What Is Integral Theory?
The purpose of Integral ideas is to become aware of how we think and improve our ways of thinking. All practice depends on an implicit theory. The problem is when your theory mainly just implicit and you are not fully choosing it consciously but are a product of social influences also known as the matrix. Even when conscious, your opinions are generally not just your own
The greatest skill is to be able to listen to understand another point of view. Most people can only understand their own as the only legitimate view of the world and think everyone else is stupid. Understanding others is important for both empathy and getting more information; in relationships, in sales, in politics, in any kind of human interaction.
Integral is a framework for understanding and comparing all points of view to understand your own POV in relation to others and evaluate it, and further develop your thinking. Integral theory is not a fixed position; it is a shared language for discussion differences and similarities.
Integral theory clarifies 8 different types of paradigms or world views that shape our opinions about all kinds of subjects. The 8 paradigms reflect both stages of cognitive develop and general types of civilization where that stage of cognitive development was dominant. Each successive stage incorporates the wisdom of the previous stage and some of its vices as well as it moves on to better things. This applies to individuals and cultures. There is thus infinite variety.
There is a huge leap between stages 6 and 7 whereby people gain the ability to actually understand that other points of view exist with the ability to see differences of opinion as based on different basic assumptions and information, not character flows, bad intentions or stupidity. This is called the Integral stages whereby people can integrate all the different points of view choosing the best parts of each that are logically consistent. This also frees one from the blind spots of one’s own arrogance and chauvinism as one realizes the world is more complex and unpredictable than you thought, so you can relax and remain open while admitting that certain problems are not solvable for now.
There are two major source of these ideas. One is Ken Wilbur’s books and many articles online on Integral. The other is called Spiral Dynamics and there is a single book with that name that is a good place to start. But Integral breaks it down further into applying the ideas to four aspects of life: individual, biology, culture and social institutions, as well as other lines of development. I don’t have a link of where to start with Integral, but you can find some nice color coded charts online.
The greatest skill is to be able to listen to understand another point of view. Most people can only understand their own as the only legitimate view of the world and think everyone else is stupid. Understanding others is important for both empathy and getting more information; in relationships, in sales, in politics, in any kind of human interaction.
Integral is a framework for understanding and comparing all points of view to understand your own POV in relation to others and evaluate it, and further develop your thinking. Integral theory is not a fixed position; it is a shared language for discussion differences and similarities.
Integral theory clarifies 8 different types of paradigms or world views that shape our opinions about all kinds of subjects. The 8 paradigms reflect both stages of cognitive develop and general types of civilization where that stage of cognitive development was dominant. Each successive stage incorporates the wisdom of the previous stage and some of its vices as well as it moves on to better things. This applies to individuals and cultures. There is thus infinite variety.
There is a huge leap between stages 6 and 7 whereby people gain the ability to actually understand that other points of view exist with the ability to see differences of opinion as based on different basic assumptions and information, not character flows, bad intentions or stupidity. This is called the Integral stages whereby people can integrate all the different points of view choosing the best parts of each that are logically consistent. This also frees one from the blind spots of one’s own arrogance and chauvinism as one realizes the world is more complex and unpredictable than you thought, so you can relax and remain open while admitting that certain problems are not solvable for now.
There are two major source of these ideas. One is Ken Wilbur’s books and many articles online on Integral. The other is called Spiral Dynamics and there is a single book with that name that is a good place to start. But Integral breaks it down further into applying the ideas to four aspects of life: individual, biology, culture and social institutions, as well as other lines of development. I don’t have a link of where to start with Integral, but you can find some nice color coded charts online.
