Ken Wilber’s Integral Spirituality
Concept philosophy religion culture December 29, 2020 DOI: 10.24833/2541-8831-2020-4-16-172-173 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | The review describes Wilber's book as applying integral theory to spirituality and building a project he calls "integral postmetaphysics," which he argues can withstand postmodern criticism. The reviewer credits Wilber's broad erudition across religious and scientific traditions while noting that his presentation is sometimes partial and that integral theory tends to be ambiguous and not universal in application. |
Abstract
The book of Ken Wilber, a philosopher, psychologist and the founder of integral theory, is devoted to the role of spirituality, faith and religion nowadays and in the future. The author systematically applies the holist integral theory to many aspects of spirituality, considering modern methodologies and philosophical and religious traditions. He analyzes various practical approaches to the states and the stages of consciousness, views parallels and finds common ground between the Western and the Eastern, scientific and meditative branches of various spiritual systems, and complements them to build his own project – integral postmetaphysics – an area that, according to K. Wilber, can withstand the criticism of postmodernism. Although the author sometimes presents the ideas in a rather partial manner, one should note his erudition and his broad outlook on world religions, phenomenology, behaviorism, structuralism, yoga, meditation, philosophy of mind, psychophysiology and many other spheres. Certainly, the integral theory is a sphere of philosophic analysis that tends to be ambiguous and not universal in application. As it is noted by K. Wilber: “An integral map is just a map. This is not a territory. It would be an obvious mistake to confuse them” [Wilber, 2006: 2]. Nevertheless, it seems that this book can be useful for those interested in the development of holism and modern approaches to spirituality.