Bonnitta Roy - An Integral Manifesto, Part I (in 6 posts)

I've been meaning to draw some attention to this series of posts by Bonnitta Roy for quite some time now. In my estimation, she is one of the best minds in integral theory - and she is not part of the Wilberian inner circle as near as I can tell (this is good - we need quality independent thinking).

She is an associate editor at Integral Review, the only open access peer-reviewed integral journal that I know about - and a great resource for those of us who cannot afford Ken Wilber's Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. She is also a frequent contributor to the Integral Leadership Review, another fine and free resource for integral education.

In this first series of posts, Part 1 of the manifesto, she lays out some of the ideas behind a collective/collaborative approach the integral, based partly in the ideas Hannah Arendt (from the first post):

Collective Behavior, Collaborative Work

In this series, I propose adapting Arendt’s tri-fold division of labor, work and action to the pluralistic dimensions of human activity, and in doing so consider three spheres of the vitae activae: collective behavior, collaborative work and political action. Wherever and whenever men and women labor we see collective behavior. We see collective behavior through systems analysis of the type that are easily reproduced in computer programs and actuarial studies. The nature of the collective in collective behavior is a multiplier, an issue of quantities and statistics and their relative quantitative together, we see collective changes in time.

The collective nature of labor means the loss of individuation of the person, bringing men together to labor as though they were one. The collective nature of labor is a kind of super-organism—it is the collectively accumulated activity of individuals, each alone with his body, “facing the naked necessity to keep himself alive. Therefore, collective labor is essentially anti-political, (“This unitedness of many into one is basically antipolitical; it is the very opposite of the togetherness prevailing in political or commercial communities…” and the values of the collective are entirely social.

I think part of the reason this resonates for me is that I am also seeking a more collective/collaborative expression of work, relationship, spirit, and the integral philosophy. There is no way I can articulate it this well, but I feel myself in harmony with much of what she writes. I hope you do, too.

Here are the posts in Part 1 of Roy's manifesto:

An Integral Manifesto Part I(1) : Labor Work

Books Discussed in this Section Hannah Arendt (1958) The Human Condition The University of Chicago Press, Chicago Preface People operate on unexamined assumptions most of the time. If you want to get a quick list of these assumptions, just write down the … Continue reading →

Integral Manifesto Part I(2): Action

Books Discussed in this Section Hannah Arendt ( 1958) The Human Condition The University of Chicago Press, Chicago Political Action To the extent that collective labor depends upon the quantification of laborers and their interchangeability, while collaborative work depends upon the … Continue reading →

Integral Manifesto Part I(3) : Scalar Relations

Books Discussed in this Section The IHDP working paper at http://www.ihdp.uni-bonn.de/html/publications/workingpaper/wp02m.htm Introduction In the working paper of the IHDP (International Human Development Project) the term scale is defined as “the spatial, temporal, quantitative or analytical dimensions used by scientists to … Continue reading

Integral Manifesto Pt I(4): Three Cautionary Tales of Scale / Economies

Books Discussed in this Section The IHDP working paper at http://www.ihdp.uni-bonn.de/html/publications/workingpaper/wp02m.htm Elinor Ostrom (2005) Understanding Institutional Diversity. Princeton University Press Economies However outdated and irrelevant it may seem, Adam Smith’s metaphor of an “invisible hand” that shapes collective activity has … Continue reading →

Integral Manifesto Pt I(5): Three Cautionary Tales of Scale/ Technologies

Books Discussed in this Section Hannah Arendt (1958) The Human Condition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago Bruno Latour (1999)Pandora’s Hope: Essays on the Reality of Science Studies, Harvard University Press Technologies In the realm of human action, technology elevates … Continue reading →

Integral Manifesto Pt I(6): Three Cautionary Tales of Scale/ Geographies

Books Discussed in this Section The limits to scale? Methodological reflections on scalar structuration, Neil Brenner 2001. Progress in Human Geography 25, 4 pp. 591-614 / retrieved from http://sociology.fas.nyu.edu/docs/IO/222/2001.Brenner.PiHG.pdf Saskia Sassen (2004), Local Actors in Global Politics. Retrieved from https://www.msu.edu/~jmonberg/415/Schedule_files/Sassen%20local%20actors.pdf Geographies … Continue reading →

Tags: Bonnitta Roy, An Integral Manifesto, Part I, 6 sections, Integral, Philosophy, manifesto, perspectives, economies, Collective Behavior, Collaborative Work, political action, Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, Scalar Relations, International Human Development Project, Elinor Ostrom, Bruno Latour, Pandora’s Hope, Essays on the Reality of Science Studies, The limits to scale?, Methodological reflections, scalar structuration, Neil Brenner, Global politics