The Deified Self

Abstract

This article is an existential-phenomenological ("centaur level") 1 response to Ken Wilber's concept of deified or ultimate consciousness. Ultimate consciousness, according to Wilber, is the supreme expression of human awareness. It is the point at which highly developed people (i.e., mystics) totally transcend space and time, and are aware (at once) of all perspectives in the universe. Three areas of this concept are evaluated and questioned: the human capacity to achieve ultimate consciousness, the relevance of ultimate consciousness for human problems, and the final appeal of ultimate consciousness. The author concludes that the concept of ultimate consciousness is (1) presumptuous and most probably unachievable for human beings; (2) even if achievable, irrelevant to people's day-to-day concerns; and (3) ultimately monotonous and uninteresting (if not terrorizing and overwhelming). A plea is made for a more realistic view of consciousness, one in which boundaries permit optimal freedom of expression.