THE EVOLUTIONARY INFLUENCE

The integral state of consciousness is a concept that has become more apparent through the theory of evolution. Along with the physical descriptions of the evolving world, authors such as Wilber and Gebser have made significant contributions to the story of the evolving mind. George Feuerstein and Allan Coombs are two other contributors from the Western world and Aurobindo Gosh is an example of such thinkers from the Eastern world.

The new integral paradigm provides one of the greatest challenges facing the

Christian community. While Christianity has grown and developed within the mental rational era,145 it is now being challenged to revisit its explanations of faith and shape its life within this integral paradigm.

Wilber distinguishes between two different attempts to deal with this change taking place at this stage of mutational evolutionary shift in consciousness. Because

humanity is in an era of transition it needs to be noted that while many across society are awakening to time-free integral awareness only some have begun to reshape their approach to life accordingly. Much new and good work is undertaken across society but still characterised by the models of the passing mental rational era.

145 _{Reference to the mental rational era was initially introduced in chapter two, section 5.2.and 3.}

It is described by Wilber and Gebser as having appeared gradually through the middle of the first millenium BCE and reached its height by the end of the eighteenth century. Since then a transition has been gradually taking place as signs of the integral have been becoming more apparent.

87 In effect, it is a continuation of past practice and is what Wilber identifies as a

‘sideways’ movement within the broader context of human evolutionary development. Throughout this research I argue that much work of the Church’s general life and mission are still shaped by this mental rational approach. As such, many examples of its work display characteristics typical of a ‘sideways’ movement, that is, behaviour that is different from past practice but still of a dualistic nature. An example would be a new model of management that is regarded as an advance on a previous model. If the model does not reflect non-dual mentality, it would still be spoken of as being dualistic. The high emphasis placed upon defining the structure of the Melbourne Diocese in Archbishop Freier’s Synod Charge of 2010, is an indicator that it is still primarily operating with the three-dimensional geographically ‘space’ paradigm reflective of the passing mental rational era. As skilled as the work it generates is, the style serves to re-enforce the growing division between the Church and the wider society. Many of society are moving forward, but the Church moves sideways.146 The great challenge is finding a way to traverse to the new era. This chapter will present the way Wilber believes that this can be accomplished. 3.4 AN OVERVIEW OF INTEGRAL THEORY

3.4.1 An Alternative Paradigm; Ken Wilber

The development of the scientific world in the past two centuries has been one of the most significant factors shaping the way humanity understands that which it

perceives as reality. One prominent example of this new knowledge was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Within the scientific world explanations of creation no longer needing the notion of God grew. The integral theory presented by people like Wilber argues that when this purely scientific paradigm is reduced to a minimalist perspective it is inadequate to the vision of many. Wilber refers to it as a ‘flatland perspective’147 and argues that

146 _{Ken Wilber, Up from Eden : A Transpersonal View of Human Evolution, 1st ed. (Garden}

City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1981), 78.

147 _{Wilber Ken., Selected Essays, First Edition ed., Eight vols., vol. Four, The Collected Works}

88 reality is far more comprehensive. The theory of evolution presented by the purely empirical sciences is framed within a chronological linear time paradigm and as such is limited. Wilber presents a more circular or spiral approach148 speaking of evolution against the backdrop of the theory he refers to as involution. Once the creative

involutionary149 process of the Absolute had extended to its physical extremity, the evolutionary process prompted by ‘spirit-in-action’150 proceeded through the ongoing reality of the physio-sphere, the bio-sphere and the noos-sphere151 with promptings toward the fullness of unity within the theo-sphere.152

3.4.2 The AQAL Model

Wilber’s most significant contribution expands into a comprehensive paradigm built upon the traditional philosophy of the great chain of being, an approach recognizing the three irreducible realities of the good (morals), the true (science) and the beautiful (art). He recasts this traditional description in his version referred to as the AQAL paradigm,153 his acronym for ‘all quadrants, all levels’. It expands further to include all states of the mind and all stages of its development. It constitutes four quadrants representative of the individual and collective experiences of the external/objective and internal/subjective domains of life.154 _{The Upper-Left quadrant is characteristic}

of the intentional (individual-subjective), the Upper-Right the neurological

(individual-objective), the Lower-Left the cultural (collective-intersubjective) and the Lower-Right the social and socio-economic (collective-interobjective).155

understanding to the simple materialistic scientific paradigm of life. He believes reality is far more comprehensive as he explores the inner nature of the mind and its infinite depth which is often referred to as spirit. When the scientific realm reduces an understanding of reality to the physical he believes this reduces creation to a very flat perspective. He argues for a far more extensive picture of experience. This is the objective of his vast collection of authored books. He labels the reductionist scientific realm as the study of a very 'flat land'. Hence his term 'flatland'.

148 _{ibid., 473.} 149 _{ibid., 33-36.} 150 _{ibid., 13, 560.}

151 _{K Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution (Boston and London:}

Shambhala, 1995), 15.

152 _{ibid., 264.}

153 _{ibid., 122 Fig4-3, 93 Fig5-1 For an illustrative graph of Wilber's A.Q.A.L. model, see}

Appendix, Figure 1. 89

154 _{ibid., 121f.} 155 _{ibid., 121-22.}

89

Figure 1

KEN WILBER’S A.Q.A.L MODEL “ALL QUADRANTS ALL LEVELS”

90 The significance of integral theory is that it presents an alternate philosophy to that of the scientific reductionist approach, yet it is not contrary to the scientific method. Wilber argues that each of the domains he has presented can be similarly subjected to the scientific method. This method includes the collection of data, analysis of the data and methods for verifying findings. He explains that the processes for meeting these criteria are just different but not non-existent.

Wilber’s integral theory presents itself as an enhanced approach to the scientific method, not a rejection of the scientific approach. Rather than a reductionist approach, he presents the more comprehensive paradigm regarded as wholistic, where the philosophical great chain of being and the essence of goodness, truth and beauty constitute a more comprehensive picture of reality. Whether scientific philosophy or integral philosophy each must be held accountable to the knowledge available to humanity. Wilber is just one voice who seeks to present the wholistic philosophy in a way that is accountable.

The ‘spirit in action’156 _{for Wilber is the driving force of creation and it reflects the}

concept spoken of by Panikkar as ‘creatio continua.’157 _{This creative work is}

involutionary158 _{in that it leads to increasing density of the domain that humans}

identify as physical reality. The concretion of the Absolute is a term used to speak of this involutionary process159 before the evolutionary journey proceeds and which Gebser described as being shaped by the creative urging of the ‘ever present

origin.’160 _{Wilber speaks of a pushing and pulling urge for the purpose of fulfillment,}

the pushing by creative urge and the pulling to a return to the Absolute. Evolution is the story we know of as the development of this reality through our known history. This brief explanation is a summary of the rationale that supports integral theory beyond the commonly known scientific reductionist approach of evolution.

156 _{The Collected Works of Ken Wilber (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1999), 13.}

157 _{Panikkar, The Rhythm of Being : The Gifford Lectures, 2,53. This is a notion he connects with}

early Greek Fathers. It is also used by Maximus, Hildegard of Bingen and Gregory Palamas, as well as process theology. While it is not dependent upon it, it easily adapts to an evolutionary universe.

158 _{A corollary movement which fulfils the evolutionary process} 159 _{Wilber, The Collected Works of Ken Wilber, 33-36.}

91 3.4.3 Epochs and Eras of History

The integral theorists Wilber and Gebser, speak of the entire span of the history of creation under the epochs of history as the physio-sphere, the bio-sphere and ultimately the noos-sphere.161 It is this latter sphere that brings us to the precise history that shapes the argument of this research. They project this description to its ultimate realm of fulfillment in the theo-sphere.162 Both Wilber and Gebser focus upon not just the evolutionary nature of the physical but the totality of experience, as outlined in Wilber’s AQAL model.

They speak of the evolution of the mind. They trace this evolutionary story of the mind’s consciousness through the eras of the archaic, the magic, the mythic, the mental rational and the recently emerging integral. This is the background to their particular concern to amplify the transition to the present era. Following a general description my presentation of this transition will focus firstly upon Gebser’s

description of the evidence for this transition and then the work of Wilber will speak of a way to successfully move forward into the integral world of the mind’s

consciousness. Gebser’s explanations incorporate numerous fields of knowledge to develop the credibility and accountability of his approach.

3.4.4 Mutational Shifts in the Evolutionary Story

Wilber and Gebser have identified a specific pattern of this evolving world. Rather than a steady evolving trajectory, they identify times of critical adjustment. Cousins refers to them as mutational shifts in consciousness.163 They mark the unexpected appearance of significantly new capacities of the mind which reshape the way the world perceives reality and subsequently behaves. Such new capacities emerged more dramatically than one would expect from the common trend of gradual development of the former functioning. Such mutational shifts are spoken of by integralists as occurring in the transitions from one era to the next, as already

outlined, the archaic or primitive, the magic, the mythic, the mental rational and now

161 _{Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, 9-16.} 162 _{ibid., 264.}

92 the integral. Gebser spoke of the passing conventional practices of society which then developed to the point that the existing mode of viewing life could no longer sustain the growing needs of people for their society. The older mode of the mind’s

functioning displayed signs of inadequacy to the point of redundancy for that time. The search for newer solutions led to the breaking down of the old.164 Confusion reigned, and a time of crisis ensued. The evolutionary process led to the appearance of new capacities of the mind. These capacities were necessary for finding new solutions to the challenges before people and so new forms of societies appeared. In time the new ways of life became the conventional and the steady process of the evolving mind once again continued enabling societies to develop in orderly ways. It is this experience of a relatively sudden transition that Gebser said differed from the general trend. 165

Wilber further postulates the process of this movement within the societal experience. He speaks of the conventional ways of society reflecting the broad functioning and understanding of people across the society of the times. He uses the term ‘the common centre of gravity’ to capture the essence of this commonality of mental functioning across that society for that era. However, he then continues to speak of there always having been unique minds in any society. Such people appeared to be advanced to the degree of displaying behaviour that perceived the world in far more comprehensive ways.166 Shaman, sages, adepts, mystics, prophets, saints were terms used to describe these unique souls. It was their influence and leadership that ever so gradually etched a pathway forward and upon which others were drawn to the point whereby the ‘centre of gravity’ of that society continued its gradual historical move forward. Hence the evolutionary story of the mind progressed and society was both renewed and in time enabled new expressions of society to emerge.167

164 _{Gebser, Origin, 294f.} 165 _{ibid., 36f.}

166 _{Wilber, The Collected Works of Ken Wilber, 580, 85f.} 167 _{ibid., 579.}

93 3.4.5 Transition from the Mental Rational Era to the Integral Era

The mental rational era describes the time of history where the prime means of understanding life was shaped by the movement from the primacy of the mythic functioning as dominant,168 to increasing capacities of reason to become the dominant way of speaking of life.169 This transition was most apparent in the middle centuries of the millennium before Christ.170 It is helpful to note that this also was the era through which the city-state took stronger shape and the birth of the modern Western World ever so gradually began to develop. Within this new world Christianity was born and developed. With the passing of time, the mental rational era reached great heights through the 15th and early 16th century during the Renaissance Period notably with the work of Leonardo da Vinci.171 By the Age of Reason in the late seventeenth century and the Enlightenment period of the eighteenth century the capacity of the mental-rational had reached great heights but its limits were emerging.172

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is argued by integralist Gebser that the dominance of reason had taken that era of society as far as its mode of knowledge was able, and signs of a new era began to appear.173 _{Through the remainder of that}

century, the world of the twentieth and now the twenty first century, indications of new capacities of the mind emerged to shape the world with that which we are becoming increasingly familiar today. The characteristic of the newly emerging society is spoken of as ‘integral’, the capacity to understand how all things are inter- related. Such perception marks the distinctiveness of our present approach to life with its most challenging concept being the non-dual awareness of reality. This is a

marked difference to the previous long history of dualistic understanding. A significant characteristic of reason experienced throughout the mental rational era was its capacity to analyse and divide.174

168 _{Gebser, Origin, 302f.} 169 _ibid. 170 _{ibid., 294.} 171 _{ibid., 303.} 172 _ibid. 173 _ibid.

174 _{The transition from the mental rational era to the integral is here defined as marking a major}

transition from the dualistic to the non-dualistic perception. This does not mean that there was no such non-dual awareness in the past, for there have always been some more developed minds in this way than most in society. The primary difference in this present case is that integral theorists believe we are in a time when increasing numbers of society are now able to perceive non-dualistically so that the

94 3.4.6 The Eruption of Space

What is of particular importance to Gebser and Wilber is an explanation of the deeper level of movement in human consciousness that leads to the changing capacity of human behaviour and shape of societal functioning. Gebser describes the change arising out of an eruption of energy from deeper realms of the mind. For the last half millennium, he describes firstly an eruption of space awareness and over the last two centuries an eruption of time. Wilber concurs with Gebser’s work and pays particular attention to how humanity is to move forward with the awakening of the new

potential of human awareness. He describes the formation of symbols of meaning or transformation that correlate both the inner depth and the external requirements of the newly shaping society.

When speaking of the mental rational Gebser describes its capacity to divide as ultimately coming to its greatest fruition as a result of the ‘eruption of space’ consciousness.175 It became significantly noticeable just prior to the Renaissance era.176

Perspective illustrated that the mind was now beginning to grasp the concept of space. When an artist drew an object, it could now be depicted as three-

dimensional.177 The object (sometimes a person) became the representation of a particular object (or individual) in a particular position in a particular scene. Prior representations were more generalised images in any nonspecific room. Perspective developed to the degree that leading exponents like da Vinci could accurately capture a perspective drawing of the dome of a church. With the uncovering of such rules of drawing, the mind came to embrace the greater implications of space awareness in other domains of experience to the point of it being a natural daily awareness. Its major impact was to awaken interest in division, for no one thing could ever be

shift in Wilber’s ‘centre of gravity’ of society’s consciousness is increasingly weighted that way. It is transforming humanity’s perception to predominantly the integral.

175 _{Gebser, Origin, 302.} 176 _{ibid., 303.}

95 regarded as the same as another, that is a generalised figure in the two-dimensional world.

A most significant illustration of this was in the field of mathematics and its

application in the field of science. It opened the way for the development of complex formulae upon which the modern descriptions of life were built, the fruit of which we benefit from in our present day. Gebser has described this space awareness as the primary characteristic of this transition from the pre-renaissance era, which he referred to as ‘unperspectival’, to the post renaissance era, which he referred to as ‘perspectival’. Mindful of the latest evidence of development he speaks of the new integral era as the ‘aperspectival’ era.

The impact of the eruption of space with its characteristic propensity to divide had a major effect on the search for truth. Both sociologists Charles Taylor and Gary Bouma speak of the transition in humanity’s accepted way of determining truth,178

which in the period at the middle of the recent millennium (i.e. the unperspectival