Summary

Wilber’s integral theory treats the Kosmos as the living totality of matter, body, mind, soul, spirit. Growth + development of mind unfolds through stages / waves in which each wave can “transcend and include” the last. Spiral dynamics maps eight stages / memes from beige survival through green pluralistic relativism to yellow integrative and turquoise holistic being levels. Development is a successive decrease in egocentrism: selfish → care → universal care.

An integral vision combines interior ↔ exterior and individual ↔ collective, uniting art, morals, science, religion rather than reducing reality to one quadrant. It applies all quadrants and stages to politics, governance, medicine, business, and science + religion. The danger is exterior development running ahead of interior development; high tech with a primitive worldview demands collective wisdom, love, compassion, and an understanding of interdependency.

“Exterior development (eg. tech) has always run ahead of interior development”

Key Takeaways

Introduction

• Evolutionary psychology: study of evolution applied to human behavior
• ↑ replaces postmodernism: all behavior is culturally relative and socially constructed
• Chaos + complexity theory: the universe has an inherent tendency to create order (vs 2nd law of thermodynamics)
• Natural selection at all levels: physical to cultural
• Starting in 80s, grand unifying theory: string theory
• Kosmos: the living totality of matter, body, mind, soul, spirit

1: The amazing spiral

• Integral theory: a theory of everything for the cosmos ↑
  • Art, morals, science, religion
• Critical theory, meant to encourage a more enlightened state
• The leading edge of consciousness evolution itself
• Growth + development of mind as a series of stages / waves
• Spiral dynamics: human development through 8 stages / memes
  • Colors because it takes mind off race
• Subsistence levels: first 6 levels
• Being levels / second tier
• 8 levels: (% world pop, % social power)
  1. Beige: archaic instinctual, survival (0.1%, 0%)
  2. Purple: magical animistic / spirits (10%, 1%)
  3. Red: power gods, self distinct from tribe, present focus (20%, 5%)
  4. Blue: mythic order, life has meaning, guilt, rule of order (40%, 30%)
  5. Orange: scientific achievement, truth in individualistic terms, rational (30%, 50%)
  6. Green: sensitive, networked, eco, feelings, pluralistic relativism (10%, 15%)
  7. Yellow: integrative, flexibility (1%, 5%)
  8. Turquoise: holistic, detects all states (0.1%, 1%)
• ↑ each wave is “transcend and include”

2: Boomeritis

• Narcissism: excessive interest in one’s own self and abilities
• Development is a successive decrease in egocentrism
• Selfish → care → universal care
• Pre-conventional egocentrism of majority of protesters
  • Not actually “universal moral principles”
• Green egalitarianism aggressively denies the previous stages to its own peril
• Yellow re-introduces nested hierarchies
  • Eg. molecules, cells, organisms, ecosystems
• Dominance → growth hierarchies
• Boomeritis: stuck at green level

3: An integral vision

• 1-2-% second tier, 20% green poised for momentous leap
• Pluralistic relativism → universal integralism
• Everybody has value hierarchies
• The 4 hierarchies / quadrants:
  • Interior ↔ exterior
  • Individual ↔ collective
• 4+ higher transpersonal / spiritual waves:
  • Psychic
  • Subtle
  • Causal
  • Non-dual
• Men → agency, women → communion
• Culture: inter-subjective patterns in consciousness
• Social system: inter-objective realities
• Right side = scientific
• Left side = interior
• Holonic: a whole that’s part of another whole
• Self is a “society of selves with a center of gravity”
• Focus should be on making the lower stages of consciousness healthier since people inevitably move thru them
• In need of a more integral approach:
  • Governing bodies
  • Educational institutions
  • Business practices

4: Science + religion

• Classification of relations:
  • Conflict: science denies religion
    • Superstitious relic, survival gimmick of evolution
  • Independence: separate realms
    • Strong: body + mind vs soul + spirit
    • Weak: cannot be integrated
  • Dialogue: both benefit
    • Intelligent design, Anthropic principle, etc.
  • Integration: both part of a big picture
    • Postmodernism deconstructionist dead end
• Matter, body, mind, soul, spirit
• ↑ floors → equal pillars of building
• Eg. meditator’s brainwaves (objective) → feelings of spirituality (subjective)
• Narrow (material) vs broad science (eg. math, psychology)
• Liberalism = separation of church and state; gov’t doesn’t determine what is a good life
• ↑ needs to be progressive, evolutionary. Not imposing belief structures

5: The real world

• Integral politics
  • Interior / values, morals, meaning + exterior / economy, tech development (all quadrants)
  • Consciousness evolution stages:
    1. Pre-conventional (egocentric)
    2. Conventional (socio-centric)
    3. Post-conventional (world-centric)
  • Liberalism’s all views are equally valid → abandoned interior development
  1. Move beyond left and right
  2. Understand stages of the interior
• Integral governance
  • US constitution is stage 5
  • We need second-tier philosophy and governance
• Integral medicine
  • Body + mind + spirit
• Integral business
  • Systems + complexity theory
• “Exterior development (eg. tech) has always run ahead of interior development”
  • People on higher rung thinking invent tech, then anyone can use it
• Need for a growth in collective wisdom
• Love, compassion
• Understanding of interdependency
• The Integral Institute

6: Maps of the Kosmos

• Theory of worldviews in 3 stages:
  • Religion → metaphysics → science
• Many different worldview models*
• Greatest risk: high tech with primitive worldview (no longer in lockstep with globalization)
• The bulk of the world is ethnocentric
• No civilization has survived on a pluralistic (green) agenda
• Expand values, institutions, practices in common with others

7: One taste

• Meditation