March 12, 2006
AN INTEGRAL VISION
INTEGRATION: To bring together, to join, to embrace, not in the sense of uniformity, but in the sense of unity-in-diversity, shared commonalities along with differences B and not just in humanity but in the Kosmos at large. Finding a more comprehensive view that makes legitimate room for the four domains of life B art (AI@), morals (AWe@), empiricism applied to the individual (AIt@) and empiricism applied to society (AIts@) B each domain with its depth, evolution, strata B (levels of consciousness) (p. 2).
SPIRAL DYNAMICS: Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, in their 1996 book Spiral Dynamics B Mastering Values, Leadership and Change (Oxford, UK: Blackwell), based on the work of psychologist Clare Graves, give a view of human development as proceeding through eight general states, called memes. A meme is a basic stage of development that can be expressed in any activity (p. 7).
Memes:
1. Archaic-instinctual (Beige): The level of basic survival. Food, water, warmth, sex and safety have priority. Uses habits and instincts just to survive. The distinct self is barely awakened or sustained. Forms survival bands. 0.1 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 0 percent of the world=s power (p. 9; IP pp. 48-49).
2. Magic-animistic (Purple): Magical spirits, good and bad, swarm the earth, leaving blessings, curses and spells which determine events. The spirits exist in ancestors and bond the tribe. Kinship and lineage establish political links. This stage may look Aholistic@ but it is actually atomistic B AThere is a name of each bend of the river but no name for the river.@ Forms ethnic tribes. 10 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 1 percent of the world=s power (p. 9; IP p. 49).
3. Power Gods (Red): First emergence of a self distinct from the tribe. Powerful, impulsive, egocentric, heroic. Magical-mythic spirits, dragons, beasts, and powerful people. Archetypal gods and goddesses, powerful beings, forces to be reckoned with, both good and bad. The world is a jungle full of threats and predators. Conquers, outfoxes, and dominates. Enjoys self to the fullest without regret or remorse. Be here now. Feudal lords protect underlings in exchange of obedience and labor. Power and glory. The basis of feudal empires. 20 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 5 percent of the world=s power (p. 9; IP p. 49).
4. Mythic Order (Blue): Life has meaning, direction and purpose, with outcomes determined by an all-powerful, righteous Other who enforces a code of conduct based on absolutist and unvarying principles of Aright@ and Awrong.@ Violating the code has severe, perhaps everlasting repercussions. Following the code yields rewards for the faithful. Rigid social hierarchies, paternalistic. One right way and only one right way to think about everything. Law and order. Impulsivity controlled through guilt. Concrete-literal and fundamentalist belief. Obedience to the rule of Order. Strongly conventional and conformist. Often Areligious@ or Amythic@ (in the mythic-membership sense). The Asaintly/absolutistic@ self, but can be secular or atheistic, as in an Order or a Mission. The basis of ancient nations. 40 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 30 percent of the world=s power (pp. 9-10; IP pp. 49-50).
5. Scientific Achievement (Orange): The self Aescapes@ from the Aherd mentality@ and seeks truth and meaning in individualistic terms. Hypothetico-deductive, experimental, objective, mechanistic, operational, Ascientific@ in the usual sense. The laws of science rule politics, the economy and human events. The world is a rational, well-oiled machine with natural laws that can be learned, mastered, and manipulated for one=s own purposes. It is a chessboard on which one plays games, the winners gaining pre-eminence and perks. Highly achievement-oriented B in the United States, especially toward materialistic gains. Marketplace alliances. Manipulates the earth=s resources for its own strategic gains. The basis of corporate states. 30 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 50 percent of the world=s power (p. 10; IP p. 50).
6. The Sensitive Self (Green): Communitarian, human bonding, ecological sensitivity, networking. The human spirit must be freed from greed, dogma and divisiveness. Feelings and caring supersede cold rationality. Cherishes the earth, Gaia, life. Establishes lateral bonding and linking. A permeable, relational self. Group intermeshing. Emphasis on dialogue and relationships. Thinking is subjective and non-linear. Reaches decisions through reconciliation and consensus. Seeks to refresh spirituality, bring harmony, enrich human potential. Strongly egalitarian, anti-hierarchy, pluralistic values. Believes in the social construction of reality, diversity and multi-culturalism. Has a relativistic value system B hence this world view is often called Apluralistic relativism.@ Shows affective warmth, sensitivity and caring for the earth and all its inhabitants. This is the last stage of Afirst-tier thinking@ in which the self still cannot appreciate the existence of the other levels (memes). The basis of value communities. 10 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 15 percent of the world=s power (pp 10-11; IP pp. 50-51).
7. Integrative (Yellow): This is the first stage of Asecond-tier thinking,@ in which, for the first time, the self can grasp the entire spectrum of interior development, see that each level (meme, wave) has a necessary role, and understand the crucial importance of each level for the health of the overall Spiral. For the first time, the self can think both vertically and horizontally, use both hierarchies and heterarchies, ranking and linking (pp. 11-12).
Life is a kaleidoscope of natural hierarchies (holarchies), systems and forms. Flexibility, spontaneity and functionality have the highest priority. Differences and pluralities can be integrated into inter-dependent, natural flows. Egalitarianism is complemented by natural degrees of ranking and excellence. Knowledge and competency supersede power, status and group sensitivity. The prevailing world order is the result of the existence of different levels of reality (memes) and the inevitable movements up and down the Dynamic Spiral. Good governance facilitates the emergence of groups through the levels of increasing complexity (nested hierarchy). 1 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 5 percent of the world=s power (pp. 12-13; IP p. 52).
8. Holistic (Turquoise): The world is a universal holistic system, with waves of integrative energy. The multiple levels are interwoven into one conscious system. Unites feeling with knowledge. Thinking uses the entire Spiral of Development. Sees multiple levels of interaction. Detects harmonics, mystical forces, and the pervasive flow-states that permeate all organizations. Seeks universal order, but lived in a conscious fashion, not based on external rules as in the Mythic Order (Blue), or group bonds as in the Sensitive Self (Green). Believes that a Agrand unification@ (a ATheory of Everything@) is possible, both in theory and in actuality. Sometimes involves the emergence of a new spirituality as a meshwork for all existence. 0.1 percent of the world=s adult population, having about 1 percent of the world=s power (p. 13; IP p. 52).
See AMy Conclusions@ (p. 18 of present document): neither the population nor the power percentages sum up to 100.
Corollaries of the Dynamic Spiral:
1. Development: Development is a successive decrease in ego-centrism (p. 17).
2. Compassion: The Spiral of Development is a spiral of compassion, expanding from Ame,@ to Aus,@ to Aall of us@ B an increasingly great holistic embrace (pp. 22 and 40).
3. Arguments: Many arguments are not a matter of the better objective evidence, but of the subjective level of those arguing (p. 14).
4. The Prime Directive: The health of the entire Spiral (spectrum of consciousness) is paramount, not any one particular level. Each meme (level of consciousness, wave of existence), in its healthy form, is an absolutely necessary and desirable element of the overall Spiral. Therefore, universal integralism should focus, not on a glorious collective move into transpersonal domains B beyond the holistic (Turquoise meme) B but rather on the simple, fundamental changes that can be brought to the magic, mythic, and rational levels.
Most of the work should be directed to make the lower, foundational levels healthier on their own terms B feed, shelter and provide health care to the millions at the most basic levels. The health of the entire Spiral, particularly its earlier waves, screams out to us as the major ethical demand in the world today. The central ethical imperative is the health of the overall Spiral, not of any one of its levels (pp. 55-57, 87, 96, 101-102, 118, 123-124, and 130).
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE: The earth=s population, shrunk to a village of 100 people, would have the following proportions (Phillip Harter, quoted on p. 57).
See My Conclusions (p. 20 of present document): Phillip Harter is not the author of these data. Demographers, however, including William Frey, of the Milken Institute of California, have confirmed the accuracy of the statistics (Rekha Balu, p. 58).
Continents: Asians 57
Europeans 21
North and South Americans 14
Africans 8
Race: Non-white 70
White 30
Wealth: Having 59 percent of the world=s wealth 6 (All from United States)
Housing: Living in sub-standard housing 80
Literacy: Unable to read 70
Food: Suffering from malnutrition 50
Sanitation: Lacking access to basic sanitation* 40
Water: Lacking access to safe drinking water* 20
Education: Having a college education 1
Technology: Owning a computer 1
________________________
* United Nations Development Program (UNDP), World Water Report, March 11, 2006.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF WORLD VIEWS: World views originate in levels of reality (levels of consciousness, waves of existence), and many world views have been described by theorists. For instance (p. 111):
Theorist World View described
First Tier Thinking (Does not appreciate the existence of other memes):
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Sexual and vital world view, stemming
Henri Bergson (1859-1941) predominantly from the biological level (Beige meme).
B (Purple meme).
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) Culmination of the ego-centric, pre-conventional world view (Red meme).
B (Blue meme).
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) Rational (Orange meme).
Jacques Derrida (1930-) Pluralistic (Green meme).
Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998)
Second Tier Thinking (able to grasp the entire spectrum of interior development):
B (Yellow meme)
B (Turquoise meme)
Henry Thoreau (1817-1962) Psychic, nature mysticism (Coral meme).
Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Subtle, deity mysticism. ASaints.@
Meister Eckhart (c.1260-c.1328) Causal, formless mysticism. ASages.@
Each World View is Correct: Each of these world views is basically true, even though partial. The lower levels are the way the world looks from that level (wave). All the levels are crucial ingredients of the Kosmos. It is not that there is one level of reality and other views are primitive and incorrect, it is that each view is a correct view from that level. Lower levels are fundamentally important levels of reality, not incorrect view of one higher, Areal@ level (pp. 111-112).
WORLD VIEWS WITHIN CULTURE BLOCKS: Don Beck and Graham Linscott, in their 1991 book The Crucible B Forging South Africa=s Future (Johannesburg, South Africa: The New Paradigm), have an integral approach which includes consideration of both the culture blocks (the horizontal, the surface appearance of differences) and also the mix of memes in the adult population within these blocks (the vertical, interior differences) (p. 119).
Beck and Linscott find the following meme distribution (their pp. 80-81):
* Europe and the United States have a center of gravity at the Scientific Achievement world view (Orange meme), with strong pockets of Mythic Order (Blue meme) and the Sensitive Self (Green meme) world views. Most of the Aculture wars,@ are conservatives (Blue) fighting against liberals (Green) (pp. 119-120).
* South Africa has two peeks, one representing the Sub-Saharan Africans, at the Magic-animistic/ Power Gods world view (Purple/Red memes), and the other representing the Europeans, at the Mythic Order/Scientific Achievement world view (Blue/Orange memes). The dominator social hierarchy of apartheid was a typical Mythic Order (mythic-membership) structure (p. 120).
* Sub-Saharan Africa is centered at the Magic-animistic/Power Gods (Purple/Red memes) tribal consciousness (p. 120).
* Northern Africa and much of the Middle East are dominated by strong Mythic Order patriarchies and feudal orders, based largely on the mythic aspects of the Koran (Blue meme) (p. 120).
THE NIGHTMARE OF HUMANITY: Once a material artifact has been produced, it can be used by persons at any level of interior development. One of humanity=s constant danger, and its greatest nightmare, is an advance in exterior development (technological growth), unmet by subjective growth (wisdom, care and compassion) (p. 103).
Before the Enlightenment: For most of humanity=s history, the interior and exterior domains have developed in close conjunction with each other. Developments in the exterior-collective (social) domain, which progressed from foraging, horticultural, agrarian, to industrial techno-economic structures, were accompanied in the interior-collective (cultural) domain, by the evolution of world views from Archaic-instinctual (Beige), Magic-animistic (Purple), Power Gods/Mythic Order (Red/Blue), to Scientific Achievement (Orange), respectively (p. 117).
The sequence of events, however, has usually been that new technology was invented first, spread very rapidly, and then slowly, over the course of many generations, remade the cultures in which it was embedded. This is what happened with foraging, horticultual, agrarian and industrial technology, and it is what is happening now with informational technology (pp. 130-131).
Modernity: With modernity, the sweeping scientific capacities of those at the post-conventional level B the rational-industrial world view (Orange meme), began producing technology deriving from that level, at a time when most of humanity was still at either the egocentric (Red meme) or conformist (Blue meme) levels. One genius operating at a high cognitive level, James Watt (1736-1819), for instance, could conceive and produce a technology (the steam engine) which was almost immediately made available to individuals at any level of consciousness B the vast majority of whom would not themselves have been able to invent such a technology (p. 103).
Cross-level access on a scale not seen before, both between cultures and within cultures, was made possible by the increasing globalization of economic exchange:
* Between Cultures: Tribal groups (Purple meme) gained access to industrial technology developed at the rational level (Orange meme), with often horrifying results.
* Within Cultures: In Germany, during World War II, a pre-rational, ethnocentric aggression (Red/Blue meme) made use of technology developed at the rational level (Orange meme), and produced Auschwitz as the result (pp. 117 and 121).
The atomic bomb is the product of formal-operational thinking (Orange meme) which, once it exists, can be used by individuals at much lower levels of development, who themselves could never have produced technology at this level. A person at a world-centric level of moral consciousness would not happily unleash the atomic bomb, but someone at a pre-conventional, egocentric level (Red meme), would quite cheerily bomb anybody who got in his/her way (p. 103).
For the first time in history, global catastrophes were possible and even likely. From atomic holocaust to ecological suicide, humanity was facing its single most fundamental problem on a massive scale B its lack of integral development (p. 104).
Post-modernity: Today, humanity is faced with the rise of powerful technologies derived from second tier thinking B integrative (Yellow meme) and holistic (Turquoise meme). Such technologies include quantum-level energy production, artificial intelligence (robotics), systematic genetic engineering and nano-technology. These are unleashed on a global scale without being met by an equivalent growth in consciousness and wisdom. This time, the lack of integral growth might signal the end of humanity itself. We will devise integral solutions to these global nightmares, or we will very likely perish (p. 104).
Don Beck and Christopher Cowan estimate that around 70 percent of the world=s adult population has a center of gravity at the ethnocentric level or lower:
* 10 percent at the Magic-animistic, (pre-conventional) level (Purple meme).
(1 percent of the power).
* 20 percent at the Power Gods level, the first emergence of the self as distinct from the tribe (pre-conventional) level (Red meme).
(5 percent of the power).
* 40 percent at the Mythic Order (conventional) level (Blue meme).
(30 percent of the power).
The bulk of the world=s adult population (70 percent) has an outlook somewhere between egocentric and ethnocentric, and has around 36 percent of the power. This part of humanity will have an enormous hand in shaping world currents (pp. 118, 126 and 134).
See AMy Conclusions@ (p. 18 of present document): neither the population nor the power percentages sum up to 100.
The Control of Technology: Basically only two ways are available to Acontrol@ this technology:
1. External Legal Enforcement: Banning certain types of research. This is unlikely to be possible since knowledge slips around boundaries.
2. Internal Moral Constraint: A collective wisdom which would seek and implement the wise use of technology (pp. 104-105).
The Need is for a Post-conventional Love (Orange Meme or above): We cannot, such as the Dalai Lama (1935-) and other leaders, simply call for love and compassion per se, for these arise from within all viewpoints B egocentric, ethnocentric and world-centric. We do not want an increase in ethnocentric love. The Nazis loved their families, race, and extended tribe. Most religions, centered on the conformist self, with its mythic-membership world view (Blue meme), have caused, not prevented wars. In each case, their love was ethnocentric, dispensed freely to the true believers and chosen people, with death decreed for all the others, in the name of an intense love for God and country (p. 105).
The love we need is a post-conventional, world-centric, universal love. But that stage of development is reached by less than half (41 percent) of the world=s adult population, while virtually 100 percent of the world=s adult population might soon have access to globally destructive technologies. What good is it to continue to focus on the exterior technological wonders before us? Interior development should be our primary concern (p. 105).
See AMy Conclusions@ (p. 18 of present document): neither the population nor the power percentages sum up to 100.
PRESENT ANALYSES OF WORLD AFFAIRS:
Francis Fukuyama: Francis Fukuyama (1952-) wrote The End of History and the Last Man (1992, New York: Free Press/Avon Books), in which he emphasizes the egoic-rational level (Orange meme), and its need for self-recognition B that is, the self-esteem need in the hierarchy of needs described by Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). Fukuyama notes that the liberal-economic state has delivered this mutual recognition more effectively than any other system in history, and believes, therefore, that no further major historical change can or will occur in this regard. The liberal West has won history, thus Aending@ it (pp. 114-115).
The problem is that this analysis holds for only the egoic-rational, post-conventional, world-centric levels (Orange and Green memes), which constitute around 40 percent of the world=s adult population. The 70 percent at lower levels (memes) do not share Fukuyama=s recognition, much less love for the egoic-rational level (Orange meme) preferring variations on the archaic (Purple), magic (Red) and mythic (Blue) world views. Fukuyama, therefore, leaves out of his analysis the majority of the world=s adult population.
See AMy Conclusions@ (p. 18 of present document): neither the population nor the power percentages sum up to 100.
Fukuyama anchors his analysis in:
1. The interior-individual (intentional) domain.
2. Within the interior-individual (intentional) domain, only on the egoic stage of Scientific Achievement (Orange meme) which Aescapes@ the herd mentality of the Mythic Order (Blue).
3. The exterior-collective (social) domain, that is, the liberal-capitalistic economic factors of the exterior-collective (social) domain (pp. 114-115).
Samuel Huntington: Huntington=s book, The Clash of Civilizations and the re-making of World Order (1996, New York: Simon & Schuster/Touchstone), focuses principally on culture B the interior-collective (cultural) domain. He delineates nine civilization blocks B Western, Latin American, African, Islamic, Sinic, Hindu, Orthodox, Buddhist and Japanese. These are the horizontal Atectonic plates@ of human culture. Taking them into account is crucial. They are some of the primary motivators in international politics, commerce, war and diplomacy (pp. 114-115).
Huntington=s analysis, however, is largely conducted on a horizontal playing field. He does not acknowledge the vertical levels of development, the archaeological strata in the civilization blocks he delineates. His is a surface reading of civilizations without a developmental analysis of the infrastructures of the blocks (p. 119).
Huntington= recommendations are heavily weighted toward the Mythic Order (Blue meme), as would be expected from the conservative-republican stance from which they originate (pp. 117 and 123).
Thomas Friedman: Thomas Friedman=s book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999/2000, New York: Random House/Anchor Books), gives (like Samuel Huntington) only a surface, horizontal view of human differences. He delineates six areas B politics, culture, national security, finance, technology and environment. Within these, he focuses almost exclusively on the exterior-collective (social) B systems theory, chaos and complexity theories, the web of life, holism (a Aflatland,@ holism, without depth), and techno-economic globalization of the post-modern world (pp. 127-129).
Friedman=s global techno-economic wave is basically the exterior-collective (social) equivalent of Huntington=s interior-collective (culture) world civilization (p. 130).
The United Nations Children=s Emergency Fund (UNICEF): iSchaik Development Associates, in their presentations to UNICEF, AThe Process of Integral Development, A and AThe Integrative Approach B All-quadrants, All-levels, All-lines,@ summarize the four domains of development, the levels in each one, and the numerous developmental lines progressing through the levels in a relatively independent manner (p. 99).
iSchaik=s presenters then pinpoint a major reason for some of the past failures of UNICEF. Its activities have largely operated in the external (objective, monological) domains B either individual or social B while ignoring the interior (subjective, dialogical) domains B either individual or cultural (p. 101).
They outline the history of the various programs of UNICEF, pointing out that they all have focused on exterior initiatives (p. 101):
Year Program Domain of Focus
1950's: The Era of Disease Campaigns Exterior individual.
1960's: The Decade of Development Exterior collective
1970's The Era of Alternatives Exterior individual and collective
1980's The Era of Child Survival Exterior individual and collective
1990's The Decade of Children=s Rights Exterior individual and collective
INTEGRAL POLITICS:
1. Embracing both the Conservatives and Liberal Viewpoints: An integral politics would combine:
a. The Subjective (Interior). These are the domains emphasized by conservatives. Traditional conservatives are at the ethnocentric, mythic-membership level (Blue meme) (pp. 85-86).
b. The Objective (Exterior). These are the domains emphasized by liberals. Traditional liberals are at the world-centric stage (Orange meme).
However, liberals, having their roots in the Enlightenment, have espoused a Aflatland@ view of the world B scientific materialism, the belief that only matter is real, and that only science applied to the material domain has any claim to truth B whether this is atomistic science or systems science. Only the domains of the AIt@ and AIts@ are real. Liberalism is a pathological version of the world-centric stage. The inherent contradiction of liberalism is that its stance is the product of stages that it itself denies (pp. 84-87).
An integral politics would embrace at the world-centric level, both the AI@ and AWe@ domains, and a healthy version of the AIt@ and AIts@ domains (the material, economic and social domains) B an Aall-quadrants, all-levels@ approach (p. 88).
2. The Spectrum of Consciousness: For each of the four domains, an integral politics would take into account the stages of the subjective domains B the stages in the evolution of consciousness (p. 85).
3. Needed: A Pacer of Transformation: The Constitution of the United States institutionalized the world-centric, post-conventional stance, and let it act as a governance system for people who, for the most part, were not at that level. It became a pacer of transformation, gently encouraging every activity within its reach to stand within a world-centric, post-conventional, non-ethnocentric moral atmosphere (p. 90).
We need global founding Fathers and Mothers who will frame an integral system of governance that will call us to our more encompassing future, and act as a gentle pacer of transformation for the entire Spiral of human development, honoring each wave as it unfolds, yet kindly inviting every one of us to even greater depth (p. 90).
INTEGRAL MEDICINE
All Domains:
1. Exterior-Individual (Behavioral): Orthodox (conventional) medicine is a classic exterior-individual approach. It uses physical interventions to deal almost entirely with the physical organism (p. 91).
2. Exterior-Collective (Social): The material, economic and social factors which affect an illness, are almost never counted as part of the disease entity, but are, in fact, causative of both disease and cure. A social system that cannot deliver food, kills one. A person with a lethal but treatable illness, for whom his/her health insurance plan is the only source of funding, and whose insurance plan does not cover the disease, dies (p. 92).
3. Interior-Individual (Intentional): Alternative care, including such disciplines as psycho-neuro-immunology, have shown that the interior state of a person (emotions, psychological attitude, imagery, intentions) plays a crucial role in the cause and evolution of physical illness. Visualization, affirmation, and conscious use of imagery make a significant contribution to the management of most illnesses (p. 91).
4. Interior-Collective (Cultural): Individual consciousness exists embedded in shared cultural values, beliefs and world views. The attitude of a culture toward a particular illness B care and compassion vs. derision and scorn B has a profound impact on the course of the illness (p. 91).
All Levels of Consciousness: In each of these domains, most physical illnesses have causes and cures that include emotional, mental and spiritual levels (p. 93).
MY CONCLUSIONS
1. Incorrect Percentages: Much of The Theory of Everything is based on the estimates of authors Don Beck and Christopher Cowan (Spiral Dynamics) for the percentage of the world=s adult population at various memes (levels of consciousness), and the relative power of each of these memes on the world stage (see pp. 1-3 of present document). However, neither with regards to population nor with regards to power, in either Integral Psychology (published in 2000, see pp. 47-53), or A Theory of Everything (published in 2001, see pp. 7-13), does Wilber give figures which add up to 100 percent.
Figures quoted in A Theory of Everything, Pages 7-13
Meme Percent Percent
of Adult World Population of Power
Beige 0.1 0
Purple 10 (a) 1
Red 20 (a) 5
Blue 40 (a) 30
Orange 30 50
Green 10 (b) 15
Yellow 1 (c) 5 (d)
Turquoise 0.1 1 (d)
______________________________________________
TOTAL 111.2 107
_________________
(a) In The Theory of Everything, Wilber quotes this percentage again on page 118.
(b) In The Theory of Everything, Wilber quotes this percentage again on page 123.
(c) In Integral Psychology, Wilber quotes Yellow as being 0.9 percent of the population (p. 52).
(d) In Integral Psychology, Wilber quotes Yellow and Turquoise together as having 5 percent of the power (p. 52).
2. Misquotes of (Unreliable) Percentages: Not only are the percentages for the world=s adult population at each meme (level of consciousness) unreliable (see point 1. above), but in The Theory of Everything, Wilber misquotes even these unreliable percentages:
a. Page 33: AIt appears, then that . . . around 20 percent [of the world=s adult population] are at Green . . .@ On pages 11 and 123, Wilber had quoted 10 percent.
b.
Page 105: A[The
stage of] post-conventional, world-centric, universal love and compassion . . .
is reached by less than 30 percent of the world=s
population . . .@ On pages 10-13, Wilber had quoted 41.1
percent of the population at the post-conventional stages.
c. Page 115: A. . . Orange and Green, which, as we have seen, constitute around 30 percent of the world=s population.@ On pages 10-11, Wilber had quoted 40 percent of the population at the Orange and Green memes.
3. Contradiction: Wilber contradicts himself:
Page 103: AOne of humanity=s constant nightmares has been that technological growth in the Right-Hand quadrants [exterior (individual and collective) domains] has always run head of the Left-Hand growth in wisdom, care and compassionate use of that technology [interior (individual and collective) domains]. In other words, exterior development has run ahead of interior development . . .@
Page 117: AFor most of humanity=s history, the Left- and Right-Hand quadrants [interior (individual and collective), and exterior (individual and collective) domains] developed lockstep with each other.@
Incorrect Reference for the AGlobal Village@ Statistics. Wilber=s reference for the AGlobal Village@ statistics (see p. 5 of present document), is incorrect. Phillip Harter is professor of surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine. According to a 2001 article in FastCompany Magazine, the mis-attribution of the AGlobal Village@ data to Phillip Harter, happened as follows (Rekha Balu, p. 58, Internet reproduction, pp. 1-3).
In 1997, Harter received an e-mail with these data and forwarded it, over his automatic signature, to colleagues and friends. He does not remember who originally sent him the e-mail. Six months later, he began receiving a barrage of inquiries about the back-up sources for the statistics. For a commencement address in which he used the data, Stanford University president, Gerhard Casper, verified the data with, among others, William Frey, at the Milken Institute of California. According to Frey and other demographers, the statistics are accurate.
Writing The Theory of Everything, probably in 1999, Wilber did not sufficiently check the source of these data.
Titles: Wilber=s titles are not useful in guiding the reader as to the content to be addressed. For instance:
* Wilber=s discussion of Samuel Huntington=s book AThe Clash of Civilizations,@ continues through his subsequent title, AVertical and Horizontal,@ and contains a discussion of Auschwitz, World War II, the reunification of Germany, The Serbian conflict, The Soviet Union, China, as well as Don Beck and Graham Linscott=s The Crucible B Forging South Africa=s Future (see pp. 115-122).
REFERENCES
All page numbers refer to:
Wilber, Ken. 2001. A theory of everything B an integral vision for business, politics, science and spirituality. Boston, MA: Shambhala.
Except for:
Wilber, Ken. 2000. Integral psychology B consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Boston, MA: Shambhala. (Abbreviated as IP).
Summarized: Francoise Hall, AIntegral Psychology,@ January 22, 2006, 16 pages.
Other References:
Balu, Rekha, FastCompany Magazine (Publisher, Mansueto Ventures LLC, 375 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017), No. 47, June 2001.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/47/harter.html
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), World Water Report, March 11, 2006.
***