Integral Theory in Action: Applied, Theoretical, and Constructive Perspectives on the AQAL Model(SUNY series in Integral Theory)

Leading scholar-practitioners discuss the strengths, limits, and potential of Integral Theory and the AQAL model. In a world as complex as ours, an integral approach is needed to help sort through a dynamic landscape and respond effectively to individual and collective challenges. Integral Theory in Action provides the first multi-authored overview of such an approach. Integral Theory is the result of 30 years of research and is being applied in over 35 distinct disciplines. This volume brings together two dozen leading scholar-practitioners who are actively applying integral principles and who address a range of issues from an integral perspective including: climate change, embodiment, feminist aesthetics, community discourse, treatment of depression, developmental theory, and global ethics. The strengths, limitations, and potential of Integral Theory and Ken Wilber's AQAL model are weighed by each contributor. This collection pushes the field of Integral Theory in new ways and new directions, and provides a comprehensive overview that makes it an invaluable resource for any integral effort.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Foreword: The Integral Enterprise: Current Frontiers and Possible Futures Roger N. Walsh Introduction Sean Esbjorn-Hargens Prologue: The Academic Emergence of Integral Theory: Reflections on and Clarifications of the 1st Biennial Integral Theory Conference Mark D. Forman and Sean Esbjorn-Hargens 1. An Overview of Integral Theory: An All-Inclusive Framework for the Twenty-First Century Sean Esbjorn-Hargens I. Applied Perspectives 2.Responding to Climate Change: The Need for an Integral Approach Karen O'Brien 3.Embodiment, an Ascending and Descending Development Theresa Silow 4. Beauty and the Expansion of Women's Identity Vanessa D. Fisher 5. Writing to Effect: Textual Form as Realization in an Integral Community Michele Chase 6. An Integral Understanding of the Etiology of Depression Elliott Ingersoll II. Theoretical Perspectives 7. Now You Get It, Now You Don't: Developmental Differences in the Understanding of Integral Theory and Practice Zachary Stein 8. The Final Cause of Cosmic Development: Nondual Spirit or the Second Law of Thermodynamics? Michael E. Zimmerman 9. Frames of AQAL, Integral Critical Theory, and the Emerging Integral Arts Michael Schwartz 10. Integral Situational Ethical Pluralism: An Overview of a Second-Tier Ethic for the Twenty-First Century Randy Martin 11. An Integral Map of Perspective-Taking Clint Fuhs 12. Second-Tier Gains and Challenges in Ego Development Susanne Cook-Greuter III. Constructive Perspectives 13. Rhizomatic Contributions to Integral Ecology in Deleuze and Guattari Sam Mickey 14. Exploring Epistemic Wisdom: Ethical and Practical Implications of Integral Studies and Methodological Pluralism for Collaboration and Knowledge-Building Tom Murray 15. Appropriation in Integral Theory: The Case of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's "Untold" Integral View Charles I. Flores 16. Of Elephants and Butterflies: An Integral Metatheory for Organizational Transformation Mark Edwards 17. Developmental Action Inquiry: A Distinct Integral Theory That Actually Integrates Developmental Theory, Practice, and Research William R. Torbert, Reut Livne-Tarandach, David McCallum, Aliki Nicolaides, and Elaine Herdman-Barker Afterword: The Dawn of an Integral Age Ken Wilber Contributors Index Contents

About the Author :
Matthew Solomon is Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York. He is the author of Disappearing Tricks: Silent Films, Houdini, and the New Magic of the Twentieth Century.