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Ken Wilber

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Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. (born January 31, 1949) is an American philosopher. His work focuses mainly on uniting science and religion with the experiences of meditators and mystics. He is considered a major researcher in the field of Transpersonal psychology and could be said to have started that field of research in the modern age.

In 2000 Wilber founded the Integral Institute, a think-tank for studying issues of science and society in an integral way. He has been a pioneer in the development of Integral psychology and Integral politics.

Ideas

Wilber's major theoretical accomplishment has been to create what he calls the Neo-perennial Philosophy by integrating Aldous Huxley's Perennial Philosophy with a theory of spiritual evolution. Some (namely, the Croatian philosopher Arvan Harvat) have noted that attempting to integrate a thoroughly non-dual approach like Zen with an evolutionary view is ultimately impossible. If your model includes all possibility and actuality, how can it change? Wilber's response is that his theory is actually a 'rational reconstruction of a post-rational state of consciousness'. In effect, Wilber concedes the ultimate futility -- from a rational perspective -- of his quest. His writings point beyond the rational to the mystical.

Influences

Wilber's conception of the Perennial Philosophy is influenced by the post-metaphysical, non-dual mysticism of Advaita Vedanta, Zen Buddhism, Nagarjuna, Plotinus, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, and Ramana Maharshi.

Wilber's conception of spiritual evolution or development is typified by Aurobindo, German idealism and by developmental psychologies like those of Abraham Maslow, Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Spiral Dynamics.

Wilber's other major influences include: Tibetan Buddhism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jean Gebser, and Erich Jantsch. He is conversant with the philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Jürgen Habermas.

Wilber has in turn influenced several artists, including Stuart Davis, Ed Kowalczyk, and Billy Corgan.

Bibliography

  • The Spectrum of Consciousness, 1977
  • No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth, 1979
  • The Atman Project: A Transpersonal View of Human Development, 1980
  • Up from Eden: A Transpersonal View of Human Evolution, 1981
  • The Holographic Paradigm and Other Paradoxes: Exploring the Leading Edge of Science, 1982
  • A Sociable God: A Brief Introduction to a Transcendental Sociology, 1983
  • Eye to Eye: The Quest for the New Paradigm, 1984
  • Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists
  • Transformations of Consciousness: Conventional and Contemplative Perspectives on Development (co-authors: Jack Engler, Daniel Brown), 1886
  • Spiritual Choices: The Problem of Recognizing Authentic Paths to inner Transformation (co-authors: Dick Anthony, Bruce Ecker), 1987
  • Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life of Treya Killam Wilber, 1991
  • Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, 1995
  • A Brief History of Everything, 1996
  • The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad, 1997
  • The Essential Ken Wilber: An Introductory Reader, 1998
  • The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion, 1998
  • One Taste: The Journals of Ken Wilber, 1999
  • Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy, 2000
  • A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality, 2000
  • Speaking of Everything (2 hour audio interview recording), 2001
  • Boomeritis: A Novel That Will Set You Free, 2002
  • Kosmic Consciousness (12 hour audio interview recording), 2003
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