where his discourse really jars with me。 At least Alan Watts， for all his faults， had the decency to explain that talking about Eastern-Style-Enlightenment was not at all the same thing as the experience itself。 Wilber may mention this sort of caveat in passing， but it really is a significant aspect of religious practice to just wipe your hands with and lump into your system。It reminds me of a hilarious zen explication about religious instruction。 As you may or may not know， zen is into paradox， because the point of zen practice is to point the way beyond conventional-logical understanding （or， as Wilber would say， "Centaur Vision-Logic;" Wilber's nomenclature is consistently goofy）。 So， upon being asked by a pupil "what is the body of Shakyamuni？" which is a typical student way of asking "how do I get that good Enlightenment juice？，" the zen master replied， "dried shit cube。" Because that's as good as linguistic communication is in passing on The First Principle in zen。 Wilber's slick discussions about "subtle， causal， and nondual" states of consciousness really just remind me of dried shit cubes。But I don't mean for this review to be totally negative and rude。 I can't convince myself that Wilber is not on to some fundamental truths about human nature。 For instance， his discussion about lines of development is a powerful explanatory tool （not everyone is developed equally in every aspect of human nature， so that's why you can have gurus who end up committing felonies， or scientists who lack social grace （as the ole stock-character trope goes）。 His theorizing about personal development and pathology is also very useful。 And he's definitely done the heavy lifting in reading through the literature on pathology。 Here's a good quote about psychological disorders with respect to the effort to achieve personal growth: As we saw， if something goes wrong during this general developmental period， the result is a 'script pathology，' a series of distorted， demeaning， unfair ideas and scripts about oneself and others。 Cognitive therapy has excelled in rooting out these maladaptive scripts and replacing them with more accurate， benign， and therefore healthy ideas and self-concept （97）。The other cool thing he does is match up certain types of developmental disorders with certain types of therapy （cognitive therapy with cognitive distortions， existential therapy with existential issues， and so on， and places these within an overarching developmental scheme）。The one frustrating thing about this book， I mean， this one in particular， is that in many places， it references his earlier books for fuller discussions。 Wilber seems to have a tendency to not go into fuller discussions。 He said the original version of this book was supposed to be two volumes and over 100 charts （heck yeah！）。 But what we get， instead， is a really breezy run through of individual development， where development can go wrong， and then some stuff about cultural development and Wilber's special sauce: The Four Quadrants （it's as smart as it is hokey: I mean， yes， clearly， any effort towards consilience must take on a form like Wilber's， but Wilber's has the sense of a person who's got the general parts all sorted out， but doesn't have a solid metaphysics to glue it all together， and human psychological development and the expectation of "nondual consciousness" can only defer the necessary details so far until it starts to come off as insincere。）。He even admits towards the end that he hasn't given enough details: "Obviously， as I said in the Introduction， this type of approach can only begin with the most general of generalizations--outrageous generalizations， some would say。。。" （193）。It's getting late。 I'm about to need to eat my salad and watch Law & Order。 Long story short: I wouldn't recommend this book。 "The Atman Project" was pretty neat。 And I'm sure one of his earlier books I've got on order will probably go into detail about some of the topics that Wilber appears to have a grip on。 But this book won't help you out of a jam。 It's not a therapeutic book。 It's a showcase for Wilber's Integralism， which at moments begins to sound like multi-level marketing。 I'll let you know if any of his other material has some insights about inner growth and pathology therapeutics （because that's what I'm really interested in）。 But I'm going to stick with Voegelin as my theoretical North Star。 。。。more
Johnny Danell
，
For how engaging the book was overall I give it four stars。 For Wilber's overall effort both with this book and his vision in general I give top top marks！ This is a book that is both informative on the history of mainly developmental psychology （a part of psychology that don't get as much credit as it should these days） but also psychology overall。 But Wilber then goes further in trying to integrate psychology into his integral framework which is both interesting and probably necesary to take t For how engaging the book was overall I give it four stars。 For Wilber's overall effort both with this book and his vision in general I give top top marks！ This is a book that is both informative on the history of mainly developmental psychology （a part of psychology that don't get as much credit as it should these days） but also psychology overall。 But Wilber then goes further in trying to integrate psychology into his integral framework which is both interesting and probably necesary to take the subject to the next level。 A great book to read for people who have an interest in either psychology， philosophy or spirituality （or better up， all of the three）。 。。。more
Stephen M。 Theriault
，
Metaphysical proof that there are hierarchies of Spirit。
Ricche Khosasi
，
amazing works！！！
Noah Skocilich
，
Really beautiful book that organizes and clarifies so much knowledge from across the breadth of the ‘Great Tradition’。I feel I understand the overall historical situation of humankind much better for having read this book。
J-
，
In short， I would give this text a score sliding from 3 to 5。 5 if you have never read any or only a little "Integral Theory"The book had some interesting ideas and started to unpack some of the treasures of an integral psychology， but a problem I have with so many of Wilbers works is that they generally present something like 5-20% new material。 If that 5-20% new material was 80%， then Id give the text a 5， but because it doesnt seem to be so I personally give it a 3/5。 In short， I would give this text a score sliding from 3 to 5。 5 if you have never read any or only a little "Integral Theory"The book had some interesting ideas and started to unpack some of the treasures of an integral psychology， but a problem I have with so many of Wilbers works is that they generally present something like 5-20% new material。 If that 5-20% new material was 80%， then Id give the text a 5， but because it doesnt seem to be so I personally give it a 3/5。 。。。more
Isaac Montgomery
，
Many good insights on lines and levels of development。 Wilber was the first person to truly understand what was and is happening with human conciousness at the turn of the 21st century。 His idea of a "pre/trans fallacy" is absolutely invaluable。 Many good insights on lines and levels of development。 Wilber was the first person to truly understand what was and is happening with human conciousness at the turn of the 21st century。 His idea of a "pre/trans fallacy" is absolutely invaluable。 。。。more
Alex Giurgea
，
O carte de 6 stele。 Este foarte dificil de exprimat in cateva fraze intreg continutul dar o sa incerc。 Ken a reusit sa construiasca o harta a hartilor potentialului uman punand cap la cap teoriile pre-moderniste， moderniste si post-moderniste。 In aceasta harta apoi sunt integrate principalele scoli de psihoterapie si etapele din dezvoltare in care pot fi utilizate。 Este un continut atat de dens， incat ar lua o viata explorarea unui singur topic in detaliu。 In acelasi timp ia in calcul liniile de O carte de 6 stele。 Este foarte dificil de exprimat in cateva fraze intreg continutul dar o sa incerc。 Ken a reusit sa construiasca o harta a hartilor potentialului uman punand cap la cap teoriile pre-moderniste， moderniste si post-moderniste。 In aceasta harta apoi sunt integrate principalele scoli de psihoterapie si etapele din dezvoltare in care pot fi utilizate。 Este un continut atat de dens， incat ar lua o viata explorarea unui singur topic in detaliu。 In acelasi timp ia in calcul liniile de dezvoltare care pot fi aflate pe diferite niveluri la un anumit moment al vietii si incadreaza experientele spirituale in aceasta harta si formele in care acestea sunt experimentate la diferite etape de dezvoltare。 Astfel avem o harta completa a dezvoltarii de la corp la minte la suflet la spirit， rod a peste 3000 de ani de cercetari interioare si exterioare de la pre-modernism la modernism la post-modernism。 。。。more
culley
，
The big picture has never been so big。A common refrain in this book is something like "Any psychology which hopes to affect a truly integral approach will need to contain”。 Apparently a truly integral approach would contain a huge amount of graphs， charts and footnotes。 This book is 75% reference。 Ken Wilber has the mental processing capacity of 5 or 6 people— he is clearly a genius。 And yet， in describing where the world population falls in regards to the Graves Diagram on page 48， when you add The big picture has never been so big。A common refrain in this book is something like "Any psychology which hopes to affect a truly integral approach will need to contain”。 Apparently a truly integral approach would contain a huge amount of graphs， charts and footnotes。 This book is 75% reference。 Ken Wilber has the mental processing capacity of 5 or 6 people— he is clearly a genius。 And yet， in describing where the world population falls in regards to the Graves Diagram on page 48， when you add up the percentages of the groups described you get 111。1%。 He knows what he has done， and he doesn’t care。 Ken Wilber is definitely eating his own dog food （dogfooding）。 This book is packed with charts， graphs， references and data， and it is equally packed with flowery， poetic language， humor， spirit and audacity。 Left brain and right brain— a truly integral approach to writing this book。There is nothing I love more than a strong challenge to my worldview and Ken Wilber presents just that。 Integral Psychology can help us break free from our internal bonds and escape the trappings of our personalities to achieve a more expansive embrace of human potential。 I have long neglected the lower right quadrant of figure 5， and I have not been particularly aware of the effects of the lower left quadrant on my thinking。 。。。more
Cate Montana
，
Astonishing book。 Lucid， chock full of info， dense， intellectual， sometimes funny and very pertinent to understanding the state of the world today。 Can't recommend it enough。 And read the footnotes and Appendix！ Astonishing book。 Lucid， chock full of info， dense， intellectual， sometimes funny and very pertinent to understanding the state of the world today。 Can't recommend it enough。 And read the footnotes and Appendix！ 。。。more
Ricardo Acuña
，
Me pareció una excelente síntesis de Wilber que concilia su modelo del espectro de la conciencia con los modelos de la psicología， la psiquiatría y la espiritualidad。 Es un libro pequeño que está muy bien documentado。 Resulta muy interesante el intento de llevar a un enfoque integral los sistemas analíticos， psicológicos， psiquiátricos y espirituales de oriente。 De manera particular me ayudo a comprender algunos aspectos de patologías psíquicas que no podrían ser explicados completamente bajo ot Me pareció una excelente síntesis de Wilber que concilia su modelo del espectro de la conciencia con los modelos de la psicología， la psiquiatría y la espiritualidad。 Es un libro pequeño que está muy bien documentado。 Resulta muy interesante el intento de llevar a un enfoque integral los sistemas analíticos， psicológicos， psiquiátricos y espirituales de oriente。 De manera particular me ayudo a comprender algunos aspectos de patologías psíquicas que no podrían ser explicados completamente bajo otros enfoques psicodinámicos。 Considero que se trata de un "intento" de sistematizar modelos， （como Wilber lo dice en sus conclusiones）。 Visto como tal contiene ideas que valen la pena considerar y profundizar más luego。 Sin embargo otras de sus ideas son discutibles。 Pero considero que así se construye el campo de conocimiento， explorando modelos tan divergentes en un intento de conciliarlos。 。。。more
David
，
Having read several books by Wilber I was really looking forward to finally reading this one （first published in 2000）。 Ken Wilber drives me crazy I find so many of Wilber's books seem to repeat themselves and in the same way。 He gives an overview of his basic theory （telling me about quadrants， levels， lines， states， inner/outer。。。） but rarely fills in the details to a level I would like。 For example， in this book I was really hoping to get a better description of what he suggests are the most Having read several books by Wilber I was really looking forward to finally reading this one （first published in 2000）。 Ken Wilber drives me crazy I find so many of Wilber's books seem to repeat themselves and in the same way。 He gives an overview of his basic theory （telling me about quadrants， levels， lines， states， inner/outer。。。） but rarely fills in the details to a level I would like。 For example， in this book I was really hoping to get a better description of what he suggests are the most significant lines of development。 I understand that there is no ONE way to do so， but I really would appreciate getting a reasonable description of SOME way with a reasonable amount of depth。 This was touched on in this book， but realizing I need to go off to other writers （like Robert Kegan， Susanne Cook-Greuter， Jane Loevinger， John Broughton， Erik Erikson， Don Beck， 。。。。） to get a decent understanding of what is being talked about。 I have done some of this in the past - but frankly as a lay person it is more effort than I would like。 I wish Wilber would give a decent， accessible， reasonably complete description of the things he repeatedly just alludes to （or buries in copious footnotes）。However， some developmental streams are identified and gone into in more detail: Morals Levels of Motivation Worldview Affect: development of emotional life or feeling life。 Gender Identity Aesthetics Various Cognitive Lines Lines of the self: Gross， Subtle， Causal Ken Wilber rocks my life By the time I finished this book I have to admit I was reminded how much I appreciate Wilber's work and how hugely personally significant he has been in my own journey。 His description of the 'disasters and dignities' of Premodern， Modern， Post-Modern， and Integral consciousness is wonderful。 In this book， he particularly emphasizes:Pre-Modern: The wisdom of the Great Chain or Great Nest （Body to Mind to Soul to Spirit） Modern: The differentiating of the four quadrants （or big three - Art， Morals， Science）。 At the same time， the collapse of inner realities to outer。 The exterior objective world is what is really real - inner is not really real。 Love as neural activity is real - but the suggestion， for example， that love is somehow is an ultimate reality is meaningless （within the modern paradigm）。 Post-Modern: The recognition of the 'Myth of the Given'。 The realization that human understanding is an interpretation。 Interpretation then becomes central and the various contexts that influence that interpretation （culture）。 The inherent contradiction in the post-modern narrative that all narratives are just interpretations and thus no narrative is 'more' or 'better' or 'more developed' than any other。 The resulting dismissal of the idea of progress， hierarchies of any kind， and evolution （other than just change）。 Somehow a post-modern can look at the 14 billion year evolutionary story and conclude that the story suggests things have 'changed' but certainly not 'evolved'！ Despite some of my frustrations， this is one of my favourite Wilber books。 Like Integral Spirituality， I plan on returning to this book once in a while。 。。。more
Barbc
，
14
Ed Smiley
，
Ken Wilber is in perhaps a good sense a latter day scholastic philosopher。 His audacious intent is to attempt a synthesis of scientific rationality， mystical experience postmodernism， and eastern philosophy。 The weakness of such synthesis is that， although interesting， it tends to be schematic， and based on meta-writing， rather than experiential test （scientific experiment， meditative practice etc。*） However it brings forward a wealth of ideas and patterns for your consideration。* Wilber has sci Ken Wilber is in perhaps a good sense a latter day scholastic philosopher。 His audacious intent is to attempt a synthesis of scientific rationality， mystical experience postmodernism， and eastern philosophy。 The weakness of such synthesis is that， although interesting， it tends to be schematic， and based on meta-writing， rather than experiential test （scientific experiment， meditative practice etc。*） However it brings forward a wealth of ideas and patterns for your consideration。* Wilber has scientific training and a long-standing meditation practice， so this criticism is not about his personal experience， nor of his wide scholarship， but the wide range of levels of credibility of his sources。 。。。more
Eugene Pustoshkin
，
Книга предлагает блестящий синтез всевозможных школ психологии Востока и Запада， древности， современности и постсовременности。 Must read。
Suzanne Hazelton
，
I thought this would be a "heavy" read， but actually found it well written。 This may be of interest to you if you're interested in development， and especially understanding where East meets Western traditions。 Not hugely practical - although p。 113 describes activities to develop in "all level， all quadrant"。 I thought this would be a "heavy" read， but actually found it well written。 This may be of interest to you if you're interested in development， and especially understanding where East meets Western traditions。 Not hugely practical - although p。 113 describes activities to develop in "all level， all quadrant"。 。。。more
Richard
，
So this is my second wilber book。。。 but it was exactly like my first wilber book。。。well， for the most part。 THe new thing was the "streams of consciousness" thing that he'd added since "Brief History of Everything。" Ok - interesting。 But why did I want to read all of the "integral" ideas again？ I just felt it was a missed opportunity。 with a title like "Integral Psychology"， I thought He'd show how to weave together all of the psychological thinkers and their approaches。 I guess I'm looking for So this is my second wilber book。。。 but it was exactly like my first wilber book。。。well， for the most part。 THe new thing was the "streams of consciousness" thing that he'd added since "Brief History of Everything。" Ok - interesting。 But why did I want to read all of the "integral" ideas again？ I just felt it was a missed opportunity。 with a title like "Integral Psychology"， I thought He'd show how to weave together all of the psychological thinkers and their approaches。 I guess I'm looking for a book called "integrating psychology"。 I found it odd that no existant psychological thinkiers （other than developmentalists） really found their way into the texts。 Instead， it was his approach to psychology。 That in mind， the subtitle （including the word Therapy） was totally misleading。 Just like Jung， Freud， Adler， Rogers， etc， Therapy was but a footnote。 I feel that the integral approach is useful， necessary， and， to whatever extent， the future。 But what would have been more useful would have been an examination of how， with integral approach as the background， the various psychological thinkers fit into the paradigm。 As a side note， it continues to annoy me that Wilber totally dismisses the transpersonal quality of Jung's work。 Now that Redbook is published， I'd love to see if Wilber changes his tune regarding Jung as a mystic。 。。。more
Dreamersemporium
，
very good
Kerry
，
An academic read but amazing！ It brings together so many ideas which have influenced me: hypnotherapy， spirituality， anthropology， history。 It has given me confidence to use those ideas in my private practice。
Michelle Tannenfolletti
，
Wilber has taken all my favorite psychologists， and expanded them to their highest point of actualization。 I can't deny he is fairly fundamentalist， but I cheer his cause。 I am not yet as enlightened as he。 Wilber has taken all my favorite psychologists， and expanded them to their highest point of actualization。 I can't deny he is fairly fundamentalist， but I cheer his cause。 I am not yet as enlightened as he。 。。。more
Savitri Mayer
，
Otro aporte genial de Wilber， en este caso en el campo de la psicología。 Un estudio que incluye todo， como es habitual en él， no solamente los desequilibrios humanos a nivel de la persona， sino también a nivel transpersonal，y las terapias o métodos adecuados para armonizar o sanar esos desequilibrios。
Lisa
，