Collected Works of Ken Wilber : Integral Psychology, Transformations of Consciousness, Selected Essays [Hardcover]

Ken Wilber (Author)

Book Description

Series: Transformations of Consciousness | Publication Date: December 28, 1999

Integral Psychology, a concise version of Wilber's long-awaited textbook of transpersonal psychology, presenting one of the first truly integrative models of consciousness, psychology, and therapy. Charts correlating over one hundred developmental and evolutionary theories, ranging from ancient mystical traditions to modern theorists. Essays on human development, art, meditation, spirituality, yoga, women's studies, death and rebirth, science and mysticism, and transpersonal psychotherapies. Wilber's thoughtful replies to criticisms of his work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ken Wilber is the author of over twenty books. He is the founder of Integral Institute, a think-tank for studying integral theory and practice, with outreach through local and online communities such as Integral Naked, Integral Education Network, Integral Training, and Integral Spiritual Center.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 752 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (December 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570625042
• ISBN-13: 978-1570625046
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent new book, plus a whole lot of great essays, February 13, 2000

By 

Tom Huston (Lenox, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collected Works of Ken Wilber : Integral Psychology, Transformations of Consciousness, Selected Essays (Hardcover)

Volume four of the Collected Works is critical reading material for any serious Ken Wilber student. It contains his contributions to the _Transformations of Consciousness_ book, his introduction to _The Holographic Paradigm_ (but not the ReVision interview found in that book), as well as a new book, _Integral Psychology_, which will be released individually in April 2000. The real meat of the book, however, lies in the voluminous collection of essays, interviews, and book forewords that Wilber has written over the years.

Of special importance is the essay titled "Death, Rebirth, and Meditation," in which Wilber, following the Tibetan Buddhist data, details the process of dying and death in intricate detail. He also clearly defines his use of the word "soul" and shows how even Buddhism is not exempt from the doctrine of an eternal and indestructible soul, despite popular notions to the contrary. He explains how certain Advaita teachers who insist that the Absolute is the only transmigrate are somewhat mistaken, and he also mentions the work of Dr. Ian Stevenson, and says that while some persons _may_ be able to remember past lives, most memories are strictly mental, and therefore they dissolve completely once the present-life mind disappears into the soul during the dying process.

Also important is Chapter 14 of _Integral Psychology_. Here Wilber gives, for the first time, a truly thorough analysis of the mind-body problem (much more than he did in SES or TEOS). The chapter is expanded upon in an endnote that is particularly illuminating, discussing everything from the naivete of most forms of "panpsychism," to the extremely low level of consciousness possessed by quantum particles, to the necessity of all exteriors (matter) as having interiors (consciousness), since, as Wilber explains, "To say that the physical universe is a universe of all exteriors and no interiors is like saying the world has all ups and no downs--it makes no sense at all. Inside and outside arise together wherever they arise. . . ." He insists, however, that the real solution to the mind-body problem is not solved through mental understanding of dualistic interrelations, but rather through the radical transcendence of all dualism in nondual awareness, "whereupon the problem is radically (dis)solved."

Anyway, I highly recommend it to Wilber students, as well as to anyone with a serious interest in psychology, philosophy, or spirituality who finds something profoundly lacking in the position of scientific materialism and seeks a saner, more comprehensive approach to matter, life, mind, soul, and the infinite reality that contains the entire display.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilber's effort to integrate psychological approaches, April 20, 2001

By 

Patrick Merlevede (Eeklo, Vlaanderen (Belgium, Europe)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collected Works of Ken Wilber : Integral Psychology, Transformations of Consciousness, Selected Essays (Hardcover)

This book is too much to explain in a short review. Here is a start: Wilber is best known for his evolutionary model, in which he explains what phases a person goes through during one's life. One can stay stuck somewhere on these evolutionary scales. Most therapeutic appraoches don't have this evolutionary vision. Wilber explains how to make the match: what kind of psychological model will help to solve problems at which evolutionary level?

(a longer review can be found at http://users.pandora.be/merlevede/eqnl0302.htm#BOOKREVIEW)