Very good post from one of the coolest, newest integral blogs, Dignity and Disaster. In this post the intrepid author takes a look at the state of integral criticism - the major critiques of Wilber's version of integral theory in particular.
For what it's worth, this will be the subject of a panel discussion at this summer's Integral Theory Conference at JFK University.
Read the whole post.An approach to critiques of integral theory.
When considering essential critiques of integral theory it is important first to consider just what we mean by "integral theory". In this context, of course, we are largely referring to the body of work created by Ken Wilber. Although this work is beginning to be augmented by others, both in the metatheoretical sense and in applications of the metatheory, the core of integral theory is obviously the work of Wilber. Beyond recognizing this obvious core, we must also recognize that Wilber's work is not monolithic. It is, at times, theory, metatheory, criticism, defense, polemic, application, and popularization. Wilber's work also is constantly and ever a work-in-progress with at least 5 major stages, if not more. So out of this evolving, heterogeneous mass of ideas, what, then, is the essential core of integral theory? And when we seek to offer essential critiques of integral theory, just what are we critiquing?
In brief a relatively short list of distinct areas comes to mind:
metatheoretical claims - this would be the most current metatheoretical structure Wilber has offered in which he sythesizes multiple theories into his overarching and unifying claims - roughly speaking this would be his AQAL, IMP, and IPM structures, however he may offer metatheoretical perspectives that do not fit neatly into these categories. It seems likely that the substance of these core metatheoretical claims should be Wilber's primary intellectual legacy and it is critiques of this core that are the most essential and relevant. Critical inquiry might address the degree to which integral theory successfully orients one toward individual fields of study, the degree to which anomalies or conflicts are resolved by integral theory, or the universality of its key elements.
theoretical claims - At times, Wilber allows his speculation to descend out of meta-theory and into theory itself, perhaps because he sees an implication of his metatheory that has not been metatheoretically realized, or perhaps because his understanding of his source material has led him to some position on is own. Both of these are valid areas for him to attempt. One might argue that his unique expertise is more suited to the former than the latter and one might also be justifiably skeptical of outright theoretical claims made from this secondhand standpoint without direct access to raw data and injunctions of the various theorists. If we consider the metatheoretical claims as the object of needed critique, then simple theoretical implications would be analogous to the predictions of simple theory that are tested with empirical data. The validity of those predictions are a valid test of Wilber's metatheory.
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