Introduction to Integral Thinking

1. Wilber’s Integral Theory

1.1 Introduction

The Integral Theory (also referred to as integral worldview or integral philosophy) is a comprehensive worldview. It unites seeming opposites such as premodern, modern, and postmodern worldviews, Eastern-Western wisdom teachings, and scientific thinking in one concept.

To start, and for better understanding, here’s a definition of the term “integral”:

“The word ‘integral’ means comprehensive, inclusive, non-marginalizing, embracing. Integral approaches attempt exactly that in any field: to incorporate the greatest number of perspectives, styles, and methodologies into a coherent view of the topic. In a sense, integral approaches are ‘meta-paradigms’—ways to bring together a wide range of existing paradigms into a mutually enriching network of approaches.”
from Ken Wilber’s “Foreword” in Frank Visser’s Ken Wilber—Thinker by Passion (2002)

This means “integral” is to be understood as a holistic, all-encompassing, and well-balanced worldview. The term can serve as an umbrella concept for a complex way of thinking. All perspectives are considered—none is favored. Integral thinking has been practically applied in a number of specialties, for example integral life counseling, integral coaching, and integral therapy. Through integral thinking, it’s possible to perceive the human being as a whole and illuminate them from multidimensional perspectives. That is, human and world are seen as a unity, not separate from each other; both stand in mutual relationship.

Within integral thinking, the focus falls on four fundamental human needs: life as complete self-expression, development, the need to love and be loved, and the need for one’s own life purpose.

1.2 About Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber is an American author, a prominent contemporary philosopher, and the founder of Integral Theory. In his works, he examines the connections among psychology, philosophy, religion, mysticism, spirituality, and meditation.

He was born in 1949 in Oklahoma City. In 1967, he began medical studies at Duke University. During his studies, he explored Eastern philosophy and Western psychology, which later inspired his integral philosophy. He switched universities, studying biology and chemistry, but left without a degree. Instead, he devoted himself to private studies and his passion for writing. His first book, The Spectrum of Consciousness, appeared in 1973. Today he lives in Denver, Colorado, and works as a philosopher, author, and teacher.

Ken Wilber is renowned and respected for his research on the integral state of human development. He founded the “Integral Institute” and co-founded “Integral Life.” The Institute, formed with over 200 researchers, is dedicated to advancing and applying the integral approach.

Wilber has published over 20 books to date (as of 2020), translated into 30 languages. He thus ranks among the most-translated non-fiction authors in the US. In 1995, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality was released, regarded as one of Wilber’s main works. Its first part addresses systems theory; the second part covers the history of philosophy. It draws on numerous ideas from a variety of scholarly fields. He also seeks to merge scientific disciplines as well as competing schools of thought.

In today’s world, Wilber’s significance lies in how his integral theory is possibly the first to present a comprehensible, credible world-philosophy uniting knowledge and wisdom from many disciplines. Since then, some fields have put the integral approach into practice, e.g., ecology, sustainability, psychotherapy, psychiatry, education, economics, medicine, politics, and sports.

2. The AQAL Model

AQAL is shorthand for “all quadrants and levels” in Ken Wilber’s theory. It includes various integral perspectives that can be grouped into five categories of reality: the quadrant perspective, the levels (or waves) perspective, the lines perspective, the type perspective, and the states perspective. According to Ken Wilber, these five viewpoints are essential to represent a situation as fully as possible.

2.1 Ken Wilber’s Quadrant Perspective

The representation of perspectives via four quadrants is a common model that Ken Wilber also uses. He differentiates “inner” vs. “outer,” assigning “outer” to the right side and “inner” to the left side. He also distinguishes “individual” from “collective.”

He places the individual at the top, and the collective at the bottom. From that arrangement, we get four quadrants: “I,” “It,” “Its,” and “We.” By this quadrant viewpoint, wherever there’s an “inside,” there’s also an “outside,” and wherever something is individual, something is collective as well.

In the upper-left quadrant, it’s about the interior of the individual. This deals with one’s subjective state and personal development. Examples: intentions, emotions, bodily awareness, mental conceptions. First-person singular language is used here.

The top-right quadrant covers the objective, exterior/material aspects. For instance, it includes one’s physical condition, e.g., health or illness, as well as all measurable states: brainwaves, body size, weight, etc.

Wilber also locates the limbic system and brain here. The “it-speech” is used. In the lower-left quadrant, we find the “inside” of the collective. An individual can only exist as part of a collective. Key here are the worldview, values, ethics of the group. This includes pre-modern, modern, and postmodern. The “we-speech” is used in this cultural quadrant.

The last quadrant, bottom-right, addresses the “outside” of the collective. That includes external, material, institutional forms, e.g., weather phenomena, political forms, economic structures. Like in the second quadrant, “it-speech” is used. These four quadrants represent fundamental vantage points by which humans and all living beings perceive the world—and four ways in which we can examine any event. Every event has an individual interior (intention), an individual exterior (behavior), a collective exterior (system), and a collective interior perspective (culture). All four quadrants hold equal weight and must be considered, although sometimes, because the similarity of “it” and “its,” they’re combined into “the big three.”

This four-quadrant model has become one of the most recognized integral models. Increasingly, it’s used in science, culture, politics, and other social areas to analyze issues as thoroughly as possible from these four perspectives.

2.2 The Development Levels According to Clare Graves

For centuries, many disciplines (psychology, philosophy, sociology, etc.) have considered levels of consciousness and growth. Countless researchers have tackled such topics in their theories—for example, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Piaget’s cognitive development, Erikson’s psychosocial development, and Kohlberg’s moral development theory.

Clare Graves likewise proposed a personality-development model, which Don Beck and Chris Cowan expanded into Spiral Dynamics. Ken Wilber integrated it into his broad theory. The model can be applied to many realms of development (personal, biological, cultural, social-systemic). Each new stage emerges with an overall shift from ego-centrism to greater awareness. If a person’s awareness is healthy, they incorporate all previous levels or waves into consciousness, letting it keep expanding. Typically, progress to a new stage arises in response to big challenges or “pain,” for which solutions must be found.

We can visualize the model as a spiral. Each stage builds on the prior one. As we ascend the spiral, levels become broader and more complex, akin to the growth of a person’s consciousness. There are eight levels, each associated with a color. The lowest is called “Beige” and the highest “Turquoise.” Each level is distinct and has advantages and disadvantages. Each new one brings improvements, but also fresh problems. If we integrate the positives of a level, it can benefit the entire system. Typically, being in a certain level influences all aspects of one’s life, though the distribution differs for each person.

2.2.1 Beige Level

This is pure survival: the archaic worldview, impulsive action. Fundamental needs like food, water, warmth, sex, and security are paramount. We rely on habits and instincts to stay alive. A sense of “self” hardly exists. Typically found in infants or people regressively forced back to it by illness or injury. “Beige” belongs to the preconventional, egocentric tier. Roughly 0.1% of adults remain mostly at beige.

2.2.2 Purple Level

Purple is second level, also considered preconventional/egocentric. Key traits: animistic thinking, magical spirits, tribal consciousness, superstition. The individual sacrifices themself for the tribe, appeasing/ honoring ancestors, spirits, or sacred places. Some indigenous peoples remain at Purple. They solve problems by consulting ancestors, shamans, herbalists, oracles, often driven by fear of evil spirits. They’re closely tied to nature and imaginative. Possibly 5-10% of the global population lives largely in Purple consciousness.

2.2.3 Red Level

Here, for the first time, a distinct self emerges, separate from the tribe. Red is the epitome of ego-centrism, culminating in a warrior ethos. People see the previously “purple” constraints as stifling and rebel aggressively; “eat or be eaten.” Although Red is frequently linked with violence, an advantage is a strongly developed self that’s action-oriented and determined in its goals. Presently, Red often appears in gangs, prisons, warring tribes—and in small children’s defiance. Possibly 20% of humans are in the Red stage.

2.2.4 Blue Level

The fourth stage, Blue, is considered conventional/egocentric. A “Blue” worldview sees that the prior Red’s “fight for power” must be overcome. Key values: order, conscience, guilt, virtue. The individual believes in redemption through obedience. The group again takes center stage, along with religion and faith. Overly strong affiliation can yield intolerance of other groups. The positive side is an emphasis on family. Possibly 40-55% of the global population are predominantly Blue. Examples: church congregations, nationalists, bureaucracies.

2.2.5 Orange Level

Orange is the stage of science and progress, marking the advent of modern times. A performance-driven, superficial society emerges. The Orange worldview is objective, rational, experimental, aiming for material gain, knowledge, education, high living standards. The system is again crucial. Typically found in business, democratic capitalism, mainstream science, professional sports. Possibly 30-60% of humanity is mostly Orange.

2.2.6 Green Level

After Orange comes Green. It’s the first stage labeled postmodern and worldcentric. A pluralistic worldview. Green fosters empathy, charity, warmth—fighting others’ suffering, exploitation, pollution, corruption. Equality and safeguarding nature are vital. On the flip side, a strong Green can degrade into intolerance of the modern or the traditional. Possibly 10% of people live in Green. Typical of nonprofits, environmental movements, etc.

2.2.7 Yellow Level

Upon reaching Green, consciousness can make a leap into “second-tier thinking,” which Graves considers pivotal. Second-tier thinking allows vertical and horizontal reasoning with hierarchical structures. People see the entire evolution of awareness and realize each stage is important for the health of the spiral—and they can utilize them. “Yellow” sees itself as autonomous, yet mindful of world welfare. It fosters synergy between science and religion or spirituality. Others may perceive Yellow as insensitive, impatient, or elitist. Ken Wilber is an example. Fewer than 1% are at Yellow.

2.2.8 Turquoise Level

The highest in Spiral Dynamics is Turquoise, a post-integral, holistic consciousness. All levels are integrated into a single conscious system. A grand unification is possible, with universal order not derived from external rules or group ties. Less than 0.1% of the population has reached Turquoise.

2.3 Development Lines According to Ken Wilber

In the AQAL model, “lines” highlight various “intelligences” each person carries, evolving differently across a lifetime, influenced by personal strengths/weaknesses and environment. The lines are relatively independent, though some build on others that can’t skip ahead. We see these lines’ growth in long-term studies of the same subjects answering identical questions over time.

For both individuals and groups, Wilber posits a central emphasis reflecting the pattern of lines/levels. For individuals, it’s in the domain of self-identity; for groups, it’s in shared action systems. They remain fairly independent; none is superior. Among the crucial lines are kinesthetic, cognitive, moral, emotional, spiritual, aesthetic. The right quadrants revolve around behavior, competence, measurable data, and social frameworks. A deeper breakdown yields lines that clarify self, needs, identity, and individual progress.

2.4 Types According to Ken Wilber

In the model, five types are among the key aspects of Integral Theory. Many frameworks exist. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, for instance, distinguishes extraversion vs. introversion, thinking vs. feeling. Perhaps the clearest distinction is male vs. female. The masculine type is autonomous, abstract, prize competition and individuality, whereas the feminine type is caring, relationship-oriented, communicative, with higher sense of responsibility. Though distinct, all types pass the same developmental stages. They appear at every level. Hence, we must differentiate among them on each level.

2.5 States of Consciousness According to Ken Wilber

According to Wilber, states of consciousness include wakefulness, dreaming, deep sleep. Each can hold structures and levels, classed as natural or altered. Natural states are waking, dreaming, deep sleep, each giving access to a dimension: the gross self, the subtle mind, the causal mind. Everyone can experience them. An altered state is an atypical condition triggered by e.g., meditation, substances, near-death, etc. “Peak experiences” are temporary states that can be psychologically, subtly, causally, or non-dually experienced. Interpretation depends on one’s level. Such experiences are fleeting. For real growth, states must become enduring traits—meditation is one option for that progression.

3. Applying the Integral Theory

Some of Wilber’s works—especially his integral model—are widely adopted. Globally (including German-speaking regions), his model has inspired numerous publications. For instance: “integral relationships,” “integral medicine,” “integral tantra,” “integral politics,” “integral business,” etc. Many individuals use Wilber’s thinking personally, and academic interest grows. Given Wilber’s illness, future works may be limited. His wish is that humanity continue to develop integral theory and practice. Let’s end with a Wilber quote: “To understand the whole, you must understand the parts; to understand the parts, you must understand the whole. That’s the circle of understanding.”

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