Blog: Integral Theory - 2013-03-10
Integral Theory March 10, 2013,
There is a tremendous body of work available on the subject of Integral Theory. It comes from the idea to 'integrate.' That is, to bring disparate parts together into a synergistic whole. Its principle author is a philosopher by the name of Ken Wilber. Wilber sought to provide maps for those interested in rising to higher levels of consciousness.
He approached the problems of humanoid existence from a completely different perspective than L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard's approach could be characterized as more 'subjective' whereas Wilber's was more 'objective.' Hubbard tackled the problem of what was eating him, figured out how to deal with it and developed a technology to share the route. It was a masterful process of elimination – differentiating those datums that assisted his journey from those that did not, and then codifying the former while rejecting the latter. His rejection of that which did not assist his route was done in the most emphatic terms, emphasis perhaps added in part, to clearly differentiate his route. In this regard, he was unparalleled in his ability to detect and label what and who was 'wrong.' His emphasis became dissociation and exclusion from other thoughts and ideas.
Conversely, Wilber began with the proposition that 'everyone is right on some level'. All routes have a place somewhere on a bigger map. His emphasis was on association or inclusion. He looked for the common denominators of great religious, philosophic, contemplative, and psychotherapeutic practices over centuries and placed particular emphasis on objective indicia of workability. From that he developed scales outlining evolutionary phases, levels, and states that people went through from birth to the highest states of consciousness. Whereas Hubbard was the founder of a mental/spiritual practice or lineage, Wilber was more a philosopher/academic who mapped common denominators of many practices and lineages.