Integral psychology
Encyclopedia
Integral psychology is psychology that presents an all-encompassing holistic rather than an exclusivist or reductive approach. It includes both lower, ordinary, and spiritual or transcendent states of consciousness. Important writers in the field of integral psychology are Sri Aurobindo
, Indra Sen
, Haridas Chaudhuri
, and Ken Wilber
. While Sen closely follows Sri Aurobindo, Chaudhuri and Wilber each present very different theories.
, a devotee of Sri Aurobindo
and The Mother
, established the field of Integral Psychology, based on a comparison of Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yogic psychology
and the psychology of Freud
and Jung
, although his book of the same name only appeared in 1986.
Independently of Sen, N. V. Subbannachar who looked at Social Psychology and Integral evolution from the perspective of Sri Aurobindo's psychology
Since then a number of other books on or comparing Sri Aurobindo's integral psychology have appeared., as well as a comprehensive compilation of Sri Aurobindo's analysis of levels of mind.
Sri Aurobindo's yoga psychology has also been presented in a scientific and evolutionary context by Don Salmon and Jan Maslow.
, who grouped three principle of uniqueness, relatedness and transcendence, corresponding to the personal, interpersonal and transpersonal domains of human existence.
wrote a book entitled Integral Psychology, in which he applies his integral model of consciousness
to the psychological realm. This was the first book in which he embraced the Spiral Dynamics
model of human development. In Integral Psychology, Wilber identifies an "integral stage of consciousness" which exhibits "...cognition of unity, holism, dynamic dialecticism, or universal integralism..."
While Wilber's debt to Sri Aurobindo (despite their very different approaches) is evident in the foreword to a book on Aurobindonian Integral psychology, Wilber began working on the manuscript of a textbook for integral psychology in 1992, tentatively titled System, Self, and Structure, but was diverted because he felt the need to provide more detail on his integral philosophy in Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
(1995). The textbook was finally published in 1999 as part of the Collected Works, and then separately in 2000
For Wilber, Integral psychology is psychology that is inclusive or holistic rather than exclusivist or reductive. Multiple explanations of phenomena, rather than competing with each other for supremacy, are to be valued and integrated into a coherent overall view.
of the California Institute of Integral Studies
(CIIS) has defined Integral Psychology as "a psychological system concerned with exploring and understanding the totality of the human phenomenon....(which) at its breadth, covers the entire body-mind-psyche-spirit spectrum, while at its depth...encompasses the previously explored unconscious and the conscious dimensions of the psyche, as well as the supra-conscious dimension traditionally excluded from psychological inquiry".
Brant Cortright, also of the CIIS, explains Integral Psychology as born through the synthesis of Sri Aurobindo's teachings with the findings of depth psychology
. He presents Integral Psychology as a synthesis of the two major streams of depth psychology – the humanistic-existential and contemporary psychoanalytic – within an integrating east-west framework.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
, Indra Sen
Indra Sen
Indra Sen MA, LL.B., PH.D. was a devotee of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, psychologist, author, and educator, and the founder of Integral Psychology as an academic discipline....
, Haridas Chaudhuri
Haridas Chaudhuri
Haridas Chaudhuri , Bengali integral philosopher, was a correspondent with Sri Aurobindo and the founder of the California Institute of Integral Studies . He was born in Kolkata. He studied at the Scottish Church College and later at the University of Calcutta from where he earned his doctorate in...
, and Ken Wilber
Ken Wilber
Kenneth Earl Wilber II is an American author who has written about mysticism, philosophy, ecology, and developmental psychology. His work formulates what he calls Integral Theory. In 1998, he founded the Integral Institute, for teaching and applications of Integral theory.-Biography:Ken Wilber was...
. While Sen closely follows Sri Aurobindo, Chaudhuri and Wilber each present very different theories.
Sri Aurobindo and Integral Yoga psychology
Integral psychology began in the 1940s, when Indra SenIndra Sen
Indra Sen MA, LL.B., PH.D. was a devotee of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, psychologist, author, and educator, and the founder of Integral Psychology as an academic discipline....
, a devotee of Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
and The Mother
Mirra Alfassa
-Early life:Mirra Alfassa was born in Paris in 1878, of a Turkish Jewish father, Maurice, and an Egyptian Jewish mother, Mathilde. She had an elder brother named Matteo. The family migrated to France the year before she was born. For the first eight years of her life she lived at 62 boulevard...
, established the field of Integral Psychology, based on a comparison of Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yogic psychology
Integral psychology (Sri Aurobindo)
Integral psychology, in the adaptation of Sri Aurobindo's spiritual teachings, refers to an understanding of the various planes and parts of being, which is essential to the practice of integral yoga.-History of Integral psychology:...
and the psychology of Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
, although his book of the same name only appeared in 1986.
Independently of Sen, N. V. Subbannachar who looked at Social Psychology and Integral evolution from the perspective of Sri Aurobindo's psychology
Since then a number of other books on or comparing Sri Aurobindo's integral psychology have appeared., as well as a comprehensive compilation of Sri Aurobindo's analysis of levels of mind.
Sri Aurobindo's yoga psychology has also been presented in a scientific and evolutionary context by Don Salmon and Jan Maslow.
Haridas Chaudhuri
An original interpretation of Integral psychology was proposed in the 1970s by Haridas ChaudhuriHaridas Chaudhuri
Haridas Chaudhuri , Bengali integral philosopher, was a correspondent with Sri Aurobindo and the founder of the California Institute of Integral Studies . He was born in Kolkata. He studied at the Scottish Church College and later at the University of Calcutta from where he earned his doctorate in...
, who grouped three principle of uniqueness, relatedness and transcendence, corresponding to the personal, interpersonal and transpersonal domains of human existence.
Ken Wilber
Like Sen, Ken WilberKen Wilber
Kenneth Earl Wilber II is an American author who has written about mysticism, philosophy, ecology, and developmental psychology. His work formulates what he calls Integral Theory. In 1998, he founded the Integral Institute, for teaching and applications of Integral theory.-Biography:Ken Wilber was...
wrote a book entitled Integral Psychology, in which he applies his integral model of consciousness
Integral Theory
Integral Theory is a philosophy posited by Ken Wilber that seeks a synthesis of the best of pre-modern, modern, and postmodern reality. It claims to be a "theory of everything," and offers an approach "to draw together an already existing number of separate paradigms into an interrelated network of...
to the psychological realm. This was the first book in which he embraced the Spiral Dynamics
Spiral dynamics
Spiral Dynamics is a theory of human development introduced in the 1996 book Spiral Dynamics by Don Beck and Chris Cowan. The book was based on the theory of psychology professor Clare W. Graves...
model of human development. In Integral Psychology, Wilber identifies an "integral stage of consciousness" which exhibits "...cognition of unity, holism, dynamic dialecticism, or universal integralism..."
While Wilber's debt to Sri Aurobindo (despite their very different approaches) is evident in the foreword to a book on Aurobindonian Integral psychology, Wilber began working on the manuscript of a textbook for integral psychology in 1992, tentatively titled System, Self, and Structure, but was diverted because he felt the need to provide more detail on his integral philosophy in Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution is integral philosopher Ken Wilber's 1995 magnum opus. Wilber intends it to be the first volume of a series called The Kosmos Trilogy, but subsequent volumes were never produced. The scholarly work comprises 850 pages, including 270 pages of notes...
(1995). The textbook was finally published in 1999 as part of the Collected Works, and then separately in 2000
For Wilber, Integral psychology is psychology that is inclusive or holistic rather than exclusivist or reductive. Multiple explanations of phenomena, rather than competing with each other for supremacy, are to be valued and integrated into a coherent overall view.
Other interpretations
Bahman ShiraziBahman Shirazi
Bahman A.K. Shirazi is former director of graduate studies at California Institute of Integral Studies. He has been actively affiliated with that organisation since 1983. His doctoral dissertation, "Self in Integral Psychology" was the first of its kind in the field of integral psychology...
of the California Institute of Integral Studies
California Institute of Integral Studies
California Institute of Integral Studies is a private institution of higher education founded in 1968 and based in San Francisco, California. It currently operates in three locations just south of the Civic Center district...
(CIIS) has defined Integral Psychology as "a psychological system concerned with exploring and understanding the totality of the human phenomenon....(which) at its breadth, covers the entire body-mind-psyche-spirit spectrum, while at its depth...encompasses the previously explored unconscious and the conscious dimensions of the psyche, as well as the supra-conscious dimension traditionally excluded from psychological inquiry".
Brant Cortright, also of the CIIS, explains Integral Psychology as born through the synthesis of Sri Aurobindo's teachings with the findings of depth psychology
Depth psychology
Historically, depth psychology, from a German term , was coined by Eugen Bleuler to refer to psychoanalytic approaches to therapy and research that take the unconscious into account. The term has come to refer to the ongoing development of theories and therapies pioneered by Pierre Janet, William...
. He presents Integral Psychology as a synthesis of the two major streams of depth psychology – the humanistic-existential and contemporary psychoanalytic – within an integrating east-west framework.
External links
- Integral psychology - Metaphors and processes of personal–integration - online copy of essay by Bahman Shirazi