Universal Integralism: Ken Wilber's Integral Method in Context

Abstract

This article is an inquiry into Ken Wilber's integral epistemology as applied to social systems, namely, through organizations and leadership. It explicates the constructionist component inherent in the universalist nature of AQAL theory (a framework covering all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all states, all types). The relationship between integral methodological pluralism and the AQAL model are explored in the context of a fundamental misunderstanding of phenomenology, transpersonal psychology, and the human sciences, not as a method among many but as an essential characteristic of Wilber's integral theory. This article aims to contribute to the further development of integral research and design methods through clarification and contextualization.

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Notes on contributors

Sean M. Saiter

Sean M. Saiter is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA. He has been deeply pondering the meaning of transpersonal and integral literature and life since he was 15. His current research interests include phenomenology, social philosophy, intersubjectivity, second-person issues, and spirituality.