Journal of Integral Theory and Practice 2012—Vol. 7, No. 3

Table of contents :
Front Cover, JITP 7(3)
Table of Contents
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
In This Issue
TOWARD AN INTEGRAL MODEL OF ADDICTION: By Means of Integral Methodological Pluralism as a Metatheoretical and Integrative Conceptual Framework
Integral Methodological Pluralism
Three Blind Men and an Elephant
Etiological Models of Addiction
Genetic/Physiological Models
Social/Environment Models
Personality/Intrapsychic Models
Coping/Social Learning Models
Conditioning/Reinforcement Behavioral Models
Compulsive/Excessive Behavior Models
Spiritual/Altered States of Consciousness Models
The Biopsychosocial Model
The Transtheoretical Model
An Integral Model of Addiction
Legitimation Crisis in Addictionology
Toward an Integrative Conceptual Etiological Meta-framework
Integral Taxonomy of Etiological Models of Addiction
The Developmental Dynamics of Addiction
Conclusion
Notes
References
TRANSCENDING FIRST-TIER VALUES IN ACHIEVING BINDING, DEMOCRATIC GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Two Key Problems
First-tier Values
Non-democratic Nations
Imbuing Global Democracy with First-tier Notions of Governance
The United Nations and Present Global Institutions
The e-Parliament and Transnational Political Parties
Reconceiving Global Governance
Destructive International Competition
Pseudo-democracy
Establishing the Principles for a Global Agreement
Articulating a Future Context of Cooperation
The Need for a Multi-issue Policy Framework
The Need for Subsidiarity and the Maximal Preservation of National Autonomy
Subsidiarity and Its Effect on Policy
The Need for an Internationally Distributed Policymaking Process
Second-tier Solutions in Practice
Simultaneity and the Nondual
Notes
References
KOSMOPOLIS: Its Past, Present, and Integral Future
Integral Theories and Practices
Kosmopolis and Human Nature
Kosmopolis and the City of God
Kosmopolis and Flatland
Omnitopia
Universalism and Local Identity
A Spiritual Perspective
Conclusion
Notes
References
INTEGRAL LEADERSHIP EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Methods
The Integral Approach
Development of an Integrated Framework for Environmental Leadership
Implementation of APIEL
Interobjective Aspect of APIEL
Intersubjective Aspect of APIEL
Subjective Aspect of APIEL
Objective Aspect of APIEL
Future Challenges
Conclusion
Notes
References
STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS IN FISHERY SUPPLY CHAINS
Purpose
Conceptual Framework
Levels of Development
Translation and Transformation
Double S-curve Model
Methods
Results
MSC is Growing
Intervention Options to Allow Growth of MSC
Retail
Restaurants
Food Service Industry
Financial Sector
Limits to Growth of MSC
Small-scale Fisheries
Social Aspects of Small-scale Fisheries
Interconnectedness of Large-scale Fisheries and Small-scale Fisheries
Discussion
Conclusion
Notes
Appendix A
References
HOLARCHICAL FIELD THEORY
Summary of Integral Scientific Pluralism
Merging ISP Realms with Holarchical Drives
Holarchical Fields
Comparing Aspects of Integral Mathematics with Holarchical Field Theory
Conclusion
Notes
References
SURRENDERING INTO WITNESSING: A Foundational Practice for Building Collective Intelligence Capacity in Groups
Shortcomings of Conventional Groups: A Brief Caricature
The Ontological Experience of Surrender
Surrendering into Witnessing
Witnessing as an Ontological Base Camp in the Intersubjective Field
Enabling Conditions for Surrendering into Witnessing
Surrendering into Witnessing: The Practice
Phase One: Surrender Into Presence
Phase Two: Become Established in Shared Presence
Phase Three: Connect to Witnessing Awareness
Phase Four: Come from the Witness when Listening and Speaking
Phase Five: Support the We-space from Deeper Stillness
General Remarks on the Surrendering into Witnessing Practice
Conclusion
Notes
References
THE APPLICATION OF INTEGRAL THEORY TO FUTURES SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
The Four-Quadrant Model
Three Futures Schools of Thought
Three Futures Schools of Thought within the Integral Futures Framework
From Three to Eight Futures Schools of Thought
From Modern to Postmodern Consciousness of the Future
Conclusion
Notes
References
MAKING HEADWAY DURING IMPOSSIBLE TIMES
Conventional Perspectives on the Global Emergency
What do Conventional Accounts Tell Us?
The Integral Futures Controversy
Proto-solutions for an Emerging Agenda
Beyond the Growth Imperative
Conclusion
Notes
References
INTEGRAL RELATIONSHIPS: Book Review
This Book is for Men
It’s Always Harder Than it Sounds
How to Have the Most Fun Reading Integral Relationships
Part I: The Biological and Psychological Makeup of Men and Women
Part II: Men and Women Come Together
Where Is the Developmental Neurobiology?
AQAL Understanding Heals
Part III: Applying the Integral Relationships Model in the Real World
The Verdict
Notes
References
Back Cover

Citation preview

Vol. 7, No. 3

Journal of

INTEGRAL THEORY and PRACTICE

A Postdisciplinary Discourse for Global Action

Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

September 2012 Volume 7 Number 3

Editorial Executive Editor’s Introduction – Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Articles Toward an Integral Model of Addiction: By Means of Integral Methodological  Pluralism as a Metatheoretical and Integrative Conceptual Framework – Guy Pierre du Plessis

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1

Transcending First-tier Values in Achieving Binding, Democratic Global Governance – John M. Bunzl

25

Kosmopolis: Its Past, Present, and Integral Future – Kees Breed

43

Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development – Tomohiro Akiyama, Jia Li, and Motoharu Onuki

55

Strategic Improvement Options in Fishery Supply Chains – Ard Hordijk and Irene Jonkers

70

Holarchical Field Theory – Kevin J. Bowman

92

Surrendering into Witnessing: A Foundational Practice for Building Collective Intelligence Capacity in Groups – Olen Gunnlaugson and Mary Beth G. Moze

September 2012

Perspectives The Application of Integral Theory to Futures Schools of Thought – Dennis Morgan Making Headway During Impossible Times – Richard A. Slaughter

105

116 128

www.integralinstitute.org www.integralinstitute.org

Book Review Integral Relationships: A Manual for Men, by Martin Ucik – Keith Witt www.metaintegral.org

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JOURNAL of INTEGRAL THEORY and PRACTICE

Journal of Integral Theory and Practice is published quarterly by: MetaIntegral Foundation 339 South Main Street Sebastopol, CA 95472 United States of America Journal of Integral Theory and Practice (JITP) is the official source for material related to Integral Theory and its application. The journal publishes peer-reviewed articles, case studies, integral research, critical dialogues, book reviews, and conference reports. JITP embraces a post-metaphysical and post-disciplinary perspective that is dedicated to articulating the ways ontology, epistemology, and methodology interact and co-arise across various scales of time and space. JITP is managed jointly by Integral Institute and MetaIntegral Foundation.

www.integralinstitute.org Integral Institute provides research and leadership for humanity’s most pressing problems. Through education and events that foster intentional, behavioral, cultural, and social self-awareness, the Institute aims to help leaders from all arenas to improve the human condition. Among the primary goals of the Institute is research of complex, global issues facing humanity in the 21st century. Climate change, evolutionary forms of capitalism, and cultural conflict in political, scientific, or religious domains are examples of problems to which the Institute hopes to bring new clarity.

www.metaintegral.org MetaIntegral Foundation is a philanthropic and research organization devoted to creating a more ethical, sustainable, and psychologically mature humanity. The Foundation is engaged in three types of initiatives: 1) global initia-

tives that represent the leading edge of thinking on how humanity responds to complex, multidimensional problems; 2) academic initiatives that showcase how integral frameworks effectively communicate and coordinate across disciplinary boundaries; and 3) center initiatives, via eight application centers, that sponsor integral projects in a variety of disciplines. © MetaIntegral Foundation, 2012 No part of any article may be reproduced in any form without permission, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism and discussion. The opinions expressed in articles, reviews, and other text material are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the editors, editorial board, or publisher. The editors and publisher deny any responsibility or liability for statements and opinions expressed by the authors. Accuracy of reference data is the responsibility of authors. ISSN: 1944-5083 (print) ISSN: 1944-5091 (digital)

Subscription Rates 2012 Rates United States $US

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Personal

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To subscribe, visit http://foundation.metaintegral.org/JITP or contact [email protected]

JITP is indexed by the American Psychological Association (PsycINFO), EBSCO (Humanities International Complete), Elsevier (Scopus), ProQuest (General Reference, Psychology, and Religion), and Ulrich’s. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief

Ken Wilber

Chief Executive Officer

Clint Fuhs

Executive Editor

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens

Illustrator Brad Reynolds

Managing Editor Lynwood Lord BOARD OF EDITORS John Astin, Ph.D. Medicine California Pacific Medical Center

Thomas Goddard, Ph.D., J.D. Healthcare George Mason University

Kevin Bowman, Ph.D. Economics Augsburg College

Olen Gunnlaugson, Ph.D. Leadership/Management Université Laval

Allan Combs, Ph.D. Transformative Studies California Institute of Integral Studies

Gail Hochachka, M.A. International Development Drishti–Centre for Integral Action

Susanne Cook-Greuter, Ed.D. Psychology Harthill USA John Dupuy, M.A. Recovery Integral Recovery, LLC Brian Eddy, Ph.D. Ecosystems Science Natural Resources Canada Lynne Feldman, Esq. Education New York Integral, Inc.

Joanne Hunt, M.M.S, M.C.C. Coaching Integral Coaching Canada, Inc. Elliott Ingersoll, Ph.D. Psychotherapy Cleveland State University Heather Larkin, Ph.D. Social Service Catholic University of America Andre Marquis, Ph.D., LPC Psychotherapy University of Rochester

Mark Fischler, J.D. Law Plymouth State University

Randy Martin, Ph.D. Criminology Indiana University of Pennsylvania

John Forman, OblSB Christian Ministry Mt. Angel Abbey

Cynthia McEwen, M.A. Sustainability Avastone Consulting

Marc Gafni, Ph.D. Spirituality Integral Life Spiritual Center

Bert Parlee, Ph.D. Psychotherapy John F. Kennedy University

Jennifer Gidley, Ph.D. Psychology, Education, Futures RMIT University

Terry Patten, M.A. Practice Integral Institute

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Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

Gerald Porter, Ph.D. Education State University of New York John Records, J.D. Social Service Committee on the Shelterless Michael Schwartz, Ph.D. Art Augusta State University Simon Senzon, D.C., M.A. Subtle Energies John F. Kennedy University Elizabeth Smith, D.S.W. Social Service Catholic University of America Paul van Schaik Sustainability iSchaik Development Associates Joseph Voros, Ph.D. Science, Futures Swinburne University Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. Psychiatry University of California, Irvine David Zeitler, M.A. Psychotherapy John F. Kennedy University Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D. Ecology University of Colorado, Boulder

Journal of

Volume 7 • Number 3 • September 2012

INTEGRAL THEORY and PRACTICE A Postdisciplinary Discourse for Global Action

EDITORIAL v

Executive Editor’s Introduction – Sean Esbjörn-Hargens

ARTICLES 1

Toward an Integral Model of Addiction: By Means of Integral Methodological Pluralism as a Metatheoretical and Integrative Conceptual Framework – Guy Pierre du Plessis

25 43 55

Transcending First-tier Values in Achieving Binding, Democratic Global Governance – John M. Bunzl

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Strategic Improvement Options in Fishery Supply Chains – Ard Hordijk and Irene Jonkers

92

Holarchical Field Theory – Kevin J. Bowman

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Surrendering into Witnessing: A Foundational Practice for Building Collective Intelligence Capacity in Groups – Olen Gunnlaugson and Mary Beth G. Moze

Kosmopolis: Its Past, Present, and Integral Future – Kees Breed Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development – Tomohiro Akiyama, Jia Li, and Motoharu Onuki

PERSPECTIVES 116

The Application of Integral Theory to Futures Schools of Thought – Dennis Morgan

128

Making Headway During Impossible Times – Richard A. Slaughter

BOOK REVIEW 139

Integral Relationships: A Manual for Men, by Martin Ucik – Keith Witt

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JOURNAL of INTEGRAL THEORY and PRACTICE Aims and Scope

Integral Theory is a meta-framework that draws on the key insights of the world’s knowledge traditions. The awareness gained from drawing on all perspectives allows integral practitioners to bring new depth, clarity, and compassion to every level of human endeavor—from unlocking individual potential to finding new approaches to global-scale problems. Articles published in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice (JITP) represent explorations in several modes of discourse: philosophical, theoretical, pragmatic, experiential, and critical. JITP is committed to the refinement, development, and expansion of Integral Theory.

Instructions for Authors

JITP follows American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines. Visit http://foundation. metaintegral.org/JITP for full submission guidelines and a glossary of Integral Theory terminology. An abbreviated outline of the manuscript review process is listed below. In light of the fact that both Spiral Dynamics and the Integral model sometimes use a color scheme to describe levels of development, we request that authors specify which color scheme they are using (e.g., orange altitude vs. orange vMeme). Altitude can be used to refer to any developmental line (e.g., orange cognition, orange self-identity,

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etc.), while Spiral Dynamics, in the context of Integral Theory, specifically refers to levels of values development.

Review Process Initial Review

Authors must submit articles to Lynwood Lord at [email protected]. In cases where authors do not adhere to JITP submission guidelines, manuscripts will be returned with a request that all components be provided. Theoretical changes, copy editing, and structural suggestions may be suggested at this stage.

Peer Review

The editorial team then assigns manuscripts to external reviewers. Information from submitted manuscripts may be systematically collected and analyzed as part of research to improve the quality of the editorial review process. Authors are expected to revise their article in light of peer-review comments and provide a revised draft within one month. Changes should be made using the track changes feature in Microsoft Word, so our editorial team can quickly identify edits.

Theoretical Review

Once a draft with peer-review comments incorporated is received, a theory call will be scheduled with Ken Wilber, Editor-in-Chief. Wilber

Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

will offer constructive criticism and theoretical clarifications. This is a good opportunity to learn and refine your understanding of Integral Theory. The call will be recorded and a link to download the audio will be provided within a week.

Editorial Review Accepted manuscripts are edited in accordance with JITP editorial style.

Author Review Authors will be e-mailed a proof and will have one week to suggest changes.

Critical Presentations

Authors are encouraged to explore hypothetical and critical views in relationship to Integral Theory. When presenting hypothetical material (e.g., the possibility of a new line of development in one of the quadrants), authors should make it clear that a suggestive addition that is not currently part of Integral Theory is being offered, and then provide as much evidence, argumentation, and supportive material as possible to substantiate their position. When presenting critical material, authors must represent the components and claims of Integral Theory within an academically acceptable range of interpretation. JITP views the process of hypothetical and critical engagement as essential to the development of Integral Theory.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Sean Esbjörn-Hargens

S

ince publicly launching MetaIntegral in June of this year I have been very busy building three integral organizations, all of which are committed to supporting the embodied and professional application of Integral Theory at a global scale. Thus, I am spending a lot of time discussing with my colleagues at MetaIntegral where Integral Theory is at as an academic field, as a metatheory, and as an international movement. We keep asking ourselves what is the story of integral and how can we tell it better? How can we make integral more relevant to the mainstream as well as to post-formal individuals who do not identify with or know about Integral Theory? How can we fund the best integral projects and practitioners on the planet? And most importantly, what is the best way to enact integral applications in a fragmented world? These questions and ones like them often lead me back to the Integral Theory Conference and this journal, largely because the conference and JITP are currently two of the most prominent venues for integral scholarship and application. Both contexts serve as active places of inquiry and scholarship where these big questions are front and center. The questions listed above are informing in both direct and indirect ways how we are envisioning and enacting the 2013 Integral Theory Conference (ITC). Over the past few months, Mark Forman, Jordan Luftig, and I have been focused on the line-up and scheduling for the event. We have received a great pool of submissions for presentations and workshops. Look for a list of final selections to appear on the MetaIntegral website in December. We are busy designing the pre- and post-conference days to provide a wide range of opportunities for participants to interface with other scholar-practitioners who are blazing integral trails. In addition to building on the momentum cultivated by the first two conferences, we feel the 2013 ITC will serve as catalyst for the field of Integral Theory, allowing it to step into a new phase of relevance and possibility. Similarly, I am quite pleased with this issue. It showcases prominent scholars whose work has appeared in previous JITP issues and also introduces several new scholar-practitioners. In addition, there is a strong global feel to this issue with authors coming from Australia, South Africa, England, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. In terms of writing style, the articles range from theory building to introducing new practices, and from applied examples to disciplinary reflections. In short, this issue represents a nice blend of perspectives along several axes of value. And for me such a blend indicates that JITP is increasingly becoming the journal I have always wanted to see it become. So it is with great satisfaction that I look back over the past six years of publishing the journal and can see how far the field of Integral Theory has come, and how well JITP is documenting its growth and maturation.

In This Issue We begin the issue with Guy du Plessis’ “Toward an Integral Model of Addiction: By Means of Integral Methodological Pluralism as a Metatheoretical and Integrative Conceptual Framework.” In this article, Du Plessis uses Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP) to develop an Integral Model of Addiction. Du Plessis explores some of the most prominent models and theories of addiction derived from the sociopsychological and biomedical sciences, and points out how each model’s theory is enacted by a particular methodology as represented by one or more of the eight zones of IMP. This article is a valuable contribution to the growing field of integral approaches to recovery and addiction as well as being a sophisticated usage of IMP that honors and integrates the nine main etiological perspectives of addiction. In addition, Du Plessis’ methodology provides a template for how other practitioners might go about creating a meta-framework for their own disciplines.

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S. ESBJÖRN-HARGENS

Next, we have John Bunzl’s “Transcending First-tier Values in Achieving Binding, Democratic Global Governance.” This article identifies two key problems that face the emergence of any kind of binding global governance: the globalization of policies based on first-tier values and how to work with and include nondemocratic nation states. Bunzl does a great job of describing these two challenges and outlines a number of considerations for working with and through these barriers. This article does much to bring into focus the kinds of issues an integral approach to politics will have to address. Complementing Bunzl’s exploration of Integral Politics is Kees Breed’s “Kosmopolis: Its Past, Present, and Integral Future.” In this article, Breed focuses on the philosophical concept of Kosmopolis. He traces its development from early Greek thinkers up to a present-day understanding of the concept in light of Integral Theory’s use of Kosmos. Among other insightful points, Breed suggests that world governance might require a new relationship between politics and spirituality—two realms that have generally been at odds with each other. This article is timely in that it provides a nice historical context for the theme of the 2013 ITC: “Connecting the Integral Kosmopolitan.” Our next article is a case study that details an educational program in Japan. In “Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development,” Tomohiro Akiyama, Jia Li, and Motoharu Onuki describe their work with Integral Leadership in the context of sustainable development. The authors use the four quadrants to assess the curriculum of a program at the University of Tokyo and then identify ways to make the program more integral and address future challenges. This article is a great example of a case study that makes contributions to several integral fields: education, sustainability, and leadership. Be sure to consult the illustrations in the article, which include two figures that depict the authors’ conception of the viewpoints of educators and students, respectively, as well as a table that details two years of their program’s operation. Akiyama and colleagues’ article is nicely complemented by the second sustainability-oriented article in this issue, Ard Hordijk and Irene Jonkers’ “Strategic Improvement Options in Fishery Supply Chains.” Hordijk and Jonkers use Integral Theory to get a comprehensive view of the fishery system in the Netherlands, and further use the quadrants and four levels of worldviews to understand different orientations to sustainability. This approach to action research provided the authors with insight into the main barriers and opportunities across the four quadrants as well as into the worldviews of the stakeholders involved in creating and managing a sustainable food chain. Several barriers to reaching a consensus among stakeholders are identified, including the need for more effective collaboration. Among its many merits, this article demonstrates how Integral Theory can be used alongside other frameworks (e.g., complexity theory) to analyze and address complex systems change. “Holarchical Field Theory” is Kevin Bowman’s latest installment of theory building. In this article, Bowman boldly proposes there is something even more fundamental than holons or perspectives. He focuses on a number of holarchical realities (fields, drives, realms) and weaves together several lenses (holons, zones, the subject-action-object triad, various polarities). The result is a fresh exploration of Integral Science that provides some important new trajectories of thought and action. Bowman does a great job of modeling the kind of creativity and exploration that is going to be essential for Integral Theory to continue to expand and mature. Completing our peer-reviewed articles is “Surrendering into Witnessing: A Foundational Practice for Building Collective Intelligence Capacity in Groups,” by Olen Gunnlaugson and Mary Beth G. Moze. This is a timely article in that the “we-space” has been all the rage as of late. Examples include Next Step Integral’s focus on “Evolving the We” with their Integral Community Seminar, MetaIntegral Foundation’s “Power of We” Kickstarter campaign, and Thomas Huebl and Terry Patten’s year-long program for “Birthing a New We.” All of these approaches to the “we” emphasize the link between shared values and shared action. So this article is quite valuable in providing an actual practice that groups can perform to foster the intersubjective cohesion of a group. The latter half of the article describes the authors’ conception of this five-phase form of

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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

witnessing at the collective level. The next two articles are part of our Perspectives section (personal essays that are not peer reviewed). Both articles come from JITP authors who were published in Volume 6, Number 2, in a section devoted to addressing a controversy that followed the publication of a 2010 issue of the journal Futures. First, we have Dennis Morgan’s “The Application of Integral Theory to Futures Schools of Thought.” Morgan’s article uses an integral approach to examine three prominent schools of future studies, and in so doing highlights the value of the Integral Futures framework developed by Richard Slaughter. Morgan’s analysis reveals that these three schools have differentiated into eight distinct views of the future. He argues that the Integral Futures framework provides room for all eight views and is capable of highlighting the dynamic interactions between them. Second, we have Richard Slaughter’s “Making Headway During Impossible Times.” Here Slaughter focuses on the “global emergency” (i.e., the simultaneous emergence of severe global problems such as climate change, peak oil, species extinction, and environmental deterioration) and how conventional approaches to this emergency largely ignore psychological (Upper Left) and behavioral (Upper Right) dimensions in their analysis. Slaughter addresses this overemphasis on the collective dimensions of the global emergency in his discussion. The issue closes with a book review by Keith Witt of Martin Ucik’s Integral Relationships: A Manual for Men. Ucik’s book has received a lot of praise and attention since its publication in 2010. Witt sees much value in the book and its ability to organize a multitude of perspectives and research on relationships, but he points out that there are “practically no relationships in it” (p. 139). Witt explains that the volume remains primarily a third-person manual and overview of relationships and does not include first-person or secondperson perspectives of relationships much, if at all. In spite of this and other shortcomings, Witt still heartily recommends Ucik’s book. So enjoy this entertaining review of an integrally informed book. Our final issue of 2012 will contain another wide-ranging and engaging selection of integral content. The December issue will feature mostly new voices and will include pieces that focus on research, philosophy, literature, and integral applications.

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Dialogue

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Porscha’ Danielle/[email protected]

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TOWARD AN INTEGRAL MODEL OF ADDICTION

By Means of Integral Methodological Pluralism as a Metatheoretical and Integrative Conceptual Framework Guy Pierre du Plessis

ABSTRACT This article introduces and briefly outlines some orienting generalizations of an integrally informed model of addiction. I argue that by applying Integral Theory as a metatheoretical and transdisciplinary framework, we may be able to arrive at a comprehensive integrative model of addiction that honors all the existing single-factor etiopathogenic models as well as the integrative and dynamic models. In order to examine any part of reality, one must employ a particular methodology. Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP) acknowledges that there are at least eight methodological families we can use to study any phenomenon. In this article, I use IMP to sketch the outline of a comprehensive and integrative model of addiction. I will explore some of the most dominant explanatory models and theories of addiction derived from the sociopsychological and biomedical sciences, and point out how each model’s theory is enacted by a particular methodology as represented by one or more of the eight zones of IMP. Finally, I propose that an Integral Model of Addiction has the potential to integrate all existing evidence-based explanatory models of addiction into a truly integrative, coherent, and comprehensive conceptual framework and metatheory of addiction. KEY WORDS addiction; Integral Methodological Pluralism; Integral model; metatheory

In the last resort a civilization depends on its general ideas; it is nothing but a spiritual structure of the dominant ideas expressing themselves in institutions and the subtle atmosphere of culture. If the soul of our civilization is to be saved we shall have to find new and fuller expression for the great saving unities—the unity of reality in all its range, the unity of life in all its forms, the unity of ideas throughout human civilization, and the unity of man’s spirit with the mystery of the Cosmos in religious faith and aspiration. – Jan Smuts (1927, pp. v-vi)1 Addictions have beleaguered society since human beings first discovered they could alter their consciousness by ingesting certain substances.2 How a society views and understands addiction has great significance for addicted individuals seeking treatment. In premodern times addiction was often understood as possession by demons and a moral aberration, and its consequent treatment was similarly archaic. It is only in the last 100 years that scientific theories and explanations for addiction have come into existence, and as a result, treatment has become more effective (DiClemente, 2003). Some scholars suggest that substance abuse is currently the most significant health problem in the United States (Bevins & Bardo, 2004). Correspondence: Guy Pierre du Plessis, 35 Duiker Gate, Capricorn Beach, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa, 7945. E-mail: [email protected].

Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 1–24

G.P. du plessis

Today, many theories and models of addiction exist. Some of the most prominent explanatory models include the social/environment models, genetic/physiological models, personality/intrapsychic models, coping/social learning models, conditioning/reinforcing models, and integrative models like the biopsychosocial model. Although our explanation of addiction has become more sophisticated, there are still serious shortcomings in our understanding of it (Sremac, 2010). Furthermore, there is such a cornucopia of theories and models of addiction that for treatment providers and policymakers, who see a direct link between etiology and treatment protocol, it has become exceedingly difficult to integrate this vast field of knowledge into effective treatment and prevention protocols. Robert West (2005) believes that another problem faced in addictionology is that each of the many existing theories of addiction seem to stem from an innovative idea that accounts for selected aspects of the problem, but which does not account for other features that existing theories already cater for adequately. Highlighting some of the reductionist problems faced in addiction science, West (2005) further states that: Unfortunately, the prevailing approach in the field of addiction, like behavioural and social science generally, has been to develop theories with a less than complete analysis of what is already in the literature. In practice, theories of addiction have typically been developed because a researcher has, very understandably, wished to emphasise a particular approach to understanding a set of phenomena, or out of a set of specific observations from which the researcher has wished to generalize. (p. 17) Below, I argue that by applying Integral Theory as a metatheoretical and transdisciplinary framework, we may be able to arrive at a comprehensive integrative model of addiction which honors all the existing single-factor models as well as the integrative and dynamic models. Integral Theory has been applied in the context of integrally informed approaches to addiction treatment protocol design and therapy (Du Plessis, 2010, 2012; Dupuy & Gorman, 2010; Dupuy & Morelli, 2007; Ingersoll & Rak, 2005; Shealy, 2009), but not yet in striving toward a comprehensive etiopathogenic understanding and model of addiction that embraces all the contemporary evidence-based explanatory theories and methodological approaches into an explanatory meta-model of addiction. In this article I provide the cursory outline of an Integral Model of Addiction (IMA) that could provide a conceptual framework within which the genuine insights provided by the existing theories and models can be placed. It would be a synthetic theory, in the sense that it would attempt to pull together the accumulated wisdom, and provide a conceptual system in which the existing theories could be located. It would be as coherent as possible: the ideas would relate naturally to each other and not simply form a list of unconnected assertions. This article represents the first humble and cursory attempt towards an integrative and comprehensive integrally informed model of addiction.

Integral Methodological Pluralism The five elements of the AQAL model (all-quadrants, all-levels, all-lines, all-states, and all-types) represent some of the most basic repeating patterns of reality (Wilber, 2000). Therefore, including all of these elements increases one’s capacity to ensure that no major part of any solution is left out or neglected (Esbjörn-Hargens, 2009). Integral Theory is both complexifying, in the sense that it includes and integrates more of reality, and simplifying, “in that it brings order to the cacophony of disparate dimensions of humans with great parsimony” (Marquis, 2009, p. 38). The element of Integral Theory that is the most relevant in our attempt to create a truly comprehensive model of addiction is the eight zone extensions of the original AQAL model (Wilber, 2002a, 2002b, 2006). These eight primordial perspectives (8PP) are derived from an inside (i.e., a first-person perspective) and outside view (i.e., a third-person perspective) of the quadrants. Integral Theory states that 2

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Integral Model OF addiction

reality has at least four interrelated and irreducible perspectives―the subjective, signified by the Upper-Left (UL) quadrant; the intersubjective, signified by the Lower-Left (LL) quadrant; the objective, signified by the Upper-Right (UR) quadrant; and the interobjective, signified by the Lower-Right (LR) quadrant―which should be consulted when attempting to fully understand any aspect of it (Esbjörn-Hargens, 2009). These four universal perspectives are known as the quadrants (Wilber, 1995, 2000, 2006). It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss the other elements of Integral Theory (levels, lines, states, and types), and its relevance for an integral understanding of addiction, although levels and states are briefly discussed. For a comprehensive understanding all of these elements needs to be incorporated. See Du Plessis (2010, 2011), Dupuy and Gorman (2010), and Dupuy and Morelli (2007) for in-depth discussion of levels lines, states, and types in the context of addiction treatment and recovery. Each of these 8PP is only accessible through a particular method of inquiry or methodological family, and represents at least eight of the most important methods for accessing reproducible knowledge (EsbjörnHargens, 2006, 2010). Furthermore, each of these methodologies discloses an aspect of reality unique to its particular injunctions that other methods cannot. For a truly integral understanding of any phenomenon, in our case addiction, one needs to include as many of these perspectives and methods of inquiry as possible. These 8PP are included in Integral Theory’s own multi-method approach to valid knowledge, referred to as Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP) (Wilber, 2002a, 2002b, 2006; Esbjörn-Hargens, 2006, 2010). As such, IMP represents one of the most pragmatic and all-encompassing theoretical formulations of any integral or metatheoretical approach to accessing reproducible knowledge (Esbjörn-Hargens, 2006). Wilber (2002b) states that “any sort of Integral Methodological Pluralism allows the creation of a multi-purpose toolkit for approaching today’s complex problems—individually, socially, and globally—with more comprehensive solutions that have a chance of actually making a difference” (p. 14). IMP has two essential features: paradigmatic and meta-paradigmatic. The paradigmatic aspect refers to the recognition, compilation and implementation of all the existing methodologies in a comprehensive and inclusive manner.3 The meta-paradigmatic aspect refers to its capacity to weave together and relate paradigms to each other from a meta-perspective (Wilber, 2002b, 2006). Wilber (2002b) describes the meta-paradigmatic aspect of IMP as: ...a practice that can enact, bring forth, and illuminate the integral interrelationships between various holons originally thought discreet or nonexistent. In other words, this practice on a set of practices (or this meta-paradigm on the individual paradigms) brings forth and illumines the mutual interactions between actual occasions, and it does so only from a space that theory would later be called a second-tier probability wave. (p. 13) IMP can therefore be understood as the 8PP and its correlated methodologies with a meta-framework which provides meta-linking between these disparate perspectives and paradigms (Martin, 2008). The eight methodological families identified by Wilber (2002a, 2002b, 2006) are depicted in Figure 1. Wilber (2002a) uses each of the names of these methodological families as an umbrella term which includes many divergent and commonly used methodologies.

Three Blind Men and an Elephant An Indian myth tells the story of three blind men each holding onto a different part of an elephant, as each was asked to explain what object it was they were holding.4 Each explained the object in a completely dissimilar way. Although they were all correct in their description of the specific parts of the elephant, nevertheless they were all wrong in giving an accurate description of an elephant as a whole. This story is a useful metaphor for Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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C O L L E C T IVE

INDIVIDUA L

I N T E R I O R structuralism Zone 2 Zone 1 phenomenology

E X T E R I O R empiricism Zone 6 Zone 5 autopoiesis (e.g., cognitive sciences)

Zone 3 hermeneutics

ethnomethodology Zone 4

Zone 7 social autopoiesis

systems theory Zone 8

Figure 1. The eight major methodologies of Integral Methodological Pluralism.

how different etiological models attempt to explain addiction, by highlighting their respective usefulness as well as inadequacies. By applying IMP to explanatory addiction models, I will show that each of the singlefactor models understands addiction from a specific zone(s), because it applies a specific methodological approach, whereas the more integrative models view addiction across several of these zones. In striving for a comprehensive and integrative integrally informed model of addiction, we honor all the existing theories of addiction, with their respective methodologies, by acknowledging that they all have something valuable to offer through enacting certain aspects of the complex and dynamic process of addiction, and at the same time highlighting their respective inadequacies. By using IMP, one “generates a meta-practice of honoring, including, and integrating the fundamental paradigms and methodologies of the major forms of human inquiry (traditional, modern, and postmodern)” (Wilber, 2002b, p. 16). Applying IMP in the context of addiction models can lay the ground work for meta-paradigmatic mixed-methods research in addictionology. An integrally informed model of addiction will demonstrate that addiction can have its etiology in one or more of these zones, but will eventually enact across all eight zones (and influences levels, lines, states, and types). Therefore, treatment should include practices that address addiction across these eight zones or perspectives as they co-arise in levels, lines, states, and types. Previous articles on integrally informed approaches to recovery have addressed this issue (Du Plessis, 2010, 2011; Dupuy & Gorman, 2010; Dupuy & Morelli; 2007; Shealy, 2009).5 In the next section of this article I will explore some of the most dominant explanatory models and theories of addiction derived principally from the sociopsychological and biomedical sciences, and point out how each model’s theory is enacted by a particular methodology as represented by one or more of the eight zones of IMP. Finally, I will show how an IMA could encapsulate and honor all the existing models, without reducing one perspective to another, into an integrative and comprehensive metatheory of addiction. 4

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Etiological Models of Addiction Developing accurate theories, models, and definitions of addiction is problematic in many ways. One reason is that addiction is an abstract concept. It has no simple location or boundaries, for example, as a chair does. Furthermore, it is socially defined, and therefore opinions can legitimately differ about the most suitable definition—it cannot be said that one definition is unequivocally correct and another incorrect, only that one is more useful or is mostly agreed upon by “experts” (West, 2005). Theories, models, and definitions of addiction in authoritative texts on the subject have changed over the years. At one time, addiction was defined as a state of physiological adaptation to the presence of a drug in the body so that absence of the drug leads to physiological dysfunction (DiClemente, 2003). West (2005) states that: “Nowadays the term ‘addiction’ is applied to a syndrome at the centre of which is impaired control over a behaviour, and this loss of control is leading to significant harm” (p. 10). What makes a good theory of addiction? West (2005) writes: Theories are central to science, but they form only a part of it. They are discrete, coherent accounts of a process that are arrived at by a process of inference, provide an explanation for observed phenomena and generate predictions. Much of science does not fall into this category because it consists of disparate observations or is descriptive rather than explanatory. The same is true for the field of addiction. (p. 16) The problem is that theories in the field of addiction are rarely tested adequately in real-world settings, because the dominant research methodology does not allow it. However, a good theory of addiction should explain a related set of observations, generate predictions that can be tested, be parsimonious, comprehensible, coherent, internally consistent, and not contradicted by any observations (West, 2005). I will now explore some of these models and theories of addiction and see if they can be classified as good theories or models. When using what Wilber (2002a, 2002b) refers to as an “integral calculus of indigenous perspectives,” which is the sum total of all the various perspectives of “being-in-the-world,” we can see what aspects a model honors and what it leaves out. It must be noted that it is beyond the scope of this article to provide an exhaustive discussion of models of addiction, and the discussion that follows only briefly outlines some of the most prominent explanatory models, grouped under broad headings for the sake of simplicity.

Genetic/Physiological Models The most substantial evidence concerning the role of genetics in addiction is derived from studies of alcohol dependence (Shuckit, 1980; Shuckit et al., 1972). Theorists have suggested that addiction runs in families and can be transmitted across generations. Twin studies suggest that a genetic transmission of alcoholism and chemical dependence is possible, and seem to support the importance of genetics as a contributing factor (Hesselbrock et al., 1999). What is now becoming evident is that the solution will be polygenetic and complex, and will not lie in finding a single gene that can explain addiction (Begleiter & Porjesz, 1999; Blume, 2004; Gordis, 2000). Historically, addiction and physical dependence were seen as synonymous. Addiction was traditionally characterized by increasing tolerance and onset of physical withdrawal symptoms. Theorists of the genetic/ physiological model of addiction argue that the physiological aspects of tolerance and withdrawal are indicators that addictions are biological entities and medical problems. However, not all drugs and addictions produce withdrawal symptoms or create physiological dependence. Yet the physiological component of addictions remains an important one, and there have been major advances in our understanding of the neurobiolJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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ogy of addiction (Roberts & Koob, 1997). Advanced neurobiological insight into addiction as having a physiological component and not constituting morally reprehensible behavior has led to it being understood within a medical model as a disease. West (2005) states that “[t]he Disease Model of addiction seeks to explain the development of addiction and individual differences in susceptibility to and recovery from it. It proposes that addiction fits the definition of a medical disorder. It involves an abnormality of structure or function in the CNS [central nervous system] that results in impairment” (p. 76). The disease model has played a significant role in shifting society’s view of addiction from one of moral deviance to one that promotes treatment and understanding. Most neuroscientists studying addiction view it as a brain disease (Volkow et al., 2002). Addiction affects, amongst others, the mesolimbic system of the brain, the area where our instinctual drives and our ability to experience pleasure resides. This area contains the medial forebrain bundle, prevalently known as the pleasure pathway (Brick & Ericson, 1999). In addicts, the pleasure pathway of the brain is “hijacked” by the chronic use of drugs or compulsive addictive behavior. Due to the consequent neurochemical dysfunction, addicts perceive the drug as a life-supporting necessity, much like breathing and nourishment (Brick & Ericson, 1999). It seems clear, based on our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction, that physiological mechanisms and genetic factors potentially play a role in addiction; however, there are many concerns about assigning sole causality to genetic/physiological factors (Gupman & Pickens, 2000). Although the genetic/ physiological models are some of the most widely accepted models of addiction, it has attracted a number of critiques (Blomqvist & Cameron, 2002; Moos, 2003). DiClemente (2003) states that “so many different individuals can become addicted to so many different types of substances or behaviors, biological or genetic differences do not explain all the cultural, situational, and intrapersonal differences among addicted individuals and addictive behaviors” (p. 11). From an IMP point of view, it is evident that the genetic/physiological theories understand and apply empirical observation methodologies from a zone-6 perspective (by viewing and studying the exterior of individuals from the outside). These models do not incorporate psychological, social, and cultural perspectives.

Social/Environment Models Many models of substance abuse have been criticized for not sufficiently emphasizing the role of social and contextual factors (Coppelo & Orford, 2002). In addition, many research studies have shown that some of the greatest risks of becoming addicted are related to the social factors a person is exposed to (Srmac, 2010). The social/environment perspective highlights the role of societal influences, social policies, availability, peer pressure, and family systems on the development and maintenance of addiction (DiClemente, 2003; Johnson, 1980). Furthermore, influencing etiological factors of addiction is the prevailing degree of attitudinal tolerance toward the practice in the individual’s cultural, ethnic, and social class milieu. Research has pointed out that macro-environmental influences also play a significant role in the initiation of addiction (Connors & Tarbox, 1995). For instance, since the breakdown of the apartheid system in early 1990s and the concomitant relaxation of border management, South Africa has been targeted as a conduit country for transportation of drugs as well as a lucrative new market for the sale of drugs (Myers & Parry, 2003). Poor law enforcement, combined with the availability of sophisticated infrastructure and telecommunications systems, have further compounded South Africa’s vulnerability as a lucrative drug-trafficking destination, resulting in the increased use of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine in the country (Parry et al., 2005). Some supporters of the social/environment models focus on the more intimate environment of family influences as a central etiological factor of addiction (Merikangas et al., 1992, Sher, 1993). They suggest that the onset of addiction is influenced by certain variables that emerge from dysfunctional family environments (Coleman, 1980; Kandel & Davies, 1992; Stanton, 1980). These theorists emphasize that problematic family situations, such as conflicted and broken marriages, difficulties with relationships, and the use of alcohol 6

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and other drugs on the part of the parents, are important influences on the child’s decision to experiment with drugs or continuing addictive behavior (Chassin et al., 1996; Jessor & Jessor, 1977). Research has identified familial dynamics such as lack of parental support and ineffective parental control practices as high-risk factors for adolescent substance abuse (Hawkins et al., 1994). It is clear that social/environment models have relevance in our understanding of addictive behavior at the population level, but they often fail to explain individual initiation or cessation in any comprehensive manner (DiClemente, 2003). The social/environment models attempt to understand and study addiction from a cultural anthropological perspective (zone 4) by taking an outside view of collective interiors; a social autopoiesis theory perspective (zone 7) by taking an inside view of collective exteriors; and from a systems theory perspective (zone 8) by studying the outside of collective exteriors. These models are valuable from LL and LR quadrant perspectives, but fail to incorporate an etiological understanding from the UL and UR quadrants in a meaningful way.

Personality/Intrapsychic Models Proponents of the personality/intrapsychic perspective link personality/intrapsychic dysfunction and inadequate psychological development to a predisposition toward addiction (Flores, 1997; Khantzian, 1994; Kohut, 1977; Levin, 1995; Ulman & Paul, 2006). For example, pre-existing antisocial disorders, depression, low self-esteem, narcissistic disorders, hyperactivism, high novelty seeking, and emotionality have been acknowledged as possible precursors or predictors of later addiction (Jessor & Jessor, 1980; Kohut, 1977). This led theorists to seek a pre-addiction psychological profile for people who have become addicted. However, a single addictive personality type has not been established, in spite of the commonly held belief that there is such a thing as an “addictive personality.” Arthur Blume (2004) affirms this by saying that “there are certain psychological disorders with specific clusters of symptoms that have a high co-occurrence with substance abuse and dependence … but there is no single personality type for people with addictive behaviors” (p. 73). A common explanation, from a psychoanalytic perspective, is to view the etiological and pathogenic origins of addiction as a narcissistic disturbance of self-experience (Khantzian, 1999; Meissner, 1980; Ulman & Paul, 2006; Wurmser, 1995).6 Kohut (1971, 1977) implies that there is an inverse relationship between an individual’s early experiences of positive self-object responsiveness and their tendency to turn to addictive behavior as replacements for damaging relationships. Scholars who support the “self-medication hypothesis” believe that addicts often suffer from defects in their psychic structure due to poor relationships early in life (Flores, 1997; Khantzian et al., 1990; Levin, 1995). This leaves them prone to seeking external sources of gratification (e.g., drugs, sex, food, work in later life, etc.) (Kohut, 1977). Khantzian (1995) asserts that, Substance abusers are predisposed to become dependent on drugs because they suffer with psychiatric disturbances and painful effect states. Their distress and suffering is the consequence of defects in ego and self capacities which leave such people ill-equipped to regulate and modulate feelings, self-esteem, relationships and behavior. (p. 1) The self-medication model of addictive disorders points out that individuals are predisposed to addiction if they suffer from unpleasant affective states and psychiatric disorders, and that an addict’s drug of choice is not decided randomly but chosen for its particular effect because it helps with the specific problem(s) that the person is struggling with. Therefore, initiation of drug use and the choice of drug are based on the particular psychoactive effect sought by the individual (Khantzian 1995; West, 2005). Richard Ulman and Harry Paul (2006), in their fantasy-based self-psychological model of addiction, believe that addiction is better conceptualized as a kind of self-hypnosis than a type of “self-medication.” They state that an archaic form of narcisJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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sism, namely megalomania, is at the unconscious etiology of addiction. Like other forms of archaic narcissism, it could become developmentally arrested in the setting of a self-object milieu which lacks empathy. In certain cases, such a developmental arrest may lead to addiction in later life. When using addicts enter into a hypnoid or dissociated state involving an archaic fantasy of being a self as a megalomaniacal being endowed with a form of magical control over psychoactive agents (things and activities), these addicts imagine that through possession of these agents they will usher a metamorphosis or transmogrification into a radically new state of being (Ulman & Paul, 2006). Personality/intrapsychic approach obviously makes a valuable contribution toward a better understanding of addiction, and personality as well as intrapsychic factors appear to contribute to the development of addiction. However, as DiClemente (2003) points out, personality factors or deep-seated intrapersonal conflicts account for a possibly important but relatively small part of a comprehensive explanation needed for addiction. Personality/intrapsychic models attempt to understand addiction from a phenomenological mode of inquiry (zone 1) by studying the inside view of the individual interior; as well as by applying structuralassessment techniques (zone 2) (recognizing object relation structures from early development) by studying the outside of the individual interior. These models do a great job from an UL-quadrant perspective, but do not account for UR, LL, and LR quadrant factors.

Coping/Social Learning Models Some theorists indicate that addiction is often related to a person’s ability to cope with stressful situations. They believe that, as a result of poor or inadequate coping mechanisms, addicts turn to their addictions as an alternative coping mechanism for temporary relief and comfort. An individual’s inadequate ability to cope with stress and negative emotions has been identified as an etiological factor in many theories of addiction. Therefore, the coping/social learning models relate addiction to inadequate coping skills, which result from certain personality deficits in the individual (Wills & Shiffman, 1985). According to DiClemente (2003), emotion-focused coping has been identified as a particularly important dimension from a coping model perspective. Some believe alcohol is addictive because of its capacity for tension reduction (Cappell & Greeley, 1987) and its stress response damping effect (Pandina et al., 1992). Researchers have shown that increased drinking after rehabilitation treatment is associated with both skills deficit and the failure to use alternative coping responses (Marlatt & Gordon, 1985). The social learning perspective emphasizes more than just deficits in coping skills; it emphasizes social cognition. Bandura’s social cognitive theory focuses more on cognitive expectancies, self-regulation, and vicarious learning as explanatory mechanisms for addiction (Bandura, 1977, 1986). Also, this perspective highlights the role of peers and significant others as models. When advertisers use prominent public figures to promote a product, they are applying social influence principles. Although coping and social learning perspectives have become popular in addictionology, generalized poor coping skills cannot be the only causal link to addiction. However, even if coping deficit does not sufficiently provide an etiological explanation, it certainly highlights an important consequence of addiction, namely the narrowing of the addict’s coping repertoire (Shiffman & Wills, 1985). The coping/social learning models attempt to understand addiction from a phenomenological mode of inquiry (zone 1) by studying the inside view of an individual’s interior; from a hermeneutical-interpretive perspective (zone 3) by studying the inside of collective interiors; from a cultural anthropological perspective (zone 4) by exploring the outside of collective interiors; and finally from an autopoiesis theory perspective (as do many of the cognitive sciences) (zone 5) by studying the inside of individual exteriors. Although the coping/social learning models do incorporate a multi-perspectival understanding of addiction, they still chiefly focus on the UL quadrant processes in understanding addiction. 8

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Conditioning/Reinforcement Behavioral Models The compulsive use of addictive substances and process addictions are governed by reinforcement principles. Addictive substances and behaviors deleteriously affect the pleasure centers of the brain (Blume, 2004). The stimulation of the pleasure center produces a euphoric experience that tends to positively reinforce addictive behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative. Reinforcement models focus on the direct effects of addictive behavior, such as tolerance, withdrawal, other physiological responses/rewards, as well as more indirect effects described in opponent process theory (Barette, 1985, Soloman & Corbit, 1974). Positive reinforcement involves pleasurable consequences related to addictive behavior. Negative reinforcement, as described by opponent process theory, occurs when a person is rewarded through the substance reducing withdrawal or psychiatric symptoms. Both positive and negative reinforcement play a part in development and maintenance of the addictive process (Blume, 2004). Some theorists have also used Pavlovian conditioning to understand the addiction process. These individuals state that anticipatory drug-related behaviors can be linked to cues associated with the act of using the drug. Therefore, situational cues can elicit initial drug reactions and consequently lead to the resumption of the addictive behavior (Hinson, 1985). More contemporary classical conditioning approaches include cognition and physiological mechanisms in their repertoire of cues and responses (Adesso, 1985; Brown, 1993). This has led to an integration of conditioning and social learning perspectives (DiClemente, 1993). Today there is significant evidence for the role of conditioning and reinforcement effects in the addictive process, and as with all of the previously mentioned models it offers insight into the nature of addiction. However, the conditioning/reinforcement behavioral models do not explain all initiation or successful cessation of addiction (Marlatt & Gordon, 1985). They predominantly attempt to understand addiction from a phenomenological mode of inquiry (zone 1) by studying the inside view of an individual’s interior; by applying empirical observation methodologies (zone 6) via studying the exterior of individuals from the outside; and by means of an autopoiesis theory perspective (zone 5) by studying the inside of individual exteriors. These models tend to overemphasize a deterministic and behaviorist approach to addiction with disregard for many psychological factors (UL), as well as providing inadequate explanation from LL and LR quadrant perspectives.

Compulsive/Excessive Behavior Models Some physiognomies of addiction, like the inability to successfully stop the behavior, as well as its repetitive nature, has led some theorists to link addiction with ritualistic compulsive behaviors. Theorists who link addiction to compulsive behaviors either come from an analytic or a biologically oriented view. The analytic perspective views the compulsive component of addiction as reflecting deep-seated psychological conflict, whereas the biologically oriented view understands the compulsive behavior as a result of biochemical imbalances reflected in irregular neurotransmitter levels in the brain. Adherents of the first view would see treatment in terms of analysis, whereas adherents of the latter would explore psychoactive pharmacological treatments to bring the compulsive addictive behavior under control (DiClemente, 2003). Some theorists view addiction as excessive appetite (Orford, 1985). Increasing appetite leads to excess and the developmental process of increasing attachment, which is similar to elements of the social learning model. Potentially addictive substances share not only the potential for excess but also a similar process of leading to access. Both the compulsive and excessive behavior models share the notion that an addicted individual’s behavior is out of control and that the addict is attempting to satisfy a psychological conflict or need (DiClemente, 2003). Both the compulsive and excessive behavior models add some explanatory potential to some of the existing models. However, they do not highlight all the variables needed in order to adequately explain the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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etiology or why individuals continue addictive behavior. The compulsive and excessive behavior models attempt to understand addiction from a phenomenological mode of inquiry (zone 1) by studying the inside view of an individual’s interior; and by applying empirical observation methodologies from a zone-6 perspective when understanding compulsive addictive behaviors from a biologically oriented view, by studying the exterior of individuals from the outside. These models do explain addiction from limited UL and UR quadrant perspectives, but do not account for social and cultural factors (LL and LR quadrants).

Spiritual/Altered States of Consciousness Models Lesser-known models view the pathogenic and etiological roots of addiction from a spiritual, existential, and altered state of consciousness (ASC) perspective. Empirical research has shown that an inverse relationship exists between spirituality and drug addiction, suggesting that spiritual involvement may act as a protective mechanism against developing an addiction, and that a lack thereof can contribute toward developing an addiction (Laudet et al., 2006; Miller, 1997). Some theorists have suggested that addiction is a spiritual illness, a disorder resulting from a spiritual void in one’s life or from a misguided search for connectedness (Miller, 1998). For addicts, drugs become their counterfeit god. Therefore, addicts may be unconsciously pursuing the satisfaction of their spiritual needs through drugs or addictive behavior. In a letter to Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Jung (as cited in Kurtz & Ketcham, 2002) pointed out that he believed “alcohol was the equivalent, on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God” (p. 113). In a sense, addicts and alcoholics, as Jung believed, are misguided mystics. Many addicts state that they turned to drugs initially due to an existential void in their lives. Drugs instantly provided a new and often spectacular sense of meaning for them in an otherwise barren existence. Luigi Zoja (2000) states that: The archetypal need to transcend one’s present state at any cost, even when it entails the use of physically harmful substances, is especially strong in those who find themselves in a state of meaninglessness, lacking both a sense of identity and a precise societal role. In this sense it seems right to see the behavior of a drug addict who announces “I use drugs!” not only as an escape to some other world, but also as a naive and unconscious attempt at assuming an identity and role negatively defined by the current values of society. (p. 15) I believe viewing the etiological roots from an existential perspective is an important inclusion for a comprehensive understanding of addiction (Boss, 1983). A sense of meaning and purpose is closely related to hope. Empirical findings show that recovering addicts who have hope are better able to cope with life’s crises (Sremac, 2010). Furthermore (and closely related to existential etiological perspectives), I believe that in some instances the etiological roots of certain individuals’ addiction may be a dysfunctional attempt, borrowing terms from Robert Assagiloi (1975), at “self-realization,” and the consequent flawed channeling of “superconscious spiritual energies” (i.e., energies to which these type of individuals are often sensitive to, but have not found suitable ways to actualize). This type of transpersonal etiology (an existential quest for postconventional meaning) should not be confused with a pre-personal etiology (narcissistic disturbance of self), which will result in a type of pre/trans fallacy (Wilber, 1995, 2000, 2006).7 Although I must add that I have observed that many addicts who could be classified as having a transpersonal etiological root for their addiction will also often have co-occurring pre-personal (archaic) narcissistic developmental failure. Some theorists believe that humans have an innate drive to seek ASCs, because they encompass systemic natural neurophysiological processes involved with psychological integration of holotropic responses 10

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and reflect biologically based structures of consciousness for producing holistic growth and integrative consciousness (Grof, 1980, 1992; Siegal, 1984; Weil, 1972). Winkelman (2001) believes that addicts engage in a normal human motive to achieve ASCs, but in a self-destructive way because they are not provided the opportunity to learn “constructive alternative methods for experiencing non-ordinary consciousness” (p. 340). From this viewpoint, drug use and addiction are not understood as an intrinsic anomaly, but rather as a misguided yearning for the satisfaction of an inherent human need. In considering possible etiological roots for our society’s immense addiction problem through an ASC perspective, Winkelman (2001) states: Since contemporary Indo-European societies lack legitimate institutionalized procedures for accessing ASCs, they tend to be sought and utilized in deleterious and selfdestructive patterns—alcoholism, tobacco abuse and illicit substance dependence. Since ASC reflect underlying psychobiological structures and innate needs, when societies fail to provide legitimate procedures for accessing these conditions, they are sought through other means. Incorporation of practices to induce ASC through non-drug means could be useful as both a prophylactic against drug abuse, as well as a potential treatment for addiction. (p. 240) For a comprehensive understanding of addiction, the inclusion of spiritual and ASC perspectives is essential, although addiction is too complex for its pathogenic origins to be reduced to these elements alone. Furthermore, in some instances one could run the risk of a type of a pre/trans fallacy by confusing developmentally arrested narcissistic needs and behavior with postconventional spiritual yearning, which is actually a fairly common phenomenon in certain drug subcultures (Almaas, 1996).8 The spiritual/altered state of consciousness models attempt to understand addiction from a phenomenological mode of inquiry (zone 1) perspective by studying the inside view of an individual’s interior; and a cultural anthropological perspective (zone 4) by exploring the outside of collective interiors.

The Biopsychosocial Model A dissatisfaction with the fractional explanations proposed by the previously described single-factor models have prompted some theorists to propose an integration of these explanations (Donovan & Marlatt, 1988; Glantz & Pickens, 1992). By calling their model the biopsychosocial model, they indicate the integration of biological, psychological, and sociological explanations that are crucial in understanding addiction. This model endeavors to unify contending addiction theories into an integrated conceptual framework. According to this model, addictive behavior is best understood as a complex disorder determined through the interaction of biological, cognitive, psychological, and sociocultural processes. Dennis Donovan, a proponent of the biopsychosocial model, states that “addiction appears to be an interactive product of social learning in a situation involving physiological events as they are interpreted, labeled, and given meaning by the individual” (Donovan & Marlatt, 2005, p. 7). The biopsychosocial model argues for multiple causality in the accusation, maintenance, and termination of addictive behaviors.9 Yet there are some academics who feel the biopsychosocial model is also inadequate in explaining addiction, and that further integrative elements are needed to make this model’s tripartite collection of factors functional. DiClemente (2003) states that “without a pathway that can lead to real integration, the biopsychosocial model represents only a semantic linking of terms or at best a partial integration” (p. 18). DiClemente adds: [T]he biopsychosocial model clearly supports the complexity of and interactive nature of the process of addiction and recovery. However, additional integrating eleJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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ments are needed in order to make this tripartite collection of factors truly functional for explaining how individuals become addicted and how the process of recovery from addiction occurs. (2003, p. 18) Without an orienting framework that can explain how these various areas co-enact and interlink, the biopsychosocial approach indeed often represents merely a semantic linking of terms. Although the biopsychosocial model has not provided the field of addictionology with a truly comprehensive and integrative model, it is one of the first models to recognize the importance of treating the whole person, not merely the addiction. This has contributed greatly to the application of more holistic treatment protocols (Sremac, 2010). The biopsychosocial model attempts to understand addiction from a multitude of perspectives, which include a phenomenological mode of inquiry (zone 1) by studying the inside view of an individual’s interior; a hermeneutical-interpretive perspective (zone 3) by studying the inside of collective interiors; a cultural anthropological perspective (zone 4) by exploring the outside of collective interiors; an autopoiesis theory perspective (zone 5) by studying the inside of individual exteriors; empirical observation methodologies (zone 6) by viewing and studying the exterior of individuals from the outside; and finally a systems theory perspective (zone 8) by studying the outside of collective exteriors.

The Transtheoretical Model In an attempt to find commonality among the diverse models of addiction, DiClemente and Prochaska (1998) proposed their Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of intentional behavior change. The TTM “attempts to bring together these divergent perspectives by focusing on how individuals change behavior and by identifying key change dimensions involved in this process” (DiClemente, 2003, p. 19). The primary developer of TTM, Carlo DiClemente (2003), argues for this model by stating that “[i]t is the personal pathway, and not simply the type of person or environment, that appears to be the best way to integrate and understand the multiple influences involved in the acquisitions and cessation of addictions” (p. 19). The TTM proposes that the process of recovery from an addictive behavior involves transition through phases described as precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Different processes are involved in the transition between these different phases, and individuals can move forward and backward through these phases of change (West, 2005). Proponents of this model believe a person’s choices influence and are influenced by both personality and social forces, and that there is an interaction between the individual and risk and protective factors that influence the pathogenic origin or cessation of addiction. This process requires a personal journey through an intentional change process that is influenced at various points by a host of factors, as identified in the previously discussed explanatory models. “The stages of change, process of change, context of change, and markers of change identified in the TTM offer a way to integrate these diverse perspectives without losing the valid insights gained from each perspective” (DiClemente, 2003, p. 20). Although this model demonstrates an integrative principle that is common to all the previous models, and although it highlights the dynamic and developmental aspects of addiction, I do not believe it provides a metatheoretical framework that truly accommodates all the previous perspectives into an integrative framework. The TTM predominantly focuses on one integrating principle (i.e., change) found in all the prominent addiction models, but does not provide the meta-paradigmatic framework needed for a metatheory of addiction. Furthermore, the model has attracted a number of critiques, and West (2005) states that “reservations have emerged about the model, many of which have been well articulated (Etter & Perneger, 1999; Bunton et al., 2000; Whitelaw et al., 2000; Sutton, 2001; Etter & Sutton, 2002; Littell & Girvin, 2002)” (p. 68). Yet the TTM has contributed greatly to our understanding of addiction and recovery as a dynamic process, by explaining it through a developmental-contextual framework. Furthermore, it has provided clinicians with a dynamic developmental framework to understand treatment resistance and ambivalence as well as to identify 12

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certain developmental markers indicative of positive change in recovery (Miller, 2006; Miller & Rollnick, 2002; Miller & Carroll, 2006). The TTM attempts to understand addiction primarily from a zone-2 perspective, applying structural-assessment techniques, by studying the outside of individual interiors.

An Integral Model of Addiction In contemporary addictionology studies there is an ongoing debate concerning the nature of addiction, and there is no agreement on a single etiopathogenic model—a fact that clearly reflects the complexity of this phenomenon (DiClemente 2003; Sremac, 2010; West, 2005). As I have shown in this article, there are multiple etiological perspectives of addiction: biological, sociocultural, psychological, and spiritual/ASC theories are all important in understanding it. Srdjan Sremac (2010) states that “one of the difficulties for a comprehensive theory of addiction is the increasing ‘medicalitazation’ of the notion of disease” (p. 268). As Morgan (1999) points out, the search for biological and genetic explanations for addictive behavior has obscured the more holistic and interdisciplinary perspectives. Furthermore, most of the above-mentioned models apply the natural sciences paradigm that underlies modern medicine, which Medard Boss (1983) points out has its limitations in explaining the whole human realm, as it originated from and is only sovereign in the nonhuman realm. Our brief review of the most prevalent explanatory models of addiction highlights several important issues. First, addiction appears to involve multiple determinants, each representing very different domains of human functioning, ranging from individual factors like self-esteem and physiology to societal influences. Second, we can conclude that there is no single explanatory construct at a single point in the life of an individual that can adequately explain addiction. Finally, because of the inadequacy of the single-factor models to account for the complexity of addiction, integrative perspectives like the biopsychosocial model and TTM are beginning to dominate the field of addictionology (DiClemente, 2003).

Legitimation Crisis in Addictionology Although there has been a move toward more comprehensive models in the field of addictionology, current holistic models have not yet achieved the goal of providing a truly all-inclusive and integrative framework to account for addiction. Carlo DiClemente (2003) states, pointing out the limitations of one of the most popular contemporary holistic models, “Although the proposal of an integrative model represents an important advance over more specific, single-factor models, proponents of the biopsychosocial approach have not explained how the integration of biological, psychological, sociological and behavioral components occur” (p. 18). What is missing in these integrative models is a metatheory that adequately explains the co-arising, multi-causality, and integration of the many factors. Unlike the biopsychosocial model and the TTM, a truly comprehensive and integrative framework would provide the scaffolding to bring together the various research-supported explanatory models, and orchestrate the integration of multiple determinants as well as the dynamic nature of addiction. The diverse etiological models discussed thus far mostly offer partial, often one-dimensional views. Moreover, the proposed integrative models, like the biopsychosocial model and the TTM, do not provide a comprehensive meta-framework to integrate these diverse explanatory perspectives and explain multiple “co-arising” determinants. What is currently happening in the field of addictionology is what Wilber (2002a) refers to as a “legitimation crisis”—a breakdown in the adequacy of a particular mode of translating and making sense of the world. The partial existing explanatory addiction models (LL quadrant) cannot keep up with and successfully account for all the results the various research paradigms (LR quadrant) are enacting. Consequently, the current move in addictionology is toward more integrative models of addiction that can account for the mounting data in addiction studies, data which highlight its multidimensional, dynamic, and complex nature. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Toward an Integrative Conceptual Etiological Meta-framework By proposing an Integral Model of Addiction (IMA) through the application of the AQAL model, and elements of IMP in particular, we can move toward an integrative framework that could provide adequate scaffolding for all the current evidence-based etiological approaches. Because the IMA is based on IMP, it seeks to honor all the important methodologies used in addictionology. Each of the aforementioned models brings valuable insight from a specific paradigmatic point of view, and enacts certain features of addiction by virtue of applying a particular methodologies. By applying Integral Theory in the context of addiction models, it can provide us with a “meta-theoretical framework that simultaneously honors the important contributions of a broad spectrum of epistemological outlooks while also acknowledging the parochial limitations and misconceptions of these perspectives” (Marquis, 2008, p. 24). From an IMP perspective, none of these models or perspectives have epistemological priority because they co-arise and “tetra-mesh” simultaneously, although in some contexts a priority can be established and justified. Khantzian (1987) states that each of these explanatory models has “an advantage in describing certain features and etiological determinants of substance dependence. Each also has its limitation” (p. 534). Therefore, these models are all valid from the perspectives they use to understand and study addiction, but also always partial in their approach to the whole. This implies that a model is not correct or incorrect but rather that it is more suited to explaining addiction from a certain perspective, and more limiting from other perspectives. For instance, the genetic/physiological models are better at explaining the biological determinants and function of addiction than the personality/intrapsychic models, whereas the personality/intrapsychic models are better at explaining the phenomenological determinants and experience of addicted individuals than the genetic/physiological models. Yet both illuminate important and interlinked aspects of the same phenomenon. This highlights the phenomenon of addiction as a multiple and dynamic object arising as a continuum of ontological complexity (Esbjörn-Hargens, 2010). By viewing addiction through the quadrants and its 8PP, we can see that all these perspectives with their respective methodological families need to be acknowledged, and as many should be included as possible in order to gain a truly comprehensive view. This avoids what Wilber (2006) calls “quadrant absolutism,” where all realities of a phenomenon are reduced to the perspective of one quadrant (e.g., reducing the multiple determinants of addictive behavior to merely impaired neurophysiology). An IMA, through the application of Integral Theory, acknowledges all these perspectives and their respective methodologies, and also provides a meta-paradigmatic integrative framework highlighting how these perspectives co-arise and interlink without having to reduce one perspective to another. Obviously, individuals can become addicted due to a host of different reasons, as articulated by the many explanatory models, and from an etiological point of view all these models may not be relevant in explaining the pathogenic origins of a particular individual’s addiction. But what is clear is that once an individual becomes addicted, virtually all areas are affected and need to be included in a comprehensive understanding of the maintenance of addiction, as well as its treatment and the individual’s recovery (Du Plessis, 2010, 2012; Dupuy & Gorman, 2010; Dupuy & Morelli, 2007).

Integral Taxonomy of Etiological Models of Addiction An IMA highlights the need for a dynamic integrative understanding that includes paradigmatic as well as meta-paradigmatic orientations. Only by using a meta-paradigmatic practice can we create a metatheory that encapsulates, relates, and integrates the existing theories into a comprehensive conceptual framework of addiction. Moreover, a meta-model of addiction could help point the field of addictionology toward underexplored areas for etiological understanding of addiction (i.e., vertical developmental levels of zone 2; systemic aspects as represented by zone 7). Through the application of IMP, an IMA includes all the evidence-based models and explains which aspect of addiction they enact, and provides meta-paradigmatic integration of these diverse perspectives and 14

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their paradigmatic injunctions. In Figure 2, I provide a taxonomy of etiological models of addiction, using the eight zones and methodological families of IMP, into which each of the etiological models thus far discussed can be grouped. It must be noted that this classification highlights the predominant areas that each explanatory model explores, as it is often difficult to draw distinct boundaries. Consequently, this configuration opens itself up to certain methodological classification errors, and only serves the purpose of an exploratory overview of such a possible classification. Figure 2 illustrates how an IMA could integrate all the existing models into an integrative and comprehensive metatheory of addiction, without reducing one model to another. It provides a meta-developmental-contextual framework to view addiction from a multi-perspectival position from any of its possible developmental stages of self, culture, and nature. Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

Phenomenology

Structuralism

Hermeneutics

Ethnomethodology

• Conditioning/Reinforcement Behavioral models • Compulsion and Excessive Behavior models • Spiritual/Altered State of Consciousness models • Personality/Intrapsychic models • Coping/Social learning models • Biopsychosocial model

• Transtheoretical model • Personality/intrapsychic models

• Coping/Social Learning models • Biopsychosocial model

• • • •

Zone 5

Zone 6

Autopoiesis Theory

Empiricism

• Conditioning/Reinforcement Behavioral models • Coping/Social Learning models • Biopsychosocial model

• Genetic/Physiological models • Conditioning/Reinforcement Behavioral models • Compulsion and Excessive Behavior models • Biopsychosocial model

Zone 7 Social Autopoiesis Theory • Social/Environment models

Social/Environment models Coping/Social Learning models Biopsychosocial model Spiritual/Altered State of Consciousness models

Zone 8 Systems Theory • Social/Environment models • Biopsychosocial model

Figure 2. Taxonomy of the various etiological models of addiction within the eight methodological families of Integral Methodological Pluralism.

The Developmental Dynamics of Addiction Assimilating the TTM of intentional behavior change, as well as the “stages of development” element of Integral Theory, alongside addiction/recovery developmental models into an IMA highlights the dynamic and developmental nature of addiction as well as the recovery process (Du Plessis, 2010, 2012). Furthermore, each of these eight zones of IMP will enact differently at different phases of addiction and recovery as well as the different stages of psychological development of addicts. For a comprehensive IMA, we need to be able to adequately accommodate and explicate the dynamic and developmental nature of addiction, and at least provide some orienting generalizations. Furthermore, a stage perspective of addiction and recovery has significant implications for therapy. (See Du Plessis, 2010, 2012 for a discussion of the therapeutic application of stages with addicted populations.) In Figure 3, I indicate various developmental models often used in Integral Theory and developmental psychology (Wilber, 2006), some well-known developmental models of addiction and recovery (Whitfield, 1991; Bowden & Gravtiz, 1998; Nakken, 1998), as well as my own composite developmental model relating Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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INFRARED

Survival

Emergent awareness

Core Issues

Whitf ield (1991)

Bowden/Gravitz (1988)

Life Breakdown Stage

Stage 3

Lifestyle Change Stage

Stage 2

Stage 1

Nakken (1998)

Early Stage Addiction

Active Addiction

Stages of ADDICTION

Early Stage Stages of Recovery RECOVERY

Middle Stage Recovery

High Altitude Stage Recovery

Transpersonal Stage Recovery

Du Plessis (2010)

Stages of Addiction & Recovery

Late Stage Addiction

Middle Stage Addiction

1 st TIER

2 nd TIER

Internal Change Stage

Stages of Addiction

Transformation

Integration

Genesis

3 rd TIER

Figure 3. Developmental stages of addiction and recovery. From Du Plessis (2012, p. 130); used with permission.

Values Graves/SD/Wade

Cognitive

Stage 0

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stages of Stages of Recovery & Recovery for Addiction ACoAs

Kin Spirits (Purple)

MagicAnimistic Survival (Beige)

Power Gods (Red)

Piaget/Commons, Richards/Aurobindo

(Symbolic)

Preoperational

(Conceptional)

Preoperational

(Rule/Role Mind)

Egocentric

Truth Force (Blue)

(Rational Mind)

Formal Operational Concrete Operational Absolutistic

Human Bond (Green)

Flex Flow (Yellow)

Strive Drive (Orange)

Relativistic

Systemic

Global View (Turquoise)

Transcendent

Unity

Multiplistic

(Meta-systemic)

Pluralistic Mind

(Paradigmatic)

Low Vision-Logic

MAGENTA

RED

AMBER

ORANGE

GREEN

TEAL

(Cross-paradigmatic)

Illumined Mind, Para-Mind High Vision-Logic

INDIGO

TURQUOISE

Intuitive Mind, Meta-Mind

Overmind

ULTRAVIOLET

VIOLET

Supermind

CLEAR LIGHT

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LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Integral Model OF addiction

to addiction and recovery (Du Plessis, 2011). The aim of this figure is to visually illustrate the developmental nature of addiction/recovery. The figure is a simplified example of the different developmental stages that an addict’s center of addiction or recovery gravity can possibly rest at.11 Although the stages of addiction and recovery is better understood as chronological stages or phases, I do believe there is a correlation between the various stage models as articulated in Integral Theory and the various stages (or phases) of recovery models. Simply put, earlier stages of recovery may correlate with early developmental stages, and higher altitude stages of recovery may correlate with more complex developmental stages.

Conclusion This article provides a preliminary sketch of what an integrally informed model of addiction could resemble. I argued that by applying Integral Theory as a metatheoretical and transdisciplinary framework, we may arrive at a comprehensive model of addiction that honors all the existing single-factor models as well as the integrative and dynamic models. IMP was used to propose the broad outlines of an integrative model of addiction. I explored the most dominant explanatory models and theories of addiction derived from the sociopsychological and biomedical sciences, and pointed out how each model’s theory is enacted by a particular methodology as represented by one or more of the eight zones of IMP. Finally, I pointed out how an IMA could integrate all the existing models into an integrative and comprehensive metatheory of addiction, without reducing one model to another. Therefore, an IMA essentially comprises an integrative orientation that can include all the existing evidence-based etiopathogenic models and their respective methodologies, and a meta-paradigmatic conceptual framework that relates the various paradigmatic strands to each other in a dynamic manner. It thereby provides a meta-developmental-contextual framework to view addiction from a multi-perspectival position from any of its possible developmental stages in self, culture, and nature. Arriving at an adequate understanding of addiction has more than just epistemological and scientific value—it also signifies great benefit in the real world, for the way we understand addiction influences the way we treat it. Therefore, the more comprehensive our understanding, the more effective and sustainable treatment becomes. The main premise of this article is that the application of Integral Theory in the context of etiological models could provide a more advanced integrative conceptual framework than any existing metatheory of addiction. As Wilber (2002b) eloquently states, echoing the premise of this article: The more one actually practices an integral meta-paradigm … the more Eros is set rumbling in through the system, agitating and pulling toward a second-tier transformation that explodes the legitimacy crisis inherent in all first-tier waves and throws them open to an enrichment beyond their first-tier imprisonment, an enrichment that is their own inherent potential and divine birthright set free in the deeper and wider spaces enacted by integral practices. (p. 44) This article is not the final word on integrally informed models of addiction. It is merely a cursory attempt to show what possibilities exist when applying Integral Theory in the study of the etiological and pathogenic origins of addiction, and it hopes to stimulate interest in other academics, clinicians, and researches with a view to the eventual development of a well-researched, integrally informed meta-model of addiction. Addiction is one of the greatest societal problems facing the world today, and I believe only a truly integral approach can adequately address this massive, mind-boggling, and heartbreaking problem. As Smuts said in 1927, presaging the Integral age: “If the soul of our civilization is to be saved we shall have to find new and fuller expression for the great saving unities…” (p. vi).

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NOTES In my opinion, General Jan Smuts, South African statesman, philosopher, and author of Holism and Evolution (1927), was one of the first truly modern integral thinkers. Smuts, who coined the term “holism” and who was the first to promote a holistic epistemology, is mostly forgotten by contemporary academia. It is well known that Fritz Perls, co-founder of Gestalt Therapy, was greatly influenced by Smuts’ holistic theory while living in South Africa after fleeing Nazi Germany, as was Alfred Adler. Adler used Holism and Evolution for his classes in Vienna (and had it translated into German) and describes Holism Theory, in a letter to Smuts, as “supplying the scientific and philosophical basis for the great advance in psychology which had been made in recent years” (Blackenberg, 1951, p. 81). Furthermore, in his book Psychosynthesis (1975) Roberto Assagioli acknowledges Smuts as the originator of the holistic approach as well as of the Psychology of Personality, subsequently influencing thinkers like Maslow and Allport. Assagioli (1975) describes Smuts’ holistic approach as one of the most “significant and valuable contributions to the knowledge of human nature and its betterment” (p. 14). Unfortunately, the majority of modern holistic thinkers seldom acknowledge his pioneering work. However, Ken Wilber holds Smuts’ work in high regard, and was influenced by him in the early stages of his career (personal communication, May 26, 2008). 2 The DSM-IV-TR does not use the term “addiction,” but rather “substance abuse disorders,” since the World Health Organization concluded in 1964 that addiction is no longer a scientific term. However, the soon-to-be-published DSMV will use the term “addictive disorders” instead of “substance dependence.” For the purposes of this article, the term addiction refers to substance use disorders and process addictions such as sex addiction and pathological gambling. 3 I use the term paradigm to mean a set of social practices or behavioral injunctions, as was originally intended by Thomas Kuhn (1970). 4 See Esbjörn-Hargens (2010) for a critique of this oft-cited parable. 5 See my previous articles in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice (Du Plessis, 2010, 2012) for discussion of an integrally informed model for inpatient addiction treatment. The 2012 article proposes and outlines an integrally informed psychotherapy, known as Integrated Recovery Therapy (IRT), that is adapted for treating addicted populations. IRT as a therapeutic orientation is an Integral Methodological Pluralism to therapy for treating addiction. Its two main features are paradigmatic and meta-paradigmatic. The paradigmatic aspect refers to the recognition, compilation and implementation of various methodologies in a comprehensive and inclusive manner. The meta-paradigmatic aspect refers to IRT’s capacity to weave together, relate, and integrate the various paradigmatic practices. IRT is a meta-therapy derived from the Integrated Recovery Model (Du Plessis, 2010), which is a comprehensive, balanced, multi-phased, and multi-disciplinary clinical model designed for inpatient addiction treatment. As with the Integrated Recovery Model, IRT’s philosophy is derived from an integration of 12-step, abstinence-based philosophy, mindfulness, positive psychology, and Integral Theory. 6 For a comprehensive and very impressive discussion of addiction as a narcissistic disturbance from a self-psychology perspective, see Ulman & Paul’s (2006) The Self Psychology of Addiction and its Treatment: Narcissus in Wonderland. 7 I intend to write an article exploring the etiological roots of addiction from a transpersonal perceptive through the application of an integral view of Assagioli’s psychosynthesis approach as a conceptual framework. This is not an etiological explanation that attempts to be applicable for all addiction individuals, but rather for isolated cases. 8 In certain subcultures, drug use is often glorified for its mystical and transcendent properties, and the individuals in these subcultures often justify their frequent use of drugs through spiritual values. The problem is not that the ingestion of psychoactive substances cannot produce authentic mystical experiences, or that some of these individuals are not authentically driven to find spiritual enlightenment through the use of psychoactive substances, but rather that the prevalent drug use in these cultures is often driven simply by a need “to get high,” and not a spiritual motivation. Consequently, most individuals are there to get high, not to become enlightened, but use these lofty ideals as rationalizations for more primitive impulses. 9 For an integral critique of the biopsychosocial model, see Baron Short’s (2006) article in the Journal of Integral 1

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Theory and Practice. 10 This article’s primary focus is on the application of IMP, without adequately expounding the ontological pluralism of addiction as a multiple object enacted by various methodologies. I believe what is further needed in an attempt at a truly comprehensive integral metatheory of addiction is to incorporate Esbjörn-Hargens’ (2010) Integral Pluralism and Integral Enactment Theory as part of its architectonic. 11 It must be noted that this figure is speculative regarding how the stages of recovery and addiction relate to other developmental models, as it is not clear how ego development correlates with the various stages of addiction/recovery models, and is best used as a clinical metaphor.

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Complexity, integration and spirituality in practice. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Glantz, M., & Pickens, R. (Eds.). (1992). Vulnerability to drug abuse. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Gordis, E. (2000, July). From genes to geography: The cutting edge alcohol research. Alcohol Alert (No. 48). Rockville, MD: National Institute of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Grof, S. (1980). LSD Psychotherapy. Pomona, CA: Hunter House. Grof S. (1992). The holotropic mind. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins. Hawkins, J.D., Catalano, R.F., & Miller, J.Y. (1994). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance use prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64-105. Hesselbrock, M.N., Hesselbrock, V.M., & Epstein, E.E. (1999). Theories of etiology of alcohol and other drug disorders. In B. S. McCrady & E. E. Epstein (Eds.), Addictions: A comprehensive guidebook (pp. 50-74). New York: Oxford University Press. Hinson, R.E. (1985). Individual differences in tolerance and relapse: A Pavlovian conditioning perspectives. In M. Galizio & S. A. Maisto (Eds.), Determinates of substance abuse: Biological, psychological and environmental factors (pp. 125-178). New York: Plenum Press Ingersoll, R.E., & Rak, C.F. (2005). Psychopharmacology for helping professionals: An integral exploration. Independence, KY: Brooks Cole. Ingersoll, R.E., & Zeitler, D.M. (2010) Integral psychotherapy: Inside out/Outside in. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. James, W. (1901/1961). The varieties of religious experience: A study in human nature. New York: Colliers. Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development. New York: Academic Press. Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. (1980). A social-sychological framework for studying drug use. In U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Theories on drug abuse: Contemporary perspectives (NIDA Research monograph No. 30, pp. 102-109; DHHS

Publications No. ADM 80-967). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Johnson D. B., (1980). Toward a theory of drug subcultures. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Jung, J. (2001). Psychology of alcohol and other drugs: A research perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kandel, D. B., & Davies, M. (1992). Progression to regular marijuana involvement: Phenomenology and risk factors for near daily use. In M. Glantz R. Pickens (Eds.), Vulnerability to drug abuse (pp. 299-358). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Kantzian, E.J. (1994). Alcoholics Anonymous—Cult or corrective? Paper presented at Fourth Annual Distinguished Lecture. Manhasset, NY: Cornell University. Khantzian, E. J. (1999). Treating addiction as a human process. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Khantzian, E.J., Halliday, K.S., & McAuliffe, W.E. (1990). Addiction and the vulnerable self: Modified dynamic group therapy for substance abusers. New York: Guilford Press. Kohut, H. (1971). The analysis of the self: A systematic approach to the psychoanalytic treatment of narcissistic personality disorders. New York: International Universities Press. Kohut, H. (1977). The restoration of self. New York: International University Press. Kuhn, T. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Kurtz, E., & Ketcham, K. (2002). The spirituality of imperfection: Storytelling and the search for meaning. New York, NY: Bantam Books. Laudet, A.B., Morgen, K., & White, W.L. (2006). The role of social supports, spirituality, religiousness, life meaning and affiliation with 12-Step fellowship in quality of life satisfaction among individuals in recovery from alcohol and drug problems. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 24(1-2), 33-73. Levin, J. D. (1995) Psychodynamic treatment of alcohol abuse. In Dynamic therapies for psychiatric disorders (Axis 1). Barber, J. P., & Crits-Christoph, P. (Eds.) New York: BasicBooks. Marlatt, G.A., & Gordon, J.R. (1985). Relapse prevenJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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tion: Maintenance strategies in treatment of addictive behaviors. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Marlatt, G.A. (2002). Buddhist philosophy and the treatment of addictive behavior. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9(1), 47. Martin, J.A. (2008) Integral research as a practical mixed-methods framework: Clarifying the role of integral methodological pluralism. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 3(2), 155-164. Marquis, A. (2008). The integral intake: A comprehensive idiographic assessment in integral psychotherapy. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. Marquis, A. (2009). An integral taxonomy of therapeutic interventions. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 4(2), 13-42. McPeak, J.D., Kennedy, B.P., & Gordon, S.M. (1991). Altered states of consciousness therapy: A missing component in alcohol and drug rehabilitation treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 8, 75-82. Meissner, W.W. (1980). Addiction and paranoid process: Psychoanalytic perspectives. International Journal of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 8, 273–310. Merikangas, K.R., Rounsaville, B.J., & Prusoff, B.A. (1992). Familial factors in vulnerability to drug abuse. In M. Glantz, & R. Pickens (Eds.). (1992). Vulnerability to drug abuse. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Myers, B., & Parry, C. (2004). Access to substance abuse treatment services for black South Africans: Findings from audits of specialist treatment facilities in Cape Town and Gauteng. South Africa Psychiatry Review, 8, 15-19. Moos, H.R. (2003). Addictive disorders in context: Principles and puzzles of effective treatment and recovery. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17, 3-12. Milkman, H.B., & Sunderworth, S.G. (2010) Craving for ecstasy and natural highs: A positive approach to mood alteration. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Milkman, H.B., & Frosch, W. (1973) On the preferential abuse of heroin and amphetamines. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 156(4), 242-248. Miller, W.R. (2006). Motivational factors in addictive behaviors. In W.R. Miller & K.M. Carroll (Eds.), Rethinking substance abuse: What the science 22

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shows, and what we should do about it (pp. 134152). New York: The Guilford Press. Miller, W.R., & Carroll, K. M. (2006). Drawing the scene together: Ten principles, ten recommendations. In W.R. Miller & K.M. Carroll (Eds.), Rethinking substance abuse: What the science shows, and what we should do about it (pp. 293-312). New York: The Guilford Press. Miller, W.R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people to change. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Miller R. W. (1997). Spiritual aspects of addiction treatment and research. Mind/Body Medicine, 2(1), 37-43. Miller, R.W. (1998). Researching the spiritual dimensions of alcohol and other drug problems. Addiction, 93(7), 979-990. Nakken, C.M. (1998). Understanding the addictive process: Development of an addictive personality. Center City, MN: Hazelden. Orford J. (2000) Excessive appetites: A psychological view of addiction (2nd ed.), Chichester: Willey. Parry, C.D.H., Pluddermann, A., & Myers, B. J. (2005). Heroin treatment demand in South Africa: Trends from two large metropolitan sites (January 1997-December 2003). Drug and Alcohol Review, 24, 419-423. Piaget, J. (1977). The essential Piaget. H.E. Gruber & J.J. Voneche (Eds.). New York, NY: Basic Books. Proschaska, J.O., & DiClemente, C.C. (1992). Stages of change in the modification of problem behaviors. In: M. Hersen, R.M. Eisler, & P.M. Miller (Eds.), Progress in behavior modification, Vol. 28 (pp. 184-214). Sycamore, IL: Sycamore Press. Roberts, A.J., & Koob, G.J. (1997). The neurobiology of addition: An overview. Alcohol and Health Research World, 21(2), 101-143. Ronell, A. (1993) Crack wars: Literature, addiction, mania. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Rioux, D. (1996). Shamanic healing techniques: toward holistic addiction counseling. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 14(1), 59-69. Siegel R. (1984). The natural history of hallucinogens. In B. Jacobs (Ed.), Hallucinogens: Neurochemical, behavioral and clinical perspectives. New York, NY: Raven Press. Sremac, S. (2010). Addiction, narrative and spirituality:

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Theoretical-mythological approaches and overview. Retrieved 10 July 2010 from: http://www. cirelstud.org/sites/default/files/sremac_rit_14.pdf Shealy, S. (2009). Toward an integrally informed approach to alcohol and drug treatment: Bridging the science and spirit gap. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 4(3), 109-126. Schuckit, M. A., (1980) A theory of alcohol and drug abuse: A genetic approach. In D. J. Lettieri, M. Sayers, & H. W. Persons (Eds.), Theories on drug abuse: Selected contemporary perspectives (NIDA Research Monograph No. 30, pp. 297302; DHS Publication No. ADM 80-976). Rockville, MD: National Institute of Drug Abuse. Schuckit, M. A., Goodwin, D. W., & Winokur, G. A. (1972). A long-term study of sons of alcoholics. Alcohol Health and Research World, 19, 172-175. Sher, K. J. (1993). Children of alcoholics and the intergenerational transmission of alcoholism: A biopsychosocial perspective. In J.S. Baer, G.A. Marlatt, & R.J. McMahon (Eds.), Addictive behaviors across the lifespan: Prevention, Treatment and policy issues (pp. 3-33). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Shiffman,S. & Wills, T. A. (Eds.) (1985). Coping and substance abuse. New York: Academic Press. Short, B. (2006). AQAL: Beyond the biopsychosocial model. AQAL: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 1(3), 126-141. Siegel, R. (1984). The natural history of hallucinogens. In: B. Jacobs (Ed.), Hallucinogens: Neurochemical, behavioral and clinical perspectives. New York, NY: Raven Press. Smith, E.D., & Seymour, B.R (2004). The nature of addiction. In R. Holman Coombs (Ed.), Handbook of addictive disorders: A practical guide to diagnosis and treatment (pp. 3-30). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Smuts, J.C. (1927). Holism and evolution. London: MacMillan & Co. Solomon, L.J., & Corbit, J. (1974). An opponent-process theory of motivation: Temporal dynamics of affects. Psychological Review, 81, 119-145. Ulman, R.B. & Paul, H. (2006) The self psychology of addiction and its treatment: Narcissus in wonderland. New York: Routledge.

Volkow, N. D., Fowler, J. S., Wang, G., Swanson, J. M., & Telang, F. (2007). Dopamine in drug abuse and addiction: Results of imaging studies and treatment implications. Archives of Neurology, 64(11), 1575-1579. Weil, A. (1972). The natural mind. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. West, R. (2005). Theory of addiction. Malden, M: Blackwell Publishing, White, W.L. (1996) Pathways: From the culture of addiction to the culture of recovery. Center City, MN: Hazelden. Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, ecology, spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Boston: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2002a). Excerpt A: An integral age at the leading edge. 5 pts. Ken Wilber Online. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from http://wilber.shambhala. com/html/books/kosmos/excerptA/part1.cfm/. Wilber, K. (2002b). Excerpt B: The many ways we touch: Three principles helpful for any integrative approach. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/kosmos/excerptD/excerptD.pdf. Wilber, K. (2006). Integral spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world. Boston, MA: Integral Books. Wills, T.A., & Shiffman, S. (1985) Coping and substance use: A conceptual framework. Coping and Substance Abuse. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. Winkelman, M. (2001). Alternative and traditional medicine approaches for substance abuse programs: a shamanic perspective. International Journal of Drug Policy, 12, 337-351. Whitfield, C.L. (1991). Co-dependence, healing the human condition. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc. Wurmser, L. (1995). Compulsiveness and conflict: The distinction between description and explanation in the treatment of addictive behavior. In S. Dowling (Ed.), The psychology and treatment of addictive behavior (pp. 43-64). Madison, CT: International Universities Press. Zoja, L. (1989). Drugs, addiction and initiation: The modern search for ritual. Boston, MA: Sigo. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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GUY PIERRE DU PLESSIS, B.A. Hons., is Clinical Director of Drakenstein Addiction Recovery Center. He holds a B.A. Honors degree from the University of South Africa in psychology, with specialization in psychological counseling. He is the developer of the Integrated Recovery Model, Integral Model of Addiction and Integrated Recovery Therapy, and also the first to pioneer and implement an integrally informed clinical model within an inpatient addiction treatment clinic. His work on the Integrated Recovery Model has been published in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. He is the author of a book about the Integrated Recovery approach, which is currently in development with SUNY Press. His main academic interests are developing well-researched, evidence-based theory and practice in the field of Integral Addiction Treatment. He is a Zen student under Sensei Mugaku Zimmerman (White Plum lineage), a musician/producer specializing in integrally informed avant-garde music, and his favorite activity and spiritual practice is spending time with his beloved daughter Coco.

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TRANSCENDING FIRST-TIER VALUES IN ACHIEVING BINDING, DEMOCRATIC GLOBAL GOVERNANCE John M. Bunzl ABSTRACT Binding, democratic global governance is regarded, in principle, as a second-tier solution to global problems. But given the present world predominance of first-tier values, there is concern that global democracy would likely result in citizens voting, at best, for culturally divisive, first-tier global policies or, at worst, for potentially dangerous ones. Moreover, given nations such as China would see democracy at the global level as incompatible with their non-democratic national politics, how can global governance be made palatable to them? This article argues that most existing proposals for democratic global governance fail to address, let alone answer, these concerns, thus revealing their very partial, first-tier perspective. Also discussed is an alternative approach; a proposal argued to be aperspectival, second-tier, and thus capable of resolving these problems. The article suggests that while binding global governance may itself be a second-tier solution to global problems, it needs to be matched by a genuinely second-tier proposal. KEY WORDS global governance; democracy; world parliament; Integral Theory

K

en Wilber and other integral thinkers have for some time pointed out that climate change, global financial market crises, excessive transnational corporate power, global poverty, and other global threats are worldcentric problems; problems which cannot be solved within the framework of our present, merely nationcentric systems of governance (Bunzl, 2009; McIntosh, 2007; Wilber, 2000). Indeed, such is the intractability of the negative social and environmental consequences of globalization that a transformation toward some form of binding global governance is increasingly seen as the only way our global market could be made compatible with social equity and environmental sustainability (Stewart, 2000). As Wilber (2000) notes, “The modern nation-state, founded upon initial rationality, has run into its own internal contradictions or limitations, and can only be released by a vision-logic/planetary transformation” (p. 192).

Two Key Problems This article approaches the topic of binding global governance by addressing two key problems or obstacles to it that are elucidated by Integral Theory’s identification of a holarchy of first-tier value sets (Wilber, 2000); value sets which raise serious doubts about the desirability—let alone viability—of binding, democratic global governance.

First-tier Values The first problem arises because the vast majority of the world’s population still holds first-tier value-sets (Wilber, 2000; Beck & Cowan, 1996); value-sets which, because each privileges a particular cultural perspecCorrespondence: John M. Bunzl, International Simultaneous Policy Organisation, P.O. Box 26547, London SE3 7YT, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 25–42

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tive, are likely to prove unhealthy were they to be translated into global policies. Thus, if global democracy existed, there would be a very high risk of culturally divisive and/or downright dangerous first-tier policies being developed, voted upon by the majority, and then implemented at the global level. To implement global democracy in today’s world could, in other words, be to invite a second-tier political technology to fall into the hands of those with only a first-tier level of moral and political development; a potential global disasterin-the-making.1

Non-democratic Nations The second problem arises because differing value-sets across the world give rise to differing levels of civicpolitical development, and these diverge dramatically in terms of whether nations are democratic or not (Tonkin, 2010). The concept of representative democracy only emerged in earnest, after all, with the Western Enlightenment; that is, with the early-rational, orange wave of development (Habermas, 1979; Wilber, 2000). Thus, nations that disclose an essentially amber altitude of civic-political development, such as the People’s Republic of China, are non-democratic, whereas others at orange altitude or higher are democratic. In considering how all these levels of civic-political development may be accommodated within a form of binding global governance, it is reasonable to expect that non-democratic nations would view global governance based on democracy as a threat to their national, non-democratic political arrangements. Indeed, China is unlikely to be keen to allow its citizens to participate in democratic governance at the global level because this would only invite them to question why they do not enjoy the same rights at the national level. Desirable though such a questioning may perhaps be, what concerns us here is that nations such as China are likely to view democratic global governance as repressive or, at least, as disruptive to their present domestic arrangements. It is essential to recognize, then, that there is a conflict between, on the one side, non-democratic nations at an amber or lower altitude of civic-political development and, on the other, democratic nations at orange altitude or higher. Any proposal for global governance that fails to take this divergence into account is therefore unlikely to prove feasible.

Imbuing Global Democracy with First-tier Notions of Governance Having sketched out these two key problems, I start my investigation by noting that there is a tendency to imbue the very idea of global democracy or global governance with preconceived first-tier notions. That is, for the vast majority of those who consider the topic of global governance, the very idea tends to entail taking the current mental model of national representative democracy and transposing it, effectively, to the global level. Thus, the idea of democratic global governance is assumed to entail a world parliament of some kind consisting of elected representatives from around the world, or perhaps a newly reformed United Nations that might include such a parliament. Indeed, many current proposals that advocate a form of global governance tend to express these first-tier notions of governance (UNPA, Falk & Strauss, 2001; Voteworldparliament.org; Monbiot; WCPA, World Parliament Experiment).2 Alternatively, other proposals assume that modern technology now makes redundant the need for parliamentary representatives, and so they propose forms of global democracy that are direct; that is, which allow citizens, via Internet-based systems of policy formulation and voting, to directly construct and implement their own form of democratic global governance (e.g., WDDM).3 To function with any level of legitimacy and effectiveness, a world parliament or a form of direct global democracy would have to be implemented with the consent of China and other non-democratic nations. But given democracy at the global level is unlikely to be acceptable to nations who do not practice it even at the national level, it is easy to see that neither world parliaments nor forms of global direct democracy are likely to be viable. Moreover, both these types of proposals assume that most people around the world already pos26

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sess a worldcentric level of civic-political awareness, and will consequently see global governance as something they would want to participate in. But as I pointed out, for citizens to believe in democracy, even at only a national level, is already to presuppose an orange or higher altitude of civic-political awareness. The reality, however, is that many millions of citizens in developing countries still remain at a tribal, ethnocentric (amber or lower) altitude; a level which would regard even national-level governance as suspicious or unnecessary (Bunzl, 2012). As the World Values Survey confirms, 47% of respondents identified primarily with their locality, while a further 38% identified with their nation (Norris, 2000), suggesting that an overwhelming 85% are likely to be disinterested in global governance in the immediate future. Thus, the presumption that these people will want to actively participate in global governance simply demonstrates the gross reductionism inherent in these proposals; a reductionism inherent in the current Western (primarily orange/green altitude) worldview that effectively ignores the holarchy of differing first-tier value-sets that make up the Left-Hand quadrants (Wilber, 2000). Proposals advocating forms of direct global democracy, then, like those which call for a world parliament of some kind, are suffused with inadequate, first-tier notions of governance and so manifestly fail to overcome the two key problems we have identified.

The United Nations and Present Global Institutions We should also consider to what extent the United Nations (UN) and its associated global institutions (the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank) might offer a viable route towards binding global governance. Despite these institutions representing perhaps the most available route at the present time, a closer analysis reveals the UN to be too deeply embedded in the nationcentric system it would seek to transform. Crucially, the UN exercises no autonomous, objective binding authority over its member nations, and since it could only gain such authority in the unlikely event that nations voluntarily relinquished their own, the prospect of the UN resolving that contradiction seems remote. The problem, indeed, is that the global institutions remain too heavily influenced by nation-states, and particularly by the most powerful amongst them. For, the only powers the UN has are not really its own powers at all, because the powers of sanction and the use of force are mandated not by the UN as an autonomous entity, but only by the Security Council; that is, by its permanent nation-state members (Whittaker, 1997).4 As for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, they are substantially influenced by their principal shareholders who are, again, the most powerful nations. The World Trade Organization, on the other hand, has in principle an equal, consensual structure. In practice, only the most powerful nations are able to use the World Trade Organization’s rules and its dispute settlement procedure to protect or project their interests (Hoekman & Mavroidis, 2000). Furthermore, the rules embodied in the World Trade Organization only serve, arguably, to fairly regulate a global economy that, because it already structurally favors the most powerful national economies, provides merely a veneer of fairness (Sachs et al., 1998). In these circumstances it is difficult to see the UN or other global institutions as being capable of evolving to a position in which they govern nation-states in a manner that is autonomous, objective, fair or binding; in a manner, in other words, that could be described as effective. Today’s global institutions, we might conclude, display a pathological communion (or fusion) with nation-states, and particularly with the most powerful ones. Instead of being holarchically above nations, as would be needed if they were to perform global governance objectively and in a binding fashion, these institutions are instead substantially on the same holonic level as nations. That is, despite their worldcentric pretensions, they still remain subtly, yet decisively, nationcentric; still firmly bound within a first-tier mindset. But since these institutions were created by nation-states, perhaps this should be of little surprise. Alongside this pathology sits its inverse twin: the excessive agency of nation-states themselves. As their inability to agree on anything substantive to address climate change shows, they cannot commune (i.e., Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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cooperate) with each other in many vital areas because of their need to pursue only their short-term national interests (Johnston, 1996). For nation-states, then, there is the problem of alienation from each other; an alienation that is expressed in nationcentrism itself. These twin but opposite pathologies—on one side, global institutions that are overly fused with powerful nations and, on the other, nations that are overly alienated from one another—not only allow global problems to keep on worsening, they also elucidate the extremely poor prospects for either the established global institutions or the world’s nations to solve global problems if we leave them wholly to their own devices.

The e-Parliament and Transnational Political Parties Before moving on, two further approaches to global governance are worth mentioning. One is the e-Parliament project, an independent, nongovernmental initiative that aims to link all nationally elected members of parliament together in an Internet forum so as to provide a platform for the global coordination of policy.5 Apart from this proposal’s obvious exclusion of non-democratic nations, it also effectively excludes citizens in democratic nations from having any binding influence over the policies being formulated. It assumes that, simply because its participating members of parliament were elected by citizens to their national parliaments, this automatically confers upon those members the democratic legitimacy to develop and implement global policies as well. But this would be akin to us electing local politicians for the sole purpose of determining issues such as local car parking regulations, only to suddenly discover they were developing the nation’s foreign policy too. Indeed, the indeterminate nature of each higher level of governance—that is, its much broader and more powerful scope of action—requires that each new level be directly accountable, as far as possible, to citizens. But by failing to meet that requirement even for citizens in democratic nations (while also ignoring non-democratic nations), the viability of this approach must be considered doubtful. Another approach is the concept of the transnational political party; the idea that the conflict between national self-interests and the global common interest can somehow be reconciled by developing political parties or international party alliances that extend beyond national borders and which, such parties hope, could then coordinate their policies on a transnational, if not global, basis (Sehm-Patomäki & Ulvila, 2007). Examples of such attempts would be the Global Greens and the Non-violent Radical Party.6 But here, too, we can detect the presence of inadequate first-tier, nationcentric thinking. For the very idea of transnational political parties is seriously flawed if we consider the highly unlikely prospect of all, or even most, of those parties being simultaneously in office in enough nations to make it possible for them to coordinate the implementation of their policies.7 Moreover, in a holonic sense, the very object of any political party, transnational or otherwise, is to become a national government. Political parties thus share essentially the same regime or code as nation-states and so are too embedded in—too fused or identified with—the first-tier, nationcentric system they would seek to transform, which is something of a contradiction in terms (Bunzl, 2009a). In all the above examples, then, the second-tier solution of global governance is undermined by a failure to match it with genuinely second-tier thinking, both for how global governance may practically be achieved, and for how our two key problems may be overcome.

Reconceiving Global Governance How, then, can global governance be conceived of in a way that overcomes these problems? Given how firsttier notions seem more of a hindrance than a help, the first step toward envisaging a second-tier form of global governance must be to disidentify with, to let go of, first-tier mental models. Let us completely forget for a moment, then, our preconceived ideas of parliaments, representatives, political parties, laws, and courts. Let us forget these structures of governance and let us instead go back to a wholly informal setting to consider 28

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what it takes for people with divergent interests to overcome those divergences; let us refocus, in other words, on what it takes to establish any form of governance at all. How, for example, could a group of boys who are fighting over a packet of sandwiches make the vital transition from their destructive brawl, which may cause the sandwiches themselves to be completely destroyed, to a cooperative agreement under which the sandwiches can be shared? How, simply put, can the transition from chaos to governance be navigated? Fanciful though such an exercise may appear, it effectively mirrors the predicament all nations presently find themselves in under globalization (i.e., in a quasi-anarchic situation in which they all compete destructively for investment and jobs) (Gray, 1998). In our playground brawl, the highly divergent interests of the boys are very apparent. Any boy that wins the fight stands to gain all the sandwiches; a potential benefit which makes it in the interests of each boy to keep fighting as hard as he can. Any boy that stops or weakens his stance almost certainly excludes himself from any chance of a sandwich at all. And yet a continuance of the fight is likely to result in the sandwiches being completely destroyed, so resulting in no benefit to anyone. Thus, a vicious circle is set in motion in which, despite the high probability of the sandwiches being destroyed, the fight seems destined to continue. This destructive scenario, as game theorists will recognize, is similar to what is known as the prisoner’s dilemma; a dilemma from which there is ordinarily no way out.

Destructive International Competition As I suggested, this scenario is actually quite close to the predicament nations find themselves in under globalization; a predicament induced by the ability of capital, corporations, and investment to move freely across national borders. A brief but careful look at the newspapers quickly confirms that many of our most pressing global problems remain substantially unaddressed precisely because of the dilemma created by these lifeconditions. Concerning climate change, for example, the London Financial Times noted: Governments remain reluctant to address [this] threat because any country acting alone to curb its greenhouse gas emissions, without similar commitments by other governments, risks damaging the competitiveness of its industries. (November 16, 2006) With respect to the regulation and taxation of corporations, especially multinationals: Governments vying to attract inward investment are weighing the advantages of cutting business costs…Tax rates have been falling across the world over the past quarter of a century.... This trend is forcing some experts to the conclusion that governments have embarked on a race to the bottom. (January 19, 2007) Concerning human rights, interracial equity, and economic justice in developing countries: The South African government has exempted foreign companies from having to sell a 25% stake in their local operations to black business… The government exempted foreign players because “we had to be mindful that we also have to position South Africa in a global environment where there is fierce competition for investment”, said Mandisi Mpahlwa, South African Minister for trade & industry. (December 15, 2006) Regarding worker’s rights and sweat-shop wage exploitation: The £25 suit… but at what cost? Asda [part of Walmart] is today offering customers Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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a passable two-piece suit for the price of a round of drinks in a London bar. Bangladeshi student Shafiqul Islam said, “People can’t survive on £12 a month, but if the government protests, Asda and others will go to China or somewhere else.” (The London Paper, January 22, 2007) And concerning attempts to regulate global financial markets following perhaps the most severe financial crisis in history: Row erupts as watchdog calls for tax on the City. A fresh row has erupted over ‘excessive’ banking bonuses after Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the City watchdog, claimed Britain’s financial sector has grown ‘beyond a socially reasonable size’. His comments caused an uproar in financial centres yesterday, including Edinburgh, with leading figures and organisations warning that Britain would lose yet another major industry to competitors abroad. John Cridland, deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: ‘The government and regulators should be very wary of undermining the international competitiveness of the UK’s financial services industry.’ (The Scotsman, November 29, 2009) What this reveals is that all the global issues generally perceived to be “the problem” are not the problem at all, but merely symptoms of a deeper dynamic. Be it climate change, global poverty, workers’ rights, corporate accountability, or financial market instability, they are all engendered and underpinned by essentially the same dilemma as that confronting the boys fighting over sandwiches. That is, any nation that moves first to more tightly regulate or tax corporations or financial markets will be punished by capital, corporations, and investment moving elsewhere to avoid such regulations. Consequently, no nation is able to act substantively because each fears losing out to the others; a dilemma that has the character of a vicious circle that leaves global problems unaddressed and free to worsen (Blair, 2008). While this very real and justifiable fear remains the order of the day, financial market chaos and, ultimately, the destruction of the biosphere are the likely outcomes: the sandwiches, and humanity with them, are likely to end up destroyed. It is this worldembracing global dynamic, then, that we are calling destructive international competition. If destructive international competition is so ubiquitous in underpinning virtually all our global problems, we might ask why its vital importance still goes largely unrecognized? Much of the answer lies, as John E. Stewart explains, in the presently predominant abstract/rational level of cognitive development: For someone to “see” something cognitively, they have to be able to represent it mentally. … If they can’t represent something, it won’t exist for them. … At the abstract/rational level individuals tend to attempt to model phenomena by reducing them to a collection of fixed objects that interact according to fixed rules and laws that are not affected by the context in which the objects are embedded. So when abstract/rational individuals think about governments they tend to personify them as agents that are free of their contexts and that can choose how they wish to act on the world. These individuals are unable to represent in their mental models the contextual systems and processes in which governments are embedded and in which they participate. They therefore cannot think these through and see their consequences. (personal communication, April 11, 2011) 30

As Otto Laske (2008), too, points out, “One of the stark limitations of formal logic [i.e., of abstract/ Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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rational thinking], despite the great human achievement that it is, is that it only deals with closed systems, not open, transformational ones. It cannot size up non-physical moving targets” (p. 43). Destructive international competition presents just such a case: it is a non-physical phenomenon in constant flux and cannot be seen or touched. To understand it as a vicious circle that no nation can escape, then—to see it in its worldcentric fullness—one must already have moved beyond a nationcentric, abstract/rational level of cognition and reside at a worldcentric, systemic level (i.e., at vision-logic). This explains, then, why most people and organizations cannot yet recognize the all-embracing dynamic that destructive international competition represents or, at least, they cannot do so fully. And what we cannot see, we are destined to remain subject to (Laske, 2008). Wilber (2000), too, acknowledges this in the case of the inadequate thinking that underpins the environmental movement: Gaia’s main problem is not toxic waste dumps, ozone depletion, or biospheric pollution. These global problems can only be recognized and responded to from a global, worldcentric awareness, and thus Gaia’s main problem is that not enough human beings have developed and evolved from egocentric to sociocentric to worldcentric, there to realize—and act on—the ecological crisis. (p. 525) As ever, then, it is consciousness—in particular, the level of our civic-political consciousness—that must evolve if global problems are to be correctly interpreted and then appropriately acted upon (Bunzl, 2012a).8

Pseudo-democracy The severe restriction on government action that destructive international competition subtly enforces is not, however, its only unwelcome consequence. Of particular importance is its effect on democracy. Since the free movement of capital and corporations forces governments to maintain their international competitiveness, their policies, as we saw, are severely restricted. As a result, all parties in power in virtually any country not surprisingly end up implementing substantially the same narrow, business-and-marketfriendly agenda. That is why we find left-of-center parties adopting policies traditionally espoused by rightof-center parties. It is why New Labour’s Tony Blair was often said to be the best Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher. Or, as the former Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, himself once put it, “I went swimming leaving my clothes on the bank and when I came back Tony Blair was wearing them” (The Week, October 29, 1999). While the mechanics of free and fair elections may still exist, the quality of democracy has been drastically hollowed out, reducing it to what I have elsewhere described as pseudo-democracy (Bunzl, 2001, pp. 30-36); a kind of electoral charade in which, in terms of macroeconomic and environmental policy at least, it no longer matters much which party we vote for, or whether we bother to vote at all. This is how destructive competition severely constrains governments and, by consequence, the ability of citizens to remedy the situation through conventional democratic processes. What all this amounts to is a “legitimation crisis,” a breakdown in the adequacy of the existing worldview and its governance systems to command allegiance (Habermas, 1973).9 Not only are our governments stuck in a vicious circle they cannot escape, citizens no longer have any effective means of redress—a perilous situation indeed.

Establishing the Principles for a Global Agreement Astute readers will have noticed that the essence of overcoming destructive international competition—the essence of overcoming the prisoner’s dilemma—resides in achieving an agreement based on simultaneous action. If all the boys could agree to simultaneously cease their fight, and if they could agree on a framework Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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for sharing the sandwiches, a rudimentary, informal measure of governance would have been established and the destruction of the sandwiches averted. Crucial for this process is for each boy to recognize, at a critical point, that the most likely outcome is no longer that he may gain the sandwiches, but that they will be destroyed if the brawl continues. Thus, it is vital to understand how, at a critical point, a radical reversal occurs in what each boy regards as in his own self-interest. Each boy’s self-interest ceases to be to compete and fight, and starts to be to cooperate and share. The essence of establishing governance lies in how that vital transition can practically be made and managed. In discarding our preconceived, first-tier notions of governance, then, we see that we have already arrived at a fairly radical realization: that governance does not fundamentally depend on structures or institutions or even on democracy, but on agreement and simultaneous action against a backdrop of worsening circumstances in which the common interest to cooperate starts to become synonymous with each competitor’s self-interest. Cooperation, paradoxically then, is not about self-sacrifice, but about self-interest. Or, to put it another way, we could say that destructive competition at one level, drives cooperation at the next; a process that is fundamentally holonic (Bunzl, 2009a; Koestler, 1979; Sahtouris, 2000; Vermeij, 2004).

Articulating a Future Context of Cooperation Vital to this process is that the possibility of simultaneous action be actively articulated. As more and more people articulate and discuss it, a new, future context is effectively created; a mental space in which potential fruitful cooperation starts to be modelled in people’s minds. But absent even the idea of such a context or how it may be reached, all players remain inexorably locked in the present context; locked, that is, within the present, destructive vicious circle they cannot see beyond. It is the articulation of that future context, then, that creates the pull or telos behind the creative process toward ever-higher levels of governance; toward ever-larger circles of care, compassion, and embrace (Tenet 12e).10 The realization that governance fundamentally depends neither on democracy nor on existing institutional structures but on agreement has profound implications for our second problem; the problem of nondemocratic nations. This is because the issue of whether a global agreement is arrived at via a democratic process or in some other way is at best secondary. The primary issue is simply the fact that all nations have agreed to cooperate; the fact that they see cooperation as in their self-interest. From this we may imagine that, while some nations may arrive at a decision to participate in global governance via their own internal democratic processes, non-democratic nations may do so by the simple decision of their government. Thus, by basing global governance on agreement, rather than on democracy, we start to see how both democratic and non-democratic nations could be accommodated (Tenet 2b). Vital though it is to accommodate non-democratic nations, it is equally vital for all citizens in democratic countries to be accommodated. Indeed, to invite just the world’s governments alone to design and implement a global agreement without any input from, or accountability to, citizens would be to invite a pathological global autocracy. For this reason, a process by which citizens in democratic nations can have a direct influence on the policies to be implemented at the global level is essential. In meeting this need, however, it is important that the views of citizens in highly populous democratic nations, such as India, are not permitted to drown out (i.e., repress) those of citizens in less-populous nations. This could be achieved, I am suggesting, by a process of policy formulation based on one-person/one-vote within each democratic nation but which, when it comes to the international level, is then subject to the equality of all nations, whether they are democratic or not. This arrangement is depicted in Figure 1. Clearly, such a process would effectively give greater weight to the votes of citizens in smaller democratic countries than to those in more populous ones. However, this seems to be the only practical way that both democratic and non-democratic nations can be included while treating all nations equally; that equality being, after all, inherent in the concept of all nations agreeing to act simultaneously. Under such a global gov32

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Democratic nations with bottom-up citizen input into global policymaking Non-democratic nations with only government input Figure 1. Routes to building a global agreement.

ernance arrangement, then, all nations would be respected and none would be ignored or repressed and the global agreement itself would thus transcend and include its individual nation-state parts (Tenet 4), so adding “its own new and more encompassing pattern or wholeness” (Wilber, 2000, p. 56). Were such an agreement to be implemented, “the many become one and are increased by one” (Whitehead, as cited in Wilber 2000). This is not to say, however, that strict global democracy—one equal vote for every adult on the planet—might not evolve at some point in humanity’s far-distant future. Just as the counties of England or the Länder of Germany today no longer hold the same power, relevance or “wholeness” they once had when they were the highest levels of governance, so it is possible that long after global governance had been achieved, today’s nations might gradually lose some of their wholeness in favor of more globally and strictly democratic arrangements. But today, such arrangements would, for reasons I outlined above, be extremely premature. Moreover, the arrangement we have described offers a far greater prospect of overcoming the problem mentioned earlier (i.e., that millions of people still possess a tribal or ethnocentric civic-political perspective, and so are unlikely even to be interested in global governance). This is largely overcome when one considers that these populations generally live in non-democratic countries, or in countries where democracy is not sufficiently secure; in countries, in other words, where the simple agreement of the government to a set of global policies could suffice to build a global agreement of the kind we are speaking. Thus we see, in principle at least, how a return to basic ideas about how cooperation occurs can help envisage a genuinely second-tier form of global governance potentially capable of accommodating all levels of civic-political development.

The Need for a Multi-issue Policy Framework An agreement on simultaneous action begs the question of what the content of that agreement might be. Agreeing to share a packet of sandwiches is, after all, rather less complex than agreeing on the policies to solve global problems. Before answering this question, we can note that one characteristic is shared by virtually all global problems. This characteristic is that each policy remedy would almost certainly result in asymmetrical disadvantages (i.e., some nations would be disadvantaged more than others). Drastic cuts in carbon emissions, for example, will be far more costly for China or the United States to achieve than for other nations because those two nations are the world’s largest emitters. Consequently, there is no incentive whatsoever for them to Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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cooperate in a global agreement on carbon emissions. And not surprisingly, they do not. The solution is to deal with two or more issues at the same time. Rather than attempting to deal with climate change as an isolated issue, the addition of another, separate issue may allow the asymmetrical disadvantages that arise on carbon reductions to be traded off. If, for example, negotiations on a global “Tobin” tax on currency transactions (Tobin, 1978) were included alongside a climate negotiation, the countless millions of dollars this tax would raise from financial markets could be used to compensate those nations that may lose out by adequately cutting their emissions. Thus we can see, in principle at least, how it could be made in the interests of nations such as China or the United States to cut their emissions drastically. Having said that, to avoid overly complicating negotiations, no more than two or perhaps three issues at a time should be included. This would mean, then, that a group of two or three complementary global policies could be negotiated and then enacted simultaneously by all or virtually all nations. Then, a few years later, a further such group of policies could follow the same process. Over time, then, a repeating pattern of global negotiation and simultaneous implementation would become commonplace and could be repeated whenever necessary. This could also include policies to modify, improve upon, or, if necessary, reverse previously implemented policies.

The Need for Subsidiarity and the Maximal Preservation of National Autonomy Fundamental though a multi-issue policy framework may be, there is an equal need for an appropriate and reliable means of distinguishing which issues are to be dealt with at the global level, and which can be safely left to the national level. Such a distinction is vital to assure individual nations that their autonomy—their national sovereignty—is not encroached upon any more than is necessary to solve global problems. This, effectively, is the principle of subsidiarity; the principle under which problems are solved at the lowest level possible in any holarchy. What works in the lower holons is thus preserved (Tenet 5a), while what does not work, or cannot be solved, is negated and taken up by the new higher-level holon (Tenet 5b). In our discussion so far, readers may have noticed that this requirement is satisfied, almost by definition, by the logic of the need for simultaneous action. That is to say, a criterion for subsidiarity is determined by differentiating between two types of policy, a criterion expressed in the following question: “Would the unilateral implementation of the policy measure (i.e., its implementation by a single nation or by a relatively small group of nations) be likely to have an adverse effect on the nation’s (or group’s) competitiveness?”11 If the answer is no, then the policy concerned is clearly one that individual nations, or restricted groups of nations, can happily implement independently, as they mostly do today.12 Policies in this category could include those such as national housing policy, health and education policy, or culturally defined issues such as capital punishment or abortion. For policies where the answer is yes, on the other hand, these policies—and only these—need to be dealt with at the global level because only simultaneous implementation can overcome the barrier that destructive international competition represents. Accordingly, policies are structured (or differentiated) into two distinct categories: unilateral policies or simultaneous policies (Tenet 12b). Unilateral policies effectively belong to the current context of competition, while simultaneous policies belong to the yet-to-be-born context of global cooperation. The simultaneous mode of policy implementation thus represents, potentially, a new, more authentic level of worldcentric civic-political complexity (Tenet 12a). By using the subsidiarity criterion to make this differentiation, then, national autonomy would be preserved (Tenet 5a) while all sorts of global problems could be dealt with in a far more effective, high-impact way, thus giving humanity greater relative autonomy (Tenet 12d) and flexibility as we proceed together into the future. Also, differentiating between unilateral and simultaneous policies facilitates the implementation of both. This occurs because the two different types can now be matched up with their respective, appropriate, implementation methods (i.e., unilateral policies via nations independently, and simultaneous policies via the process of global agreement we have been discussing), thus helping to ensure the swiftest possible implemen34

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tation of both types. In this way, they are integrated (Tenet 12c). Another important point in this connection is that, contrary to a world parliament or other more formal notions of global governance, the simultaneous implementation of policies by nations would entirely avoid the necessity to alter any nation’s constitution. Since each nation would be acting simultaneously with others, and not under some higher, formal level of world government, no infringement of any nation’s constitution should arise. This, then, is another example of how simultaneity preserves, and does not repress, the lower holons (Tenet 5a). Rather, it transcends and includes them.

Subsidiarity and Its Effect on Policy The elegant way the subsidiarity criterion differentiates policies into unilateral and simultaneous categories has important implications for addressing the problem of potentially divisive or harmful first-tier policies being included and globally implemented. Important to recognize, here, is that culturally divisive policies tend to have no significant impact on national economic competitiveness. The implementation by a single nation of a policy of capital punishment, for example, or abortion, would not cause that nation to suffer a competitive disadvantage. Such policies thus fall in to the unilateral policy category and do not qualify for inclusion. In this simple way, then, a whole host of ethnocentric or culturally divisive policies emanating from any of the first-tier levels of development would be automatically screened out, so leaving within the process only those policies genuinely requiring simultaneous implementation. This, then, already provides a large part of the solution to the first problem this article seeks to address.

The Need for an Internationally Distributed Policymaking Process Another principle to be accommodated in any workable proposal for binding global governance stems from the recognition that each national population will likely have different views about what policies each sees as being most desirable for global implementation. People in Great Britain, for example, may regard carbon emissions reductions as a priority whereas people in Pakistan may see poverty reduction as the main priority. It is therefore necessary for each nation’s perspective to be taken into account. We will shortly see how this may be achieved in a way that also deals with any remaining possibility that, despite many culturally divisive policies being screened out by the subsidiarity criterion, some may still fall into the simultaneous category and so remain in the process. This may be overcome, I am suggesting, by recalling the obvious point that the only policies capable of proceeding to implementation would be those that end up meeting with the agreement of all (or virtually all) nations. If a policy failed to achieve that level of agreement, it would fall out of the process. Moreover, if we consider that there is an inherent conflict between all first-tier value sets (Beck & Cowan, 1996; Wilber, 2000), this conflict could, in the process I am outlining, be taken clever advantage of. That is, potentially inappropriate policies stemming from any one of the first-tier memes, if not already excluded by the subsidiarity criterion, would almost certainly fail to appeal to societies at other first-tier levels of development. A policy coming from an amber perspective, for example, would almost certainly be rejected by national societies broadly at orange, green, or higher altitudes. Likewise, policies coming from green altitude would likely fail to meet with the approval of societies at orange or amber, and so on. In other words, all policies emanating from any altitude lower than teal/turquoise would be highly likely to fall out of the process for lack of sufficient global agreement. Meanwhile, the only policies likely to be palatable to all levels stem, almost by definition, from teal/turquoise because that is the only level that integrates all of the first-tier levels. Policies emanating from teal/turquoise, in other words, are the only ones likely to be both appropriate for global implementation and capable of appealing to all first-tier memes, although each first-tier meme will have its own particular reason for supporting them.13 Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Turquoise/Teal Green Orange Amber Red

Before

After

Figure 2. First-tier policy conflict produces second-tier policy outcomes.

We could perhaps visualize this using the tree image pictured in Figure 2, with the apples on the tree representing different policies proposed by different altitudes. The process of policy development would initially include all sorts of first-tier apples, most of which would undoubtedly be harmful or inappropriate if implemented globally. It would also include some second-tier apples. But the process of negotiation, both within and between different national societies (or governments) at different levels of first-tier development would result in a conflict—a shaking of the apple tree—the outcome of which would, one might imagine, leave only the second-tier policies remaining. To this end, global policymaking could be undertaken in two stages. The first would be national; the second, global. The first, national stage would entail citizens in each democratic nation engaging in their own independent national policy development process with the aim of producing a list of priority global issues along with the policies to solve them. In non-democratic nations, this task would simply be undertaken by the government concerned. In either case, the subsidiarity criterion would be applied, so screening out any unilateral policies. At the same time, this stage would ensure that each nation’s particular perspective is taken into account. The second, global stage would only be undertaken much later, when sufficiently widespread international support had been built, and when the prospect of practical implementation was approaching. In this second stage, representatives from each nation would engage in an international negotiation with a view to harmonizing their lists and agreeing on a final set of global measures to be implemented simultaneously by all nations. It would be during these negotiations that each nation’s proposed policies would come into “contact” (i.e., into conflict) with all the others; a conflict (a shaking of the apple tree) likely to result in first-tier policies failing to gather sufficient global support, and so falling out of the process. The few second-tier policies that remained, as I suggested earlier, would be negotiated so that trade-offs would allow nations that may lose on one policy to compensate with another. They would also involve sorting policies into groups of two or three complementary policies, and prioritizing those groups. The aim, then, would be to establish an initial set of two or three second-tier policies that, because they included necessary compensations, exemptions, and 36

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trade-offs, were acceptable to all nations. Subject to that agreement, then, the first group of policies could be implemented globally and simultaneously on a mutually agreed upon date, while the less important groups could be scheduled for later implementation. In this way, the subsidiarity criterion and the two-stage policy development process could, in principle, overcome the problem of today’s predominance of first-tier values while still taking them appropriately into account (i.e., how they could be transcended, negated, and yet included). Also, we have seen how the concept of an international agreement based on simultaneous action could accommodate both democratic and non-democratic nations. In contrast to proposals for a world parliament or for direct global democracy, then, the above process, because it takes a genuinely worldcentric, aperspectival view, could be said to represent a genuinely second-tier proposal; a proposal that could be regarded as an adequate match for the second-tier solution that binding global governance itself promises.

Second-tier Solutions in Practice Earlier I noted how governments are so preoccupied with the paramount need to keep their economies internationally competitive—how they are so thoroughly immersed in the current context of destructive international competition—that they cannot even envision a future context of cooperation. Given it is unrealistic to expect them to suddenly see what their circumstances do not permit, it immediately becomes clear that global governance must instead be instigated, bottom-up, by citizens. Because only enlightened citizens, at least only those with a worldcentric level of civic-political awareness (Bunzl, 2012), will have the capacity to see a future context and be able both to articulate how global governance may be achieved, and lead a process by which civil society can then drive governments toward that goal (Tenet 8a). Remote though the prospect may seem, a practical start has already been made. For some years now, a campaign modeled on the above principles has been pursued, primarily in the United Kingdom. Despite less than 5,000 U.K. citizens having signed on to the campaign and despite even fewer being active, over three national elections (in 2001, 2005, and 2010) 27 members of the U.K. parliament and countless candidates from all the main political parties pledged to simultaneously implement the campaign’s policy package alongside other governments. How could so few citizens achieve such significant results in so short a time? The answer lies in their discovery of a new, powerful way to use their votes. They do this by writing to some or all of the competing parliamentary candidates in their electoral area, informing them that they will be voting in future national elections for any politician or party—within reason—that pledges to implement the campaign’s policy package simultaneously alongside other governments. Or, if they have a party preference, they encourage their preferred politician or party to sign that pledge. In this way, campaign supporters still retain the ultimate right to vote as they please, but they also make it clear to all politicians that they will be giving strong preference to candidates that have signed the pledge, to the exclusion of those who have not. So, politicians who sign the pledge attract those votes and yet they risk nothing because the policy package only gets implemented if and when sufficient governments around the world have signed up, too. But if a politician fails to sign the pledge, or if they sign it but then renege at a later date, they would only lose votes to their political competitors who have signed, and so could risk losing their seats. With many parliamentary seats and even entire elections around the world often hanging on a relatively small number of votes, it is not difficult to see that only relatively few campaign supporters could make it in the vital interests of politicians to sign up.14 And therein lies the disproportionate power citizens already have—the transformative agency they possess (Tenet 2a)—to ensure their governments cooperate. Here, then, we see another key feature that distinguishes this campaign from those proposing a world parliament or direct global democracy, both of which could only succeed with the consent of national governments. This campaign, by contrast, offers citizens in all democratic nations a way to use their voting power to Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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compel their governments to consent; a way they can make it in the electoral interests of their government to cooperate globally. Moreover, the campaign puts forward no candidates at elections, so it cannot be described as a political party. Instead, it allows citizens to powerfully use their votes to drive existing politicians and parties to support its agenda. This campaign, then, could be described as perhaps the first genuine form of global electoral politics; a novel, transformative way of voting that is global, undetermined by the past, and therefore wholly unprecedented (Tenet 3). If what has been achieved in the United Kingdom continues to be built upon and replicated elsewhere, a disproportionately high number of politicians and governments in democratic countries could be driven towards global cooperation by a relatively low number of citizens.15 This means that even the relatively few citizens who today are at a global, second-tier level of awareness could, despite their low numbers, both lead this process and make a very strong political impact. Seeing how this campaign permits our votes to command such power, and seeing how voting can once again have real meaning, increasing numbers of citizens at lower levels of awareness are then likely to be drawn to the campaign, so leading still more politicians and governments to sign on. In other words, a powerful and dynamic virtuous circle would have been set in motion, potentially leading many governments in democratic countries to sign the pledge. Thereafter, remaining non-democratic nations would have a strong incentive to follow. This, amongst other reasons, would be because, rather than being the recipients of International Monetary Fund or World Bank loans made at high rates of interest, binding global governance for the first time offers the prospect of using the savings made from reductions in military spending, or the revenue raised from global taxes, to redistribute wealth to these nations on a debt-free basis. Thus, poorer nations, many of which are non-democratic, would have a strong incentive to cooperate in an international agreement of the kind we are speaking. Whether democratic or not, and whatever their level of development, the worsening world predicament is in any case starting to make it in the interests of all nations to solve problems cooperatively (Stewart, 2000; Wright, 2001). Indeed, the power of a worsening predicament to produce cooperation should never be underestimated. One recent example was the global financial crisis of 2008, during which all the world’s major central banks felt compelled to act simultaneously to cut interest rates by 0.5%. As the London Financial Times (October 10, 2008) reported, such action was “unprecedented” and a “historic piece of coordination.” Moreover, although they were not part of the plan, the paper reported that the People’s Bank of China “moved almost simultaneously” to also cut its rate. Like the boys fighting over sandwiches, then, a worsening world predicament means the incentive for all nations to cooperate can only grow. What the campaign we are discussing provides is an appropriate framework for that vital transition to occur, and a way for enlightened, second-tier citizens to take the lead. The campaign we have been talking about is the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol). The novel way it invites citizens to use their votes has also caused some members of the European, Australian, and other parliaments to sign up alongside their U.K. colleagues. Some no doubt did so to attract additional votes, but others were in safe seats and signed up simply because they felt the campaign was worth supporting. Presently, Simpol has supporters in over 70 countries and endorsements from some leading statesmen, economists, and ecologists.16 In 2012, Ken Wilber himself joined Simpol’s Advisory Board. In 2005, supporters started their own global process for developing—with the possible help of independent experts—the global policies to be included in the campaign’s policy package. This process, although embryonic, adheres to the subsidiarity criterion, and is equally capable of evolving into the two-stage process already outlined. The global policies to be implemented, then, would not be imposed upon citizens, but developed by them. In that respect, the campaign facilitates the coming together of its citizen-supporters and hosts a process by which they can, in the two stages outlined, propose, modify, negotiate, and agree on policies amongst themselves and, subsequently, with the governments of non-democratic nations. Thus, one can see how the twin processes I have described—on the one side, the process of gaining 38

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political support and, on the other, the process of developing policy—have started to co-evolve concurrently, as depicted in Figure 3. Moreover, they are likely to be mutually reinforcing. As political support for the campaign grows, interest in developing appropriate policies becomes more relevant and is likely to grow. Likewise, as the policies themselves develop and are increasingly seen as appropriate, this is likely to encourage more citizens and governments around the world to support the campaign. The overriding condition that measures be implemented by nations simultaneously means, of course, that all these policies could be implemented without any nation, corporation, or citizen losing out unduly to any other. In this way, then, each nation’s (and corporation’s) relative competitiveness would be maintained (Tenet 11) and excuses for inaction would evaporate, so allowing a very broad range of global problems to be addressed and ultimately solved in the best interests of all.

Sufficient governments

Political Support Process

Governments Political parties MPs NGOs Citizens Embryonic process

Simultaneous Implementation

Time

Formal process in some nations Formal process in many nations

Policy Development Process

International negotiation

Stage 1

Stage 2

Figure 3. Mutually reinforcing processes. MPs—members of parliament; NGOs—nongovernmental organizations.

Simultaneity and the Nondual As global problems worsen, and as humanity starts to take proper responsibility for actively navigating the vital transition from destructive international competition to fruitful global cooperation, what better leitmotif could we have for this historic evolutionary transition than the idea of simultaneity itself? For simultaneity reconciles two timeless and seemingly irreconcilable opposites: the equally vital and valid opposites of unity and diversity. For, even when we act simultaneously with others, we still retain our individuality and diversity (or our individual national sovereignty). But by acting with others simultaneously, we also achieve unity. We remain splendid in our individuality, and yet we stand together, strong and proud in our unity. In the manifest world of form, in other words, simultaneity is the closest we can come to the nondual. It is the closest we can come to “not two.” Simultaneity, as Arthur Koestler realized, represents the essential creative kernel, the vital spark of Eros, that facilitates evolutionary transformation. “Evolutionary progress,” he writes, “requires simultaneous, coordinated changes of all the relevant components in the structure and function of the organic Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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holarchy” (Koestler, 1979, pp. 175-176). For how else could we—how else should we—cross this crucial, spiritual, and historic evolutionary threshold, if not hand-in-hand, if not as one humanity, if not simultaneously, if not together? The paradox of this and all previous major evolutionary transitions is, that if left to reach a critical stage, competition ultimately ceases to be a strategy for individual survival but instead becomes a strategy for collective suicide. At that point—a point humanity is fast approaching—cooperation becomes in everyone’s self-interest. But for a regression into chaos to be avoided and for cooperation at a new higher level to emerge, not only is global and simultaneous action required to overcome the barriers to international cooperation, an appropriate catalyzing political practice is also needed. For, as Wilber (2002) so rightly makes clear, Every revolution, every transformation, every shift in consciousness and culture that actually sticks has of necessity a Lower-Right component [i.e., not just a theory but a new form of sociopolitical practice], and if that component is not present or prominent, you can dismiss any claims to have a new paradigm, a great transformation, or a new and revolutionary anything. That, so succinctly put, is what the Simpol campaign perhaps offers: a transformative political practice for us to responsibly and consciously co-create the now-vital holon of people-centered global governance; a worldcentric governance born of an aperspectival vision-logic that transcends and includes political parties and nation-states and “through which runs the blood of a common humanity and beats the single heart of a very small planet struggling for its own survival, and yearning for its own release into a deeper and a truer tomorrow” (Wilber, 2000, p. 206).

NOTES For more examples, see Wilber (2002, p. 2). UNPA (Proposal for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly): http://www.unpacampaign.org/. WCPA (World Constitution and Parliament Association): http://www.worldparliament-gov.org. World Parliament Experiment: http:// www.tgde.org. See also “Towards a World Parliament: A Summary of the Debate and a Proposal for an Electronic World Parliament on the Internet Organised By Civil Society,” by Rasmus Tenbergen: http://www.ifld.de/essay/worldparliament.pdf. 3 WDDM (Worldwide Direct Democracy Movement): http://www.world-wide-democracy.net. 4 Chapter VII of the UN Charter provides for the possibility of mandatory resolutions, sanctions and the authorisation of the use of force. But the determination of these issues lies solely with the Security Council. 5 e-Parliament: http://www.e-parl.net. 6 Global Greens: http://www.globalgreens.org. Non-violent Radical Party: http://www.radicalparty.org/. 7 On the question of how many nations would be required to implement global policies, this would depend, I suggest, on the particular measures under consideration. For a global ban on weapons of mass destruction, for example, it may require only those states which possess, or are suspected of possessing, such weapons. For a policy to tax or regulate transnational corporations, on the other hand, a much higher number of nations would be required. Either way, it is difficult to see how transnational political parties could be in power in enough countries to implement these policies. 8 As I explain in my earlier work (Bunzl, 2012), civics (or what I am here calling civic-political consciousness) is founded on citizens’ perception that governance is actually necessary; that it is functionally required to solve societal, environmental or economic problems at a particular level, be it local, national or global. If, for example, a citizen could not perceive national-scale problems, or mistook them as being of a merely local nature, she would see no need for national governance at all. Her civic consciousness would be merely local or ethnocentric. Those at orange alti1 2

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tude or higher, on the other hand, recognize national government to be required in addition to local governance. Their depth of civic consciousness thus has two levels. Yet, what I am highlighting here is that, in an age when problems are increasingly global, it is notable that only very few citizens see any need for a third level, that being global governance. Indeed, as I have argued (Bunzl, 2012), for the vast majority of people, including those up to teal altitude, civic consciousness remains at best nationcentric. I distinguish the civic (or civic-political) from the political line of development by noting that civics is fundamentally about the perception, by citizens, of a need for governance. Politics, on the other hand, is what happens after governance (or formal government) has been established. Civics, in that sense, is prior to politics. 9 The publication, Voter Turnout Since 1945: A Global Report, available from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (www.idea.int), shows that for many years voter turnouts were on the increase but, from the 1980s onwards, they went into decline. It is perhaps no coincidence that it was around this time that the Reagan–Thatcher “Big Bang” deregulation of financial markets took place. 10 Tenet 12e is one of approximately 20 principles or “tenets” identified by Wilber (2000, pp. 43-85) as being common to the dynamics of how all holarchies evolve to include new, higher holarchic levels. My mention of the 20 Tenets throughout this article is intended to demonstrate that all aspects of my proposal are consistent with them. 11 Although we have referred to policies having an adverse effect on a nation’s economic competitiveness, policies adversely affecting a nation’s competitiveness in the military or other spheres could also be included. 12 Included in this category, of course, would not only be policies having no adverse impact on competitiveness but also those likely to have a positive impact (i.e., those which give individual nations a competitive advantage). 13 For example, a policy to redistribute wealth to poorer nations could be supported by nations with an amber altitude center of gravity (or lower) on self-interest grounds; by orange altitude donor nations on the grounds that global governance and redistribution are necessary for the free market’s survival and for the growth of developing markets; and by green altitude donor nations on the grounds of transnational equity and fairness. 14 Please note, here, that there would be no point in politicians signing the pledge simply to gain more votes, only to renege on it at some later point. If they did, they would then only lose the votes they sought to gain in the first place, and so would jeopardize their political careers. Reneging at any point up to the time of implementation, then, is simply not in their interests. And when it comes to implementation itself, world problems are, by that time, likely to be sufficiently critical so that no one in their right minds would be likely to hesitate. By then, in other words, implementation would have become in everyone’s interests. 15 Although the campaign’s processes work most powerfully in countries where elections operate on a simple majority, all elections are based on competition between candidates. So the campaign should prove reasonably effective regardless of the country concerned. It may, however, need to adapt its approach according to individual national electoral systems. To ensure the campaign has sufficient democratic legitimacy prior to its implementation, and to ensure its considerable transformative power is not abused, its Founding Declaration specifies that implementation can only occur if a majority of citizens (at least in democratic countries)—be they campaign supporters or not—first give their consent. It is expected that a majority would, by that time, be supportive in any case. 16 For details, please visit the Simpol website (http://www.simpol.org/index.php?id=11).

REFERENCES Beck, D. & Cowan, C. (1996). Spiral dynamics: Mastering values, leadership, and change. Malden, MA:

Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Blair, D.J. (2008). Race to the bottom denial: Reassessing the globalisation-environmental regulation



relationship. Retrieved July 15, 2012, from http:// www.allacademic.com/pages/p268485-1.php. Bunzl, J. (2001). The Simultaneous Policy: An insider’s guide to saving humanity and the planet. London, New European Publications. Bunzl, J. (2009a). People-centred Global Governance— Making it happen! London: International Simultaneous Policy Organisation. Available from: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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http://www.simpol.org/index.php?id-28. Bunzl, J. (2009b). Solving climate change: Achieving a noospheric agreement. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 4(4), 121-140. Bunzl, J. (2012). Discovering an integral civic consciousness in a global age. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 7(1), 105-123. Falk, R., & Strauss, A. (2001). Bridging the globalization gap: Toward global parliament. Foreign Affairs, 80, 212. Gray, J. (1998). False dawn: The delusions of global capitalism. London: Granta Books. Habermas, J. (1973). Legitimation crisis. London: Polity Press. Habermas, J. (1979). Communication and the evolution of society. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Hoekman, B., & Mavroidis, P. (2000). WTO dispute settlement, transparency and surveillance. The World Economy, 23(4), 527-542. Johnston, R.J. (1996). Nature, state and economy: A political economy of the environment (second edition). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Koestler, A. (1979). Janus: A summing up. London, Picador (Pan Books Ltd.). Laske, O.E. (2008). Measuring hidden dimensions of human systems. Medford, MA: Interdevelopmental Institute Press. McIntosh, S. (2007). Integral consciousness and the future of evolution. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House. Norris, P. (2000). Global governance and cosmopolitan citizens. In J.S. Nye, Jr., & J.D. Donahue (Eds.), Governance in a globalising world (pp. 155-177). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Sachs, W., Loske, R., & Linz, M. (1998). Greening the north: A post-industrial blueprint for ecology and

equity. London: Zed Books. Sahtouris, E. (2000). EarthDance: Living systems in evolution. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse Press. Sehm-Patomäki, K., & Ulvila, M. (Eds). (2007). Global political parties. London: Zed Books. Stewart, J. (2000). Evolution’s arrow: The direction of evolution and the future of humanity. Canberra, Chapman Press. Stewart, J. (2008). The evolutionary manifesto, Part 3: Advancing evolution by enhancing evolvability: Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.evolutionarymanifesto.com/man3.html. Tobin, J. (1978). A proposal for international monetary reform. Eastern Economic Journal, 4(3-4), 153159. Tonkin, A. (2010). Why Western democracy is not a global notion. Integral Leadership Review. Retrieved March 30, 2010, http://www.integralleadershipreview.com/archives-2010/2010-03/201003-globalvalues.php. Vermeij, G.J.. (2004). Nature: An economic history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Whittaker, D.J. (1997). United Nations in the contemporary world. London: Routledge. Wilber, K. (2000). Sex, ecology, spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2001). A brief history of everything. London: Gateway (Gill & Macmillan). Wilber, K. (2002). Excerpt A: An integral age at the leading edge, Part III. The nature of revolutionary social transformation. Retrieved August 24, 2012, from http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/ kosmos/excerptA/part3-1.cfm. Wright, R. (2001). Nonzero: History, evolution and human cooperation. London: Abacus.

JOHN M. BUNZL is a social entrepreneur and businessman. He is founder of the International Simultaneous Policy Organisation. Having conceived the Simpol idea in 1998, he wrote his first book, The Simultaneous Policy—An Insider’s Guide to Saving Humanity and the Planet (2001). In 2003, he co-authored Monetary Reform—Making it Happen! with the prominent monetary reformer, James Robertson. In 2009, John completed People-centred Global Governance— Making it Happen! He has given talks at various organizations, including the World Trade Organization and the Schumacher Society. He was born 1957, lives in London, and has three children.

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Its Past, Present, and Integral Future Kees Breed ABSTRACT This article traces the ancient search for Kosmopolis, and attempts to develop an integral definition of this philosophical concept. Classic, Christian, and modern definitions of Kosmopolis have hinted at different aspects of human nature. These definitions were commonly based on onesided and static views of nature. With the help of the AQAL model, it is possible to construct a more integral and dynamic definition. This definition of Kosmopolis enables us to integrate different perspectives on world politics in philosophical debates. Liberal universalism, which tends to replace, not embrace, particularism, provides an inadequate understanding of the global community. An argument is made that the Hobbesian conception of “fear for all” must be transcended by a Kosmopolitan “love for all” in order to pave the way for some form of world governance. KEY WORDS Basic Moral Intuition; Integral Politics; Kosmopolis; Law of Nature; spirit

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or the first time in recorded history, politicians around the world are challenged by global problems that probably cannot be overcome within humanity’s current institutional and ideological frameworks. Issues related to sustainability, climate change, international security, and the current financial and economic crises can only be solved structurally by developing transnational, worldcentric approaches. We need “new resources of a meaning-in-life,” new philosophical ideas that point to a worldcentric embrace that can gradually be incorporated in new collective worldviews and new institutional structures (Wilber, 1995, p. 201). Such transformative ideas are needed in order to cope with the pragmatic challenges of our global age. At the same time, these new approaches will have to answer fundamental questions that have preoccupied philosophers throughout the ages, questions about the nature of man and mankind. Are we truly one as human beings, or at least heading in one direction? Or is that just a utopian dream, a dangerous misunderstanding? Is it mankind’s destiny to be divided forever, to be at war with each other unless we can find institutional ways to prevent conflict, as was the conviction of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes? If there is some truth to be found in both of these perspectives, to what extent is that true, and how can they be integrated? Politicians from the right and the left side of the political spectrum tend to absolutize their specific vision of the world as a universe (but one that has to be based on their specific, often rightist values) or on the contrary as a multiverse (made up by multipolar, often conflicting power blocks). The postmodern worldview celebrates diversity but is not capable of bridging the gap between these different views. Is there an underlying commonality to be found that connects these seemingly paradoxical worldviews? The nature of our future institutions depends to a large extent on our answer to this question.

Integral Theories and Practices Integral political practices and the development of new political institutions presuppose the development of integral, new political ideas and theories. In general, worldviews lag behind the major technological and economic transformations that create the conditions, and the need for new beliefs, values, and increased cognitive depth in the Lower-Left quadrant (Wilber, 2002). But institutional development (e.g., political and Correspondence: Kees Breed, Behrenslijn 12, 2728 AM Zoetermeer, Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 43–54

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governance systems, laws, and the state) always occurs in interaction with the development of new political ideas, philosophies, and worldviews. It took the Industrial Revolution to create the conditions for the rise of the modern state; but it took liberal philosophies to conceive and shape its actual form. And it took a Spinoza (among others) to prepare the conception of the American Constitution as it was written more than 100 years after he published his works on ethics and politics (Israel, 2011). While political institutions are part of the Lower-Right quadrant, worldviews are cultural expressions, and as such reside in the Lower-Left quadrant. But as Marx put it, together they form the superstructure of a society, while the “material base” is formed by its technoeconomic conditions. This suggests that political transformative practices and the creation of new political theories and concepts go hand in hand. As we will see, political ideas are not just reflections of new life conditions, but they evolve and have a history of their own, driven not just by technological developments but also by a deepening awareness in case of a transformative change—from magic to mythic to rational and transrational levels of awareness. It took the steam engine to enable the end of slavery, as Wilber (1996, pp. 237-240) has pointed out. But it took a worldcentric view to release the compassion amongst humans and the desire to actually make an end to it. And new life conditions do not always come first! In this article, I will trace the history of one of the most influential political concepts in Western civilization: the Law of Nature. The Law of Nature was first developed by Greek philosophers as the guiding principle for Kosmopolis, the city-state of the world (Sabine, 1963, pp. 141-158). This latter concept has also played an important role in the development of political philosophies through the ages, in relation to the Law of Nature but also as an independent concept. In recent history it is related to the concept of globalization (e.g., Toulmin, 1990). After briefly outlining the philosophical relevance and use of these concepts, I will attempt to transcend the current, liberal perspective on both concepts and reinterpret them from an integral, AQAL-based perspective. These revisions will enable us to shed new light on some of the political debates (e.g., universalism vs. nationalism) and on the future of government. My hope is the proposed redefined concepts of Kosmopolis and the Law of Nature will contribute to a better, more integral understanding of the world we live in and of what it takes to create a more balanced world. Liberalism was historically the first truly worldcentric political ideology, but it also has severe limitations because of its scientific-materialistic bias. It started as a philosophical concept, developed by thinkers such as Locke, Kant, Hobbes, and John Stuart Mill. Individual freedom and human rights became the core concepts and the tyranny of the oppressive collective was criticized. Metaphysical and religious orientations were slowly made obsolete. But then liberalism went on to practically ignore all cultural and hermeneutic aspects of life and the sciences, resulting in a flatland perspective on man and mankind. The interior quadrants were only considered to be “true” insofar as they were a proper reflection of material objects and developments. Their autonomy and impact on the entire, co-evolving AQAL matrix was neglected or at least highly underestimated. By the same act, a large part of the legacy of wisdom that philosophers from the past had developed was declared outdated or superstitious.1 Political science has its roots in the 19th century, following the trails of Auguste Comte and the empirical sociological method that he first developed. In its wake the study of Plato and Aristotle, of Augustine and Aquinas, was no longer considered relevant for political science itself, and had only historical significance. But some of the “ancient” concepts can still inspire us in the development of new worldcentric approaches, such as the idea of a Kosmopolis and the notion of a Law of Nature that should be mirrored in the institutions that we create in order to render them legitimate.

Kosmopolis and Human Nature The concept of Kosmopolis is perhaps the oldest worldcentric notion of humanity in Western philosophy. It originated at a time when the mythic worldview was largely dominant but sparks of rational thinking started to feed the minds of Greek philosophers. The concept expressed the unity of the Kosmos (the order of nature) 44

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and the polis (the order of human society), an idea of harmony in which the structure of nature would reinforce a just social order (Fine, 2011, p. 149). The Greek philosopher Diogenes (as cited in Sabine, 1963, pp. 136-137) stated in the 4th-century B.C. that the inhabitants of a given city-state were not just citizens of that city-state but at the same time citizens of the Kosmopolis, which was a huge step forward at a time when each city-state worshipped their own specific gods and goddesses. All human beings made up part of this common state called Kosmopolis. From this idea started the long search for what human beings precisely have in common, what is their true nature, and what are the universal laws governing their abstract and ideal city. In the words of Martha Nussbaum (1997), it was assumed that human beings dwell “in two communities—the local community of our birth, and the community of human argument and aspiration” (p. 7). A bit similar to the way that in our time you might be a Christian or a Buddhist or a Muslim, but at the same might consider yourself to be a part of the integral community. Kosmopolis was not just a philosophical idea; it had pragmatic significance. It arose when merchants started to overflow the city-states of ancient Greece to such an extent that it became necessary to develop rules for the interaction between citizens and non-citizens. Could they be treated equally before the (local) law? What to think about the huge differences between the laws in Athens, Sparta, or Thebes or in any other city-state? Was it possible to develop general laws that counted for everyone, regardless of where they came from? Such laws were regarded as “natural” for every human being because they were innate to them, inalienable, and in accordance with “human nature” (Sabine, 1963, pp. 141-158). It is not accidental that in the present day, where mass migrations of both people and capital are creating tension on a global scale, Kosmopolitan theories are being rediscovered and reinvented by social and political scientists and the literature on these theories is rapidly expanding (Rovisco & Nowicka, 2011). But the philosophical questions “What is human nature?” and “What is natural?” are not and were never easy to answer, and have been part of the human quest since antiquity. New answers have been constructed in accordance with new pragmatic challenges and the prevailing levels of interior development as reflected in the dominant worldviews of the age. This is the subject of genealogical and developmental studies. Many of these views were developed to answer very specific and practical questions in a certain period of time and in specific places. For example, Hugo Grotius, a Dutch philosopher and distinguished thinker on the Law of Nature, developed his theory as a foundation for his “law of the sea,” which was an important issue in the age when European merchants started to sail their ships around the world (Sabine, 1963, pp. 420-425). The Law of Nature was always claimed to be eternal and universal, when in fact its definition and application have been transformed significantly throughout the ages. Interpretations of the universal and eternal Law of Nature have always been expressions of temporally and spatially bound perspectives and ideas. Or, one could add, such interpretations have been expressions of diverse levels of awareness that emphasize different quadrants (via different methods or zones) of the Integral framework, as they developed over time.

Kosmopolis and the City of God For the Greek philosophers and the Roman lawyers, the Law of Nature heralded the triumph of reason over natural instincts and impulses, of ideal citizenship over egoism and personal indulgence. Reason was also used to rebut the whims of tyrants and despots. Laws based on reason had more legitimacy and could probably count on more public support. Cicero and other Roman lawyers used the concept of the Law of Nature to develop a thorough and complete system of law. This was a tremendous rational achievement, in a time when all the gods of the world were gathered in the pantheon in Rome and when mythic worldviews reigned supreme. Part of this elaborate system was the ius gentium, which was almost synonymous for the ius naturale. According to the latter, all men are born equal and free. The difference was that according to the ius gentium, slavery was permitted, while according to the ius natural, it was not.2 (It is interesting to note that this was almost 2,000 years before slavery was actually outlawed and in a time when the technoeconomic conditions Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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did not leave the slightest room for such an abolition! So political ideas can precede political reforms and even economic transformation, and have done so in the past). The ius naturale was considered to be an ideal. The general idea was that the closer the ius gentium or the ius civile (the customary law of a particular state) resembled the ius naturale, the more they approximated perfect justice and right. Subjection to law was not perceived as incompatible with freedom and human dignity. Cicero caught the spirit of Roman law in a striking phrase: “We are servants of the law in order that we may be free” (as quoted in Sabine, 1963, pp. 172). The Law of Nature hinted at a world “out there” (the mythic part of its conception), another spiritual world that human beings could discover by overcoming selfish impulses and developing the skills of reason and argumentation. According to the Stoics, man is rational and God is rational. Reason is the divine spark in the souls of men. But later classic philosophers such as Seneca, Aurelius, and most of all Augustine dramatically transformed this story. They developed the idea of a separation between the city of the world and the city of God. Obedience to the state and obedience to God became two separate concepts that were gradually seen as incompatible. The city of the world was now considered to be a lost place, a prison for the soul. Individually, people could free themselves from this prison by a personal choice to enter the city of God—a brilliant and incredibly bold strategy proposed by Augustine. It is similar to the view of other axial sages like the Buddha, proposing to leave the world of suffering behind by a mystic turn to Enlightenment. In the Western world, this concept paved the way for the development of individuality and personal responsibility, a momentous leap that has become a cornerstone of Western civilization (Taylor, 1989). As such, Augustine concluded the historic differentiation of the “I” and “We” (in AQAL terms), a momentous differentiation that probably is the essential shift in consciousness that took place in Antiquity. At the same time this concept created a dissociation between the interior and exterior lifeworlds, it opened the doors for the triumphal procession of the Church in Europe, and to the next mythic religious wave. It would take another millennium before the dominance of the church and of feudal political systems would finally be overcome. Augustine’s concept first led to an endless series of fights and wars between worldly emperors and the Catholic pope for hegemony, now known as the investiture controversy. The Kosmos, in the meantime, had been fractured into two separate, irreconcilable spaces: the radiant city of God and the sinful, dark world inhabited by those who refused the invitation. This rupture remains, a gap that forms one of the major political dividing lines, and presents one of the biggest theoretical challenges that the integral community is faced with reconciling. It was Thomas Aquinas who developed (in the 13th-century) a new comprehensive concept of the Law of Nature and a new synthesis. In his view, the universe forms a hierarchy reaching from God at its summit down to the lowest being. “Every being acts under the internal urge of its own nature, seeking the good or form of perfection natural to its kind, and finding its place in the ascending order according to its degree of perfection” (as quoted in Sabine, 1961, p. 248). This is the Great Chain philosophy. Divine law (or revelation) in his system supersedes Natural Law, which is a reflection of divine reason in created things (the old Stoic view). Natural Law was, according to Aquinas, not just a Christian conception. It is common to all men, both Christian and pagan. Human laws (e.g., the prohibition of murder and theft) are derived from Natural Law. Thus a worldcentric, but at the same time hierarchic, ideology was created, which was supervised by a metaphysical, divine, revealed law. This planted the seeds of an evolutionary and holarchic conception of Nature, which was later more fully developed by Hegel (Wilber, 1995, p. 367). This divine law could not prevent the cruel religious wars and the atrocities committed all over Europe in the following centuries in the name of the True God. At the time of the Enlightenment, the struggle for the divine truth became itself a target of philosophical attacks. Only objects that could be seen and grasped were considered worthwhile to take into account. Emotions, inspiration (e.g., Joan of Arc), and enthusiasm were generally met with suspicion or disdain. Reflections on human nature became restricted by the condition that only empirical observations and conclusions based on them were admitted to the discourse. This marked the coming wave of rationality! The problem for early liberal philosophers such as John Locke and 46

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David Hume was that the Law of Nature as conceived by Aquinas was profoundly metaphysical. Therefore, they not only eliminated the supervisory role played by the divine law but they rejected the entire concept. Justice was no longer to be found by discovering the laws of nature in a Kosmic world. The search became exclusively oriented to the visible world, and to tangible human experience. This led Thomas Hobbes to conclude that human beings are basically just another animal species that, unconstrained, would create the conditions of a living hell for their fellow humans. Hence the necessity of a state (Leviathan) to secure their living conditions: “I authorize and give up my right of governing myself, to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition, that thou give up thy right to him, and authorize all his actions in like manner ... This is the generation of that great Leviathan” (as quoted in Sabine, 1963, p. 468). Such ideas paved the way for the conception of the modern state. Liberal philosophers developed new concepts such as the social contract to “explain” and defend modern political concepts like the state and the rule of law. These modern institutions in turn unleashed the full power and energies of capitalism and individual freedom. They thereby paved the way for the incredible expansion of economies, scientific progress, and the unprecedented improvement of living conditions for people, especially in the Western world.

Kosmopolis and Flatland The legitimacy of modern institutions is grounded in the idea that they are the outcome of human negotiations and deliberations, of a social contract. Modern law, on which our current political institutions are grounded, is mainly conceptualized as “positive law” (i.e., as the pragmatic result of intersubjective human conventions and political decisions). Neither is based on an interpretation of the Law of Nature, although we might say they are implicitly based on a flatland version of that concept where only Right-Hand quadrant language is accepted in the discourse on human nature.3 While some political contestants actually still refer to their specific version of God or reading of the Bible to make their point, political debates do not center on the question of which version is correct and which is not. They are aimed instead at finding a certain consensus about a rule or policy such that the outcome is acceptable to the majority of contestants, whatever their individual convictions and backgrounds. This system has brought us to where we are right now (i.e., to a situation where on the one hand political arguments are exchanged in a rather peaceful manner, but on the other, a large crisis of legitimacy is lurking). The social contract is no longer as solid and obvious as it seemed in the past. Legitimacy is a complex notion. It refers to the necessary fit between existing worldviews and political institutions. Mary Douglas developed her “Cultural Theory” based on this idea (Hood, 1998). But in the present day, the legitimacy of our institutions depend not on a specific fit with one specific worldview but on the question of whether they are capable of dealing with all these different worldviews in such a way that the great majority of people accept the outcome and rulings of our political institutions. This includes an apprehension of the way that our political institutions are capable of solving societal and economic problems (functional fit). Global problems like climate change, financial crises, and security issues demand global strategies that our national governments are in a bad position to develop. To the extent that they are capable, intellectually and practically, to conceive such strategies, governments are faced with major sectors of the population that are not convinced of their necessity or even feel threatened by global perspectives and foreign actors. So the question is how to increase the general awareness of global interdependence and solidarity, not just in the most “advanced” worldviews but in general. This is a troubling problem, but an even greater challenge is defined by the impact of new and profound technoeconomic developments, resulting from the combination of technical, informational, and biological discoveries. These developments lead to ever expanding and rapid innovations that demand societal adjustments and at the same time beg for major ethical considerations. These changes pose profound questions: What will happen if human lifetimes can be extended, possibly for centuries? What is the definition of a human when parts of the body and brain are enhanced or replaced by nanobiological components? Who will decide on the application of these technologies, and what Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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are the consequences for the world population? Who will decide or develop policies to stimulate or curb the growth of the population in different parts of the world? Individual liberty, human rights, and the free market do not provide us with the arguments and tools to cope with such complex global and ethical challenges. These questions form the backbone of the lurking legitimacy crisis. What we need are new philosophical concepts, renovated worldviews, and new political institutions that can deliver the needed strategies and practical answers, preferably all at the same time! By cutting off the discourse on the Law of Nature, liberalism not only transcended earlier political philosophies but at the same time dissociated itself from earlier traditions of political discourse and wisdom. By abandoning metaphysical concepts of Nature, all “interior” knowledge was marginalized. Interior knowledge was seen as metaphysical knowledge by definition, which is understandable because it is only recently that comprehensive post-metaphysical approaches to inner knowledge have been articulated (e.g., Wilber, 1998). Ancient philosophers reflected on human virtues not based on law, but on inner convictions and discipline, combined with a devotion to the public good and a sense of belonging that current-day liberalism in all its diverse forms cannot reproduce. While it has to be acknowledged that the previous sense of belonging was conditioned by oppressive, premodern communities, we still lack a modern or even postmodern sense of belonging strong enough to hold our current societies together. The liberal dissociation of the exterior and interior perspectives also led to the fundamental gap between modernity and premodernity which today looks virtually impossible to bridge. Since the days of the Enlightenment, conservatism carried forward the torch of ancient virtues and wisdoms but got lost in the translation of those wisdoms into modern terms. And liberalism just never looked back and simply moved forward on the road to individual freedom, world trade, and greedy bankers.4 This is not to say that greedy bankers are the main source of our current problems, but they are a striking symbol of the fact that liberalism, if it is not transformed and/or transcended, has in fact become a hobbled political ideology unable to help us structurally overcome our current crises. The shortcomings of an exclusively scientific-materialistic worldview have become more accentuated in recent years. Flatland analyses tend to underestimate cultural developments and their impact on the world. The universal claims of liberalism blind us to the particularistic nature and local character of many issues and views that are unique to different corners of the world (as has become clear, e.g., in Iraq and Afghanistan). And curiously enough, while liberalism was developed as a philosophy to create the best conditions for individual development, it tends to ignore the interior aspects of personal growth and their relevance, not just for the private domain but also for the public domain. Political leadership cannot develop without a certain amount of intuitive grasp, but theoretically there is no place for intuition in modern political philosophies.5 Therefore, liberalism fails to understand many important aspects of our current challenges and cannot provide enough analytical power for policymakers or politicians. While the West provides the world with the prospects of individual freedom, material wealth, and superior technologies, people in the West and elsewhere criticize liberal ideology for its current lack of ethical attractiveness. The current version of liberalism even looks more ego- or ethnocentric oriented than its original emancipatory and worldcentric version as conceived by liberal philosophers in the 18th century. Therefore, the liberal conceptualization of Kosmopolis is one-sided and structurally flawed. According to Toulmin (1990), the hidden agenda of the modern age is the spread of a technological, dehumanized version of Kosmopolis. Toulmin has described this version as one where universal knowledge replaces special knowledge, general knowledge replaces local knowledge, timeless knowledge replaces time-bound knowledge, and eventually rationality replaces the humanist worldview of the Renaissance. This postmodern criticism does not render liberalism the huge credit that it also deserves, but it rightly points to its scientific-materialistic bias, and to the disaster of modernity. It is our challenge to reintegrate the modern worldview with important aspects of previous views that got lost but at a price, and then to transcend and include all those views. In other words, we need a new story of mankind. 48

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Omnitopia The Integral framework enables us to do just that. It provides a new and encompassing concept of Nature and therefore enables us to place the Law of Nature in a new perspective. Reality consists, according to the Integral approach, of structures and states, exteriors and interiors, quadrants and levels. It co-evolves in four quadrants and will never stop doing so. It consists of first-, second- and third-person perspectives. All previous definitions of Nature can be plotted in this framework (Wilber, 2007) and can be accepted as a valid description of Nature (i.e., true, but only partially so). Nature thus ceases to be conceived as a static Kosmos, be it of this world or otherworldly, with static laws that are waiting for us to be discovered. Nature is pluriform, dynamic, and ever-evolving. It is not a state we can achieve. When the concept of Kosmopolis is redefined based on this comprehensive definition of Nature, it provides us with a new, integral understanding of the unity of mankind. A perceived and felt unity that is based not only on the fact that humans share certain physical structures, but also on the reflection that humans share levels of awareness and cultural streams of meaning and ethics. The Integral framework does not point to an end state for mankind to strive for (such as a classless society or the worldwide victory of liberalism and democracy). But it does point to ever-new levels of complexity, to the development of higher depth and greater span in our individual and communal awareness and in our societies. Kosmopolis refers to the unity of mankind, our growing awareness of this unity, and the necessity to build institutions expressing that awareness and to promote and safeguard that unity. It poses a challenge to mankind to move forward to the next stage in our individual and collective evolution—aiming at scientific and economic progress but also at spiritual, ethical, and cultural development in every quadrant and aspect of our lives. And from this integral perspective, we can start to see the true nature of Kosmopolis: it is not a metaphysical space somewhere out there, but it is (our awareness of) the actual world we live in, the world that we inhabit. In this world, our world, communities are local, diverse, intertwined, pluralistic, regional, national and global, all at the same time. All these communities together form an evolving Kosmopolis, a global world of overlapping and interwoven holons with a biological, mimetic, and spiritual nature based on worldcentric awareness. Kosmopolis is our human condition and at the same time our common destiny. An integral Kosmopolitan vision does not provide us with the picture of a final end-state such as democracy, nor does is it point to some sort of future Utopia. Kosmopolis is the actual state of mankind in the here-and-now. We can aim to promote higher levels of awareness for expanding communities (“the greatest depth for the greatest span,” in Wilber’s conception) in every corner of the world, but only in accordance with locally present conditions and using available resources. Think Kosmic and act local, national, regional, and/or global, whenever that is appropriate. Thus Kosmopolis is not a Utopia, but it is Omnitopia, present everywhere and evolving from moment to moment. To be a Kosmopolitan means to be aware of this and to act accordingly, based on our own capacities. It means that we have to try to overcome local and world problems while accepting that a large part of the world population still is in the process of overcoming basic survival issues such as an ample food and water supply and basic healthcare. At the same time we have to deal with global issues such as climate change and the exhaustion of energy sources and other basic resources. We also have to take into account that a large majority of the world population does not think or act rationally, but operates from prerational modes of awareness.6 One of the 20 “tenets of evolution” that Wilber (1995, pp. 6778) has described is that evolution has directionality, with increasing complexity, differentiation/integration, organization/structuration, relative autonomy, and telos (a pull to the holon to deepen its actualization). Part of the actual pull for mankind is the realization of Kosmopolis. An integral Kosmopolitan vision does not necessarily entail the development of a single world state or a world government, at least not in our near future. In the first place, it is not very likely that powerful states will soon be ready to give up their privileged position or that others will develop enough power to persuade them to do so. But at the same time, our current worldwide crises can only be overcome structurally by some Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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form of worldwide governance in critical areas such as climate change, security, and finance. Regional cooperation presently leads to regional governmental institutions such as the European Union. With a great deal of negotiating, such an institution might be converted to a regional federation and eventually evolve into a single worldwide confederation of like-minded nations. The history of the European Union so far has shown that like-minded states are capable of cooperation in order to secure their safety and promote their economies, although diplomats as yet perceive the word federation taboo and Europeans are holding their breath in the current financial and economic crises. Regional and international cooperation (multi-level governance) will at the same time be necessary to deal with regional and international issues, such as economic development, regional stability, and general sustainability. At international meetings such as Kyoto and Copenhagen, all kinds of political ideas stemming from every level of awareness and empathy meet and mix. That is where Hobbes has less and less to contribute to our second-tier understanding and analyses and where integral human solidarity, voluntary cooperation, bonding, and love enter the picture. It is from here that we try to build coalitions and networks and to develop new sociopolitical practices that enable us to move forward, as attempted by the World Social Forum and as proposed by other authors in this publication (Anest, 2009; Bunzl, 2009). That is also where Kosmopolitans realize that we live our social lives, not in two worlds as Nussbaum described Kosmopolis, but in two quadrants at the same time: the Lower-Right polis where we consume, work, meet, and build political movements and institutions and at the same time in the Lower-Left Kosmos. This Kosmos is not only “the order of nature” but is at the same time Nature as it appears in our integral awareness; it is the place where we attach communal meaning to our global existence, and exchange philosophical ideas on the human condition and the unity of mankind, in the community of integral arguments and global aspirations. It is an interwoven unity in the midst of diversity, a universe and at the same time a multiverse.

Universalism and Local Identity Much of the actual discussion around Kosmopolitanism focuses on the question of whether the concept is compatible with or antagonistic to nationalism, patriotism, and other types of “local identity” and particularism (Appiah, 2006). The liberal, universalist claims have met with criticism from postmodern and transrational philosophers such as Charles Taylor, Kwame Appiah, Seyla Benhabib, Will Kymlicka, and many others. They have provided us with excellent postmodern views based on multi-perspectivism and sometimes glimpses of integralism aimed at overcoming the deficiencies of modern approaches. Their wonderful celebrations of diversity help to overcome dangerous modern obsessions with a world that does not conform to modern ideals. Such celebrations, however, should not distract us from the much greater dangers that premodern political views and their followers present to the world, as evidenced by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and in many places around the world where ethnic and religious violence reigns. Violence is primarily a problem of premodernity, not of modernity. The problem with liberalism is not so much that its ideology produces universal claims, but that these claims are exclusively based on scientific-materialistic worldviews that ignore the cultural and personal interiors. Therefore, liberalism has difficulty in supporting premodern societies effectively to develop themselves and enter the modern age. When we look at the cultural aspect, it was Hierocles who developed a concentric model of identity depicting how we can regard our self, family, wider communities at the same time (Nussbaum, 1997, p. 9). Today, we can also be member of a tribe, a local community, a virtual community, a national community, and furthermore we can see ourselves as state citizens and citizens of the world. Martha Nussbaum has developed this model in her admirable writings on ethics and levels of empathy. In this way, Kosmopolis transcends and includes all levels of human belonging and the awareness of communal identities, all circles of We. It is a level of awareness where “feeling and thinking involve attachment to all of humanity” (Crittenden, 2011, pp. 50

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24-32), not just to a circle of like-minded people. Many political ideologies focus on a certain aspect or scale of these “nested” identities. For example, liberalism emphasizes the free individual and that it is the task and function of our societal institutions to safeguard this freedom and to remove any obstacles to individual self-development. It generally looks with suspicion on diverse forms of community, which is compatible with the historic role of this ideology: to free mankind from oppressive forms of community. But it overlooks our capacity for empathy and inner needs of solidarity, bonding, and love. Liberalism thereby ignores a huge resource in human beings, a resource that is an indispensable part of any serious attempt to structurally overcome our current worldwide crises. World peace or sustainable economies can only be realized if they are based on something more than a worldwide business plan. These concepts presuppose, at least to a certain extent, the commitment and support of the people in various parts of the world. Conservatism tends to focus on the family (and often on patriotism), whereas communitarianism focuses mostly on local communities, nationalism focuses on the nation, and so forth. The point is, the individual self and each community has a contribution to make and can add value to the greater social fabric. Each scale of identity has a positive and a negative side that can be constructive or destructive, and has shown that propensity at some point in history for better or worse. The free individual (i.e., the keystone of liberalism) has unleashed an enormous power and energy in every sphere of human and global development. On the other hand, egoism and greed are two of the most destructive forces in our present-day economies. Egoism is also the foundation of Hobbes’ philosophy of the Leviathan, where rational human beings accept the authority of a state out of fear that otherwise people will make each other’s lives difficult. Anarchists are well advised to read Hobbes carefully before claiming humanity would be better off without our existing states and bureaucracies.7 At the same time such a political theory overstates the egoist potential of human character and prevents movement toward solidarity, let alone toward attempts to develop, say, forms of participative democracy. This is where Hobbes can no longer guide us. Similar objections can be made for and against every other political ideology or theory, such as socialism, nationalism, or multiculturalism (i.e., they focus on one facet of humanity’s socially nested nature, declare that aspect to be absolute truth, and draw conclusions for societies based on that partial truth). Integral Politics aims to mitigate the fierce fights between proponents of various political ideologies by promoting the constructive aspect of every “I” and every “We.” In other words, integral aspirants are looking for ways to contribute to personal as well as societal development, and to find pride beyond each circle of empathy. In this way, the paradox of universalism versus particularism or nationalism can be overcome (i.e., local identities remain intact yet citizens are able to strive for an ever-expanding universal love and embrace). An approach along these lines might help us to develop new integral practices or at least to recognize their contours when they occur. In the future, integrally informed politicians will aim to develop global governance structures, but such institutions will be effective only if they are based on a Kosmopolitan love for all, not on the Hobbesian fear for all.

A Spiritual Perspective Kosmopolis hints at the fact that we are not just material beings living in a material world, but that we are at the same time immanent beings, Unique Selves, half Gods, or whatever term we want to use to describe our aspiration to eternity. From the early days Kosmopolis was equated with the aspiration of humans to overcome their basic instincts and narrow-minded impulses, and to enter the realm of Reason. In this way, man could discover the universal Laws of Nature and his or her own “true nature.” Kosmopolis not only covers the ground for the individual human being and their gradually expanding circles of empathy, but also a place that honors the search for a higher level of awareness from prerational to rational to transrational. An integral, all-inclusive definition of Kosmopolis embraces all these levels of awareness and being. If the exJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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panding circles of empathy hint at Agape, the search for interior development hints at Eros. Historically, the search for Eros has provoked examples of astonishing beauty and self-sacrifice, but it has also provoked the most brutal human behaviors and incredible destructive wars. The concept of the Unique Self (Gafni, 2011) makes it possible, probably for the first time in history, to continue this common search in more peaceful and respectful ways. From a spiritual perspective, Kosmopolis in the end can be perceived as the embodiment of “Spiritin-action” (Wilber, 1995, pp. 485-493; pp. 669-691). Its evolution is never-ending, and its final state will always remain elusive. This idealistic conception of history was developed in the 19th century by Hegel, who envisaged that the modern state of his day (especially Prussia) was the final destination of Spirit-in-Action, its culmination. Now we can say that the development of the modern state was a historic milestone, but it is not the end of history. Its next stop could be the coming of age of Kosmopolis—a sustainable network of local, national, regional, and global institutions. And that, too, will not be the end of the ever-evolving story of mankind, as Spirit-in-Action will continue to evolve and expand its levels of embrace. Perhaps, at some distant point in the future, we will see the emergence of a world state based on the networked institutions and governmental structures that are being created right now. At the same time, from a spiritual perspective and with a hint of irony, it can be said that mankind has never been divided in the first place. It has been and always will be one, indivisible in all its singular and plural shapes, identities, and shadows—a God caught in the act of unpacking (Wilber, 1995, pp. 494-524).

Conclusion In the previous pages I explored the possibility of reviving traditional concepts of political philosophy such as Kosmopolis and the Law of Nature and reframed and transformed them with the help of the Integral framework. Thus, a new pluralistic and more integral definition of Kosmopolis was constructed, one that includes all of humanity and its political institutions. This new definition is not based on a specific version of the Law of Nature, but on the idea that nature is actually expressed by the AQAL model. The resulting definition avoids some of the pitfalls of the liberal technocratic, one-dimensional version of Kosmopolis. The new definition includes levels of awareness and interior dimensions; integrates universal and particular perspectives of identity and community; gives a realistic perspective on the human condition combined with a vision of our common destiny; and combines idealism with pragmatism. Most importantly, this new definition points to the necessity of developing new strategies for creating and strengthening coalitions and networks to address our global problems and crises. In short, redefining Kosmopolis helps us visualize the transformative institutions necessary to cope with the “being needs” of rapidly shifting technoeconomic societies in developed nations while at the same time recognizing the “survival needs” of developing societies. The integral definition of Kosmopolis is not utopian and does not point to a desired end-state. But it does point in a certain direction: toward an ever-expanding embrace (Agape) and a deeper love and awareness (Eros), which is the Basic Moral Intuition of Integral Politics (Wilber, 1995, 2000). The flatland, liberal pursuit of “the greatest happiness by the greatest numbers” (Bentham, 1843) can thus be transcended by the pursuit of the greatest depth for the greatest span while leaving us to decide in each specific situation how to apply this intuitive direction. Eros and Agape, or emancipation and solidarity, the twin pillars of modern political philosophy, will include not only material aspects but also cultural development and inner growth, global solidarity as well as global empathy. Defined in integral terms, Kosmopolis also and perhaps most importantly enables the integration of politics and spirituality, of acting as citizens in this world and at the same time devoting time to introspection and spiritual growth. This is the gap that probably has been the most prominent single factor driving Western history since the times of St. Augustine, who divided the Kosmos into the city of sinful humans and the city of God. To create a more balanced world, an economics based on liberal rationality as well as spiritual 52

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intuition, wisdom, and love is needed to deal with the problems that we are facing and to develop new sociopolitical practices expressing such wisdom. Political reason and spirit have been each other’s archenemies for centuries, but they might become partners again, in a world that is in need of their combined strength and competences.

NOTES An excellent account of the liberal views on identity and authenticity and the consequent loss of spiritual capital, classic republicanism, and virtues is given by Andreas Kinneging (2011) in his book The Geography of Good and Evil: Philosophical Investigations. 2 See George Sabine’s (1963, p. 169) A History of Political Thought. The historical overview in this paragraph is largely based on this source. 3 For example, see David Hume’s (1740/2000) A Treatise of Human Nature. According to Hume, only experience and observation are valid sources of knowledge. A striking example is also Francis Fukuyama (2011) in The Origins of Political Order. Fukuyama has a fantastic grasp of Hegelian thought that he applies to modern politics. He further makes a plea for a multidisciplinary approach and gives wonderful examples of profound cultural analysis. However, he also devotes one chapter specifically to the development of our understanding of the “State of Nature” since Plato and Aristotle. This “new and better understanding” is completely reduced to the life sciences and biological models of human behavior. 4 According to integral political analyses, both the conservative and liberal camps have developed in recent years but the basic gap still exists (see Wilber, 2007). In continental Europe, the liberal camp has historically been more divided along the I-We axis than in the United States or United Kingdom. Social-democratic parties emphasize the We-aspect in their modern and postmodern political views, promoting solidarity and equality. Liberal parties like the FDP in Germany and the VVD in the Netherlands are more inclined to give priority to individual freedom. 5 See C. Otto Scharmer’s (2009) Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges for an account of the importance of intuition for leadership. 6 Some international solidarity groups aim to help cultures in non-Western countries, which is wonderful, but then claim that such a culture is “more integral” than Western technocratic societies. While their criticism of Western societies is sometimes justified, these groups come terribly close to committing the pre/trans fallacy by claiming that a less developed society is actually more integral than societies with a center of gravity that is orange altitude or above. This has led time and again to disappointment when a new revolutionary regime, soon after its installation, develops traits of a new dictatorship. Also, liberal attempts to install regimes with a modern and democratic agenda often fail because countries with a premodern culture can take several generations to move to a full-fledged democracy with a thriving economy. 7 The pre/trans fallacy is applicable to debates about the amount of regulatory oversight needed in developed societies. There are pre-bureaucratic states, modern bureaucratic states, and now we see the rise of post-bureaucratic network systems of multi-level governance that transcend yet include bureaucratic systems. It would be a costly mistake and probably a return to more savage societies to reduce bureaucracy as much as possible without taking into account that the stability of our societies depend to a large extent on the stability of our regulatory structures. There are numerous dubious reasons why people oppose government, ranging from “nobody tells me what to do” reflexivity (red altitude) to free marketeers (orange altitude) to believers in “recaptured goodness” models of human development (green altitude). Together these tendencies can create a dangerous mix. But it is also true that we need to reduce red tape considerably and to connect vertical bureaucratic systems with horizontal societal networks. 1

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REFERENCES Anest, J. (2009). Ranked choice voting: A path toward a more integral politics. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 4(3), 23-40. Appiah, K.A. (2006). Cosmopolitanism—Ethics in a world of strangers. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Benhabib, S. (2006). Another cosmopolitanism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bentham, J. (1843). The works of Jeremy Bentham: Published under the superintendence of his executor, John Bowring (Vol. 10). Edinburgh: William Tait. Beck, D. & Linscott, G. (1991). The crucible: Forging South Africa’s future. Denton: New Paradigm. Beck, D., & Cowan, C. (1996). Spiral Dynamics: Mastering values, leadership, and change. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers Bunzl, J. (2009). Solving climate change: Achieving a noospheric agreement. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. 4(4), 121-140. Crittenden, J. (2011). Wide as the world—Cosmopolitan identity, integral politics, and democratic dialogue. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Fine, R. (2011). Cosmopolitanism and natural law: Rethinking Kant. In M. Rovisco & M. Nowicka (Eds.), The Ashgate’s research companion to cosmopolitanism (pp. 147-162). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Fukuyama, F. (2002). Our posthuman future—Consequences of the biotechnology revolution. New York, NY: Picador. Fukuyama, F. (2011). The origins of political order— From prehuman times to the French revolution. London: Profile Books. Gafni, M. (2011). The evolutionary emergent of unique self: A new chapter in integral theory. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(1), 1-36. Hume, D. (1740/2000). A treatise of human nature. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Hood, C. (1998). The art of the state: Culture, rhetoric and public management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Israel, J. (2011). Democratic enlightenment: Philosophy, revolution and human rights (1750–1790). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kinneging, A.A.M. (2011). The geography of good and evil: Philosophical investigations. Wilmington, DE: Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Kymlicka, W., & Sullivan, W.M. (2007). The globalization of ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nussbaum, M. (1997). Kant and Stoic cosmopolitanism. The Journal of Political Philosophy, 5(1), 1-25. Rovisco, M., & Nowicka, M. (Eds.) (2011). The Ashgate research companion to cosmopolitanism, Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Sabine, G.H. (1963). A history of political theory (Third Edition). London: George G. Harrap & Co. Scharmer, O.C. (2009). Theory U: Leading from the future as it emerges. San Francisco, CA: BerrettKoehler Publishers. Taylor, C. (1992). Sources of the self: The making of modern identity. Cambridge: Harvard University. Toulmin, S. (1990). Cosmopolis—The hidden agenda of modernity. New York, NY: The Free Press. Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, ecology, spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (1996). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (1998). The marriage of sense and soul: Integrating science and religion. New York, NY: Random House. Wilber, K. (2000). A theory of everything: An integral vision for business, politics, science and spirituality. Boston, MA: Shambala. Wilber, K. (2002). Excerpt A: An integral age at the leading edge. Retrieved August 21, 2012, from http:// wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/kosmos/excerptA/intro.cfm/. Wilber, K. (2007). Integral politics: A summary of its essential ingredients. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from http://www.kenwilber.com/blog/post/271.

KEES BREED, Ph.D., is a political scientist from the Netherlands. He heads the staff of an official advisory council for the Dutch government and parliament on strategic issues related to democratic development and national governance. Previously, he worked for the Dutch office of the European Union and as a business consultant. In 2005, he finished his doctorate on the cognitive map of top civil servants in the Netherlands (worldviews and strategic preferences). He also attended the founding meeting of the Integral Politics branch of Integral Institute in 2001. Kees has published several books and articles on the future of democracy, bureaucracy, policy paradoxes, and cultural development. 54

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INTEGRAL LEADERSHIP EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Tomohiro Akiyama, Jia Li, and Motoharu Onuki ABSTRACT To date, there is no well-established theoretical framework in the field of education for sustainable development. This study contributes to the literature by developing an integrated framework for environmental leadership education (i.e., Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development [ILESD]). The framework is an application of the all-quadrants, all-levels (AQAL) model of Integral Theory. Taking into consideration the viewpoints of students and educators, we propose two four-quadrant models that represent two types of ILESD models. One model represents components of environmental leadership inherent in students, while another model represents components of education programs. The ILESD models were utilized to evaluate the University of Tokyo’s Asian Program for the Incubation of Environmental Leaders (APIEL). The evaluation results suggest three challenges facing APIEL: 1) establishment of integrated environmental studies; 2) further curriculum development focusing on environmental leadership; and 3) establishment of an evaluation methodology vis-á-vis educational effectiveness. KEY WORDS education; environmental leadership; Integral model; Japan; sustainable development

T

he United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) was initiated in 2005. Its purpose is to develop and implement educational programs that focus on the environment, economy, and society. Since the concept of sustainability has received considerable attention in a variety of academic fields, transdisciplinary and/or cross-disciplinary education fulfills an important role in driving sustainable development. Against this background, Japan has been developing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in her higher-education institutions in recent years. In particular, Japan initiated the Strategy for an Environmental Nation in the 21st Century (endorsed by Japan’s Cabinet in June 2007) and a long-term strategic guideline (“Innovation 25,” endorsed by Japan’s Cabinet in June 2009), both of which prioritized the nurturing of environmental leaders. At the practical level, the Japanese government has promoted the Project to Develop Environmental Leadership Programs in Higher Education (Environmental Leadership Initiatives for Asian Sustainability undertaken by Ministry of the Environment) and the Strategic Program for Fostering Environmental Leaders (undertaken by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) since 2008. The main purpose of these two projects/programs is to establish and implement educational programs that help foster environmental leaders. In particular, the Strategic Program for Fostering Environmental Leaders is part of the Japanese government’s key policy of supporting science and technology diplomacy. Foreign students in Japan from various regions of the world are expected to learn about environmental technologies and policies, which will in turn help them support sustainable societies in their home countries. The University of Tokyo was one of the very first institutions that was selected to participate in this program. In the literature, the role of environmental leaders in society and the necessity of environmental leader education have been thoroughly discussed (see, for example, Berry & Gordon, 1993; Egri & Herman, 2000; Correspondence: Tomohiro Akiyama, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Environmental Studies Building 334, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa City, Chiba 277-8563, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 55–69

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Gordon & Berry, 2006).1 To date, however, theoretical frameworks and methodologies for education that support environmental leadership development have not been established. First, there are no basic theories or frameworks that can be used to determine what organizational systems, curricula, and educational methods are necessary and what abilities should be developed. Additionally, no theoretical frameworks or methodologies to be used in program evaluation have yet been established. In order to make these programs more effective, it is imperative to verify both their educational effects and the factors therein (Prieto et al., 2009). Gitachari Srikanthan and John Dalrymple (2002) provide a good literature review of quality management in higher education. They compared various existing approaches, and proposed building a new approach that creates synergy between educational and organizational theories. Regarding environmental leadership education, it is doubtful whether the quality management theories in conventional pedagogy are applicable or not. Environmental leadership education, due to its root from sustainability development, requires an exceptionally holistic course design and learning processes that cross existing academic disciplines.2 Recently, an integrated method called the all-quadrants, all-levels (AQAL) model, as developed by Ken Wilber (2000), is gaining attention in the education field as an effective way of teaching and designing curricula (Esbjörn-Hargens, 2006).3 The AQAL model features a high level of integration of the various perspectives on education. For example, it might be possible to discuss the applicability across, within, and between disciplinary boundaries, interactions between educators, and students, and integration of orthodox as well as alternative educational methods. As far as we know, our work is the first study to apply the AQAL model to environmental leadership education. In this article, we analyze the University of Tokyo’s Asian Program for Incubation of Environmental Leaders (APIEL).4 We evaluate the current education effects of APIEL and discuss the possibility to improve the design and implementation of its curriculum.

Methods

The Integral Approach Wilber’s (1996, 2000, 2007) integrated methodology features a four-quadrant framework which contends that reality is composed of holons. All holons have both an objective exterior expression and a subjective interior experience. At the same time, all holons are both individuals and members of a collective. These two distinctions between the exterior and interior, and the individual and collective, give rise to four aspects of reality, or four ways of knowing, represented by the quadrants. The exterior aspects of reality are found on the right side, with physical and behavioral aspects in the Upper-Right quadrant and social systemic aspects in the Lower-Right quadrant. The interior aspects of reality are found on the left side, with intentional, personal, and psychological aspects in the Upper-Left quadrant and cultural aspects in the Lower-Left quadrant. Although the four quadrants are ontologically distinct, Wilber suggests that there is an interwoven, intimate correspondence between all four quadrants. Wilber (2000) points out that various conventional academic disciplines only focus on one quadrant. Physics, biology, neurology, and other hard sciences have focused on the Upper-Right quadrant; social sciences and other system sciences on the Lower-Right quadrant; studies concerning phenomenology, introspective psychology, and consciousness on the Upper-Left quadrant; and studies concerning values, concepts, worldviews, and cultures, the Lower-Left quadrant. Since the introduction of Integral Theory (Wilber, 1996, 2000, 2007), the four-quadrant approach has been widely applied not only to academic fields including environmental studies, education, and psychology, but has also been put into practice in business and international cooperation (e.g., Akiyama et al., 2010; Brown, 2006; Brown, 2007; Eddy, 2005; Floyd & Zubevich, 2010; Gidley & Hampson, 2005; Esbjörn-Hargens, 2005; Esbjörn-Hargens & Zimmerman, 2009; Hochachka, 2008; Kayane, 2006, 2008; Kayane et al., 2006; Lloyd, 2007; Voros, 2001). 56

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Development of an Integrated Framework for Environmental Leadership As part of an integrated framework for environmental education, we propose the use of a four-quadrant approach to Integrated Education for Sustainable Development (IESD). In addition, two integrated models within IESD will be proposed, as they are defined according to the viewpoints of students and educators. Since education for environmental leadership development is one pattern of IESD, we call it Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development (ILESD). Our two integrated models within ILESD are defined below. In one model, ILESD focuses on the components of any environmental leadership education program (i.e., the perspective of educators). In particular, this model addresses alternative education (Upper-Left quadrant) and orthodox education (Upper-Right quadrant) (Fig. 1a). We made this division because an orthodox curriculum is often single-discipline oriented with the exclusion of knowledge of other disciplines. Additionally, in an orthodox curriculum, educators are knowledge holders, while students are basically information receivers. In contrast, an alternative curriculum addresses the interior aspect of what is needed for environmental leadership education, including awareness, insight, and the interaction of people involved. Consequently, an alternative curriculum is considered to be interactive, student-initiated, and problem-solving oriented. In terms of the Lower-Right quadrant, we address educational regimes including educational organizations/ systems, instructional design, and evaluation of those organizations/systems (e.g., Magliaro & Shambaugh, 2006; Sadler, 1989). We also address the cultural aspects of any educational program in the Lower-Left quadrant, such as shared values, educational goals, and interpersonal relationships among students/faculty. All the aforementioned quadrants are thought to affect the impact that education can have on students. Consequently, whether these four quadrants can be integrated is a topic of utmost importance.

I N DI V I D UA L

IN TER I O R

EX TERI O R

Alternative Education

Orthodox Education • Existing courses on various disciplines

• Interactive courses on environmental leadership

• Existing field exercises

• Field exercises with students’ initiative • Involving multi-stakeholders

C OL LE C T IV E

I Educational Culture

IT

WE ITS

• Shared vision & philosophy in educational organization

Educational System

• Educational organizations & institutions

• Diversity of faculty

• Networks of alumni & collaborating organizations

• Group values & views around students

• Financial & human resources

• Interpersonal relationships around students (e.g., faculty-student relationship, student-student relationship)

• Instructional design

• Attractiveness of educational program

• School policies; grading rubrics

• Teaching tools & methods

Figure 1a. Four-quadrant model of Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development for educators. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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T. AKIYAMA, J. Li, & M. Onuki

I NDI VI DUA L

I NTERI O R

EX T ERI O R

Intentional Leadership

Behavioral Leadership

Knowledge Personal experiences; individual values/views/visions Skills Personal; reactive and proactive thinking Attitude Subjective; insightful; creative; trustworthy; introspective; self-disciplined; self-aware

Knowledge Natural science background, experience with technology Skills Technical; practical; communicative Attitude Objective; individual decision-making; willingness to share information; active/proactive; determined

C OL LE CT I VE

I Cultural Leadership

IT

WE ITS

Knowledge Historical and cultural backgrounds; shared values/views/visions Skills Interpersonal; negotiation Attitude Mutual understanding; open-minded; willingness to form shared values/views/visions; building trust

Social or Systemic Leadership

Knowledge Social science background, experience with systemic methodologies Skills Systemic thinking; project management; conflict management; problem solving; networking; consensus building; information dissemination Attitude Collaborative; group decision-making; flexible; adaptable; socially accountable

Figure 1b. Four-quadrant model of Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development for students.

In another model, we define the quadrants from the perspective of students (Fig. 1b). This model closely aligns with the existing theories pertaining to environmental leadership. Since leadership is often thought of in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, these dimensions are often collectively referred to as “KSA” (Haynes, 2006; Xiao & Lo, 2003); we, too, use this term below. Corresponding to the Upper-Left and Upper-Right quadrants, we define Intentional Leadership (subjective leadership) and Behavioral Leadership (objective leadership). On the other hand, corresponding to the Lower-Left and Lower-Right quadrants, we define Cultural Leadership (intersubjective leadership) and Social Leadership (interobjective leadership). These allotments not only represent environmental leadership in terms of the four-quadrant framework, but all four varieties of leadership already exist as technical terms in a number of related fields. This finding suggests that leadership theories have been discussed in isolation within these fields, and that they have seldom been integrated. We believe environmental leadership requires the integration of all these leadership types, as shown in Figure 1b. Here, we further elaborate the four aforementioned leadership types in the context of environmental leadership theory. Behavioral Leadership refers to an individual’s ability to work toward the realization of a vision. A leader’s behavior is, in itself, a mover of the leader’s subjective determination or proactive intention. Intentional Leadership refers to value aspect of leadership such as an individual’s values, ideas, vision, and philosophy (Lee & King, 2000; Lum, 1997). On the other hand, Cultural Leadership relates to shared values 58

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within a group, the establishment of trusting relationships, and a culture of organization and society and their development (Hallinger, 2004; Hewison, 2004; Trice & Beyer, 1991). We consider Behavioral Leadership as it relates to the personal behavior of an environmental leader, whereas Social or Systematic Leadership relates to the abilities required to promote certain actions on the part of a group. Clearly, the latter form of leadership is in the realm of environmental leadership. In short, what is required of an environmental leader is the ability to lead human groups, including society-based ones, in addressing environmental problems. This ability touches, for example, on organizational leadership—including process consultation, organizational diagnostics and analysis, coaching, facilitation, system design, and management—as an innovative and practical method of promoting organizational development. However, Social or Systematic Leadership, in the context of environmental leadership, includes the ability to pinpoint environmental problems through teamwork in order to solve problems, be socially accountable, and propose solutions. Due to the wide range of matters that environmental leadership encapsulates, educators (Fig. 1a) must give special consideration to the fact that students are equipped with various elements of leadership from the different quadrants (Fig. 1b).

Implementation of APIEL In line with the ILESD model proposed in the two panels of Figure 1, we take APIEL as a case study and summarize its current state of environmental leadership education with respect to each quadrant. As shown in Figure 1a, the systemic aspect of an education program, including its curriculum design, creation of educational organizations, and educational research networks with other institutions, is in the Lower-Right quadrant. Cultural aspects of an education program, including shared vision and goals of its teaching members, are in the Lower-Left quadrant. Intentional aspects of an education program, including alternative activities that facilitate environmental leadership and appear to be interdisciplinary, are in the Upper-Left quadrant. Behavioral aspects of an education program, including the courses established from conventional academic disciplines and focusing on knowledge transfer from educators to students, are found in the Upper-Right quadrant.

Interobjective Aspect of APIEL The organization of APIEL features an interdisciplinary framework and the development of collaborative networks among academia, government, business and the public, both domestically and internationally. APIEL was established in 2008, in light of Japan’s initiatives to assist in developing international environmental leaders. It is jointly operated and managed by the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS; Division of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences) and the Department of Urban Engineering (UE; School of Engineering) of the University of Tokyo. GPSS was created in 2007, and it integrates a number of different majors (e.g., natural environmental studies; human and engineered environmental studies; sociocultural environmental studies; international development studies; ocean technology, etc.), in a crosssectional manner. GPSS offers both master and doctoral programs aimed at nurturing human resources that can actively participate in promoting the sustainability of human society and the global environment at the international level. UE has an urban environmental engineering course (with subjects such as environmental assessment, environmental technologies, risk control) and an urban planning course (with subjects such as transportation, disaster prevention, national land and regional planning, historical and cultural landscape and design, space recognition). These courses provide an interdisciplinary education and research opportunities in urban engineering, and for over 40 years it has produced a broad array of human resources, including government officials, business leaders, and researchers. It is generally considered difficult to manage educational programs across departments. Given the distance between campuses, and the fact that students are enrolled in a distinct department of GPSS and UE, a base for the APIEL program was established in each of the two departments. Close collaboration between two Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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T. AKIYAMA, J. Li, & M. Onuki

departments is made possible by a teleconference system. Teaching members work at two campuses of the university and play core roles in basic operations, such as selecting students and planning and implementing various types of courses. In addition, APIEL has a Steering Committee, a Planning and Management Committee, and an External Advisory Board, and it holds project staff meetings and internal seminars on the development of educational systems. First, the Steering Committee was created in order to integrate GPSS and UE, to facilitate smooth management. Vice Deans of the Graduate School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences participate in the Committee to establish a system that allows for full collaboration with the university headquarters. The Steering Committee’s roles are to develop bylaws; specify curriculum details, credit requirements, and execution instructions; and certify students who have completed the courses. Second, the Planning and Management Committee was formed under the Steering Committee’s umbrella. This Committee consists of a chief coordinator at GPSS; a chief coordinator at UE; and specially appointed academic and administrative staff members. The committee members work together to locate collaborative counterparts; foster collaboration with those counterparts; allocate personnel; and establish and implement curriculum details, credit requirements, and execution instructions. This Committee meets, on average, once or more per month to make decisions required for the daily management of the program. Third, APIEL has also established an External Advisory Board comprising external experts to solicit their advice concerning program management and curriculum formation; the overarching aim of this Board is to promote the program in a global, long-term manner.5 The creation of domestic and international collaborative networks has been promoted through APIEL’s management and implementation practices. For example, efforts to establish collaboration with the business sector have been continuously made domestically, particularly through the university’s division of external affairs. Considerable support has been provided to date by the Nissan Science Foundation, the Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental Foundation, and Daiwa Securities Group, Inc. In addition to securing financial aid, APIEL has set up joint workshops and symposia to assist in knowledge exchange. In particular, given the importance vis-á-vis field-oriented practical education, developing cooperative relationships with counterparts in other Asian countries has been considered to be essential to the program. Existing networks involving the Division of Environmental Studies, the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, and UE are fully utilized, while efforts to discover new links are continuously under way. The counterparts who, to date, have promoted synergistic environmental field exercises are shown in Table 1; they include 14 educational research institutions in 6 countries/regions. In addition to these institutions, many local government agencies and companies have also assisted in the program. Environmental field exercises are planned and managed in close partnership with local organizations. These facts reflect APIEL’s strong intention to nurture environmental leadership of students on an interdisciplinary knowledge base and multi-stakeholders’ perspective.

Intersubjective Aspect of APIEL APIEL has made efforts to incorporate the panoply of faculty, students, and counterpart institutions of different countries and stakeholders, as well as to create a shared vision of its educational program. As of February 2011, APIEL had received 72 students from 27 countries, with 56% of those students coming from outside Japan; they are diverse in terms of specializations and backgrounds. Students eligible for this program—limited to enrollees looking to acquire credits—are examined for selection on the basis of English-language essays and an interview. In its first round of recruitment, APIEL selected 25 students, six more than had initially been expected. In addition to the diversity in terms of students’ specialties and backgrounds, APIEL highlights a curriculum emphasizing a direct understanding of on-site environmental problems through on-the-ground information garnered by various people in the regions across Asia. 60

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To create a school culture incorporating diversity and a common vision about sustainability, APIEL’s courses employ an interactive teaching style and many of the assignments are group-based. For example, in the compulsory course that covers environmental issues (“Environmental Challenges and Leadership in Asia”), instructors will present one real-world problem in a specific region of Asia. The students are requested to share opinions with each other and think about comprehensive solutions based on their discussions. In the case of field exercises, students are requested to create research proposals, carry out surveys, and find solutions for real-world environmental issues. Through exposure to people of different backgrounds, student selfawareness and negotiation skills to reach consensus are expected to improve. APIEL uses the word “resonance” to underscore the importance of accommodating diversities and mutual understanding. These are, as explained in detail by Onuki and colleagues (2009), “interdisciplinary resonance,” predominantly in academic fields; “interregional resonance,” which is required for the formation of partnerships and networks among educational and research institutions in various Asian regions; and, finally, “resonance with graduates.” According to APIEL’s vision, if such resonances are established, people with different types of expertise who are from different cultures and who adhere to different concepts can understand their collective diversity and influence their counterparts en route to creating a better society. APIEL has a diverse faculty and student body, but it also has made efforts to create a vision that is singular and shared (i.e., to maintain a high quality of education). For example, when the number of initial APIEL students was larger than anticipated, the number of students per environmental field exercise was not increased, but the number of field exercises provided was increased. In this way, the student-to-instructor ratio was kept low so that the faculty of each environmental field exercise would be able to closely connect with and supervise each student. This change was brought about as a result of collaboration among the teaching members. As a result, 16 environmental field exercises have been formed to date (Table 1).6

Subjective Aspect of APIEL To address the interior aspect of what is needed for environmental leadership education, APIEL established a compulsory course, “Environmental Challenges and Leadership in Asia,” and a companion course, “Field Exercise.” In the former, students learn, in an interactive manner, about environmental leadership and various environmental problems in Asia. In the latter, practical issues are examined with cooperative counterpart(s) in a region that is deemed to have an ongoing environmental problem. These courses are structured to develop students’ perception vis-á-vis environmental problems and develop the skills and abilities required of environmental leaders. In addition, elective courses are structured from existing lecture courses, so that students can deepen both their professional knowledge and their skills. In the “Environmental Challenges and Leadership in Asia” course, students improve their understanding of the history of environmental issues in Asia, as well as other issues, including different cultural viewpoints and how to learn, in a hands-on manner, how environmental leadership makes use of certain KSA (knowledge, skills, and abilities) in making professional contributions to a sustainable society. The course uses case studies of various environmental issues in many Asian regions; it also makes heavy use of group discussions and presentations. To develop students’ communication and consensus-building abilities, a remote lecture system has been adopted so that various students with different majors can interactively participate in the courses. For theme studies, for instance, as one task, students are required to bring papers and books that they feel are most important for the construction of a sustainable future. By sharing those reading materials, students become aware that perceptions of a sustainable future can differ vastly. In addition, discussions among students help hone capabilities in developing cooperative relationships based on mutual understanding. In a sense, one could say that students in this compulsory course learn how to learn from others. For practical learning, APIEL dispatches students to various regions for periods between 10 and 14 days for the “Field Exercise” course. The purpose of the course is to nurture the personal qualities required Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

61

Unit title

Theme

Place

Period

Collaborator(s)

Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

Teaching staff

62

Aug. 6–15

1. Cold & Arid

Regions Environ-

ment &

Aug. 1–12

Asian Institute of

Technology (AIT)

etc.

2 Japanese

1 Chinese

N.B.

2 Japanese

1 Filipino

1 Thai

2 Japanese

23 participants

1 Columbian

1 Indonesian

1 Ethiopian

CU (2)

(WU) (1)

2 Sri Lankan

3 Japanese 3 Japanese

1 Cambodian

1 Bolivian

UT (1)

UT (1)

4 Japanese

1 Chinese 2 Japanese

1 Chinese

2 Filipino

1 French 1 Mongolian

1 Bangladeshi

1 Bhutanese

2 Chinese

1 Dominican

1 Ethiopian

1 Korean

1 Japanese

1 Chinese

1 Brazilian

HU (1)

UT (4)

1 Vietnamese

1 Portuguese

CAREERI (3)

Pref. (UNP) (1)

Univ. of Niigata

UT (5)

Hue Univ. (HU)

Aug. 11–19

Hue, Vietnam

Hue city

in world heritage

History

Flood and

Hue unit

1 Portuguese

1 Bangladeshi

1 Swiss

1 Irish

1 Indonesian

1 Filipino

HKUST (1) SYSU (1)

MFLU (2)

KU (1)

Wakayama Univ. AIT (1)

CAREERI (2)

UT (5)

Village, Ejina

Authority

UT (3)

& Jirigalangtu

2. Zhangye Water

UT (4)

Village

(CAREERI),

Association,

Ecological

3. Alashan SEE

4. Wusuronggui

UT (5)

Centre

Management

Authority,

2. Zhangye Water

1. CAREERI,

Aug. 10–23

China

Inner Mongolia,

Province & Ejina,

Zhangye, Gansu

region

of Sciences

Univ. (SYSU)

(HKUST),

Chinese Academy

(MFLU)

Univ. (KU)

Business

& Technology

1. JICA, 2. Sewerage

ADBI

Nov.–Dec.

JICA (Tokyo)

Univ. of Science

1. Hong Kong

2. Sun Yat-sen

Univ.

Mae Fah Luang

2. Kasetsart

1. AIT,

Jan. 2010

Oct. 2009–

Feb. 25–Mar. 7

Dec. 19–30

Bank Institute

Oct. 21–30

China

Development (ADBI) (Tokyo)

Thailand

and Bangkok,

Guangzhou,

Asian

Thailand

Chiang Rai,

Province

Hongkong and

Technology

Golden Triangle,

management in cold and arid

Drainage

the GPRD, China

Research Institute,

UT (1)

(CU)

Univ.

Chulalongkorn

Sep. 14–23

Thailand

Bangkok,

watershed

integrated

Stormwater

Sustainable

Development in

engineering and

issues

Cluster

Sewage works

Oasis unit

Leadership

Internship at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Environmental Eco-Industrial

Cluster

Eco-Industrial

1 Indonesian 1 Ethiopian

1 Filipino

Hayama town,

in 2050

& mobility

from 17 countries/ regions, 10 universities

1 Thai 1 Bangladeshi 2 Filipino 1 Bolivian 1 Portuguese 2 Japanese

1 Malagasy 2 Chinese 2 Japanese

participants

N.B. 28

1 Cambodian

1 Japanese

1 Chinese

1 Dominican

1 Australian

AIT (2)

UT (7)

AIT etc.

Dec. 4–13

Prefecture

1 Vietnamese

2 Japanese

1 Filipino

1 Cambodian

1 Irish 1 Australian

WU (1)

UT (11)

CU

Sep. 5–12

1 Ethiopian

1 Mongolian

UT (4)

ADBI

Feb. 2011

Nov. 2010–

Hachioji, Tokyo

unit

Green Energy

1 Irish 3 Indian 1 Indonesian 1 Cambodian 1 Thai 1 Dominican 1 Nepali 1 Bahraini 1 Bhutanese 1 Vietnamese 1 Jamaican 1 Chinese 1 Japanese

PSU (1)

KEPA (1)

UNP (1)

UT (5)

city

4. Kashiwazaki

(PSU),

Songkla Univ.

3. Prince of

(KEPA) Society,

Administration

Policy &

Environmental

2. Korea

Power Company,

1. Tokyo Electric

Feb. 21–23

Gunma

Niigata & Ueno,

Kashiwazaki,

energy supply

Sustainable cities Sustainable

Nissan-IPoS

Nerima, Kokubunji, Kanagawa

Kashiwa, China &

CU (2)

UT (4)

Limited

5. Sumitomo Chemical Company

Foundation, 4. NPO Kuriyama,

3. Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental

in academic year 2009, 2. Hokkaido Univ.,

field exercise units

1. All counterparts of the overseas

Aug. 19–23

ADBI (Tokyo)

SYSU (1)

HKUST (1)

UT (4)

2. SYSU

1. HKUST,

Feb. 21–28

Guangzhou, China Hokkaido

Hongkong and

China

in the GPRD,

Koriyama,

and agriculturesuburban Tokyo

in Asia

development

Urban

related issues in

Responsibility

regeneration and

society Scenario

Low-carbon

industrial regions

Social

unit

Tokyo Fringe

relocation of

Corporate

Asia

Leaders Summit

urban

Carbon Green

project on Low

Internship in the

Domestic field exercise

Environmental

Young

Coca-Cola

Sustainable

GPRD unit

Overseas field exercise

environmental

(GPRD) unit

River Delta

Greater Pearl

Domestic field exercise

Transboundary

Chiang Rai unit

Nonthaburi

countries

suburban

Bangkok

Asian developing

issues in

AIT (2)

(UT) (3)

Univ. of Tokyo

Province, China

Thailand

Engineering

Zhangye, Gansu

region

Rayong Province,

agriculture-related management in

issues in arid waste

development and

Water-related Sustainable solid

Nonthaburi unit

and Water

Urban

Bangkok unit

Food, Energy

on Sustainability

Intensive Program Zhangye unit

Overseas field exercise

Academic year 2010

Table 1. List of APIEL’s field exercises. Gray, light gray, and white colors show structure-oriented exercises, field-oriented exercises, and internship programs, respectively.

Student nationality

Academic year 2009

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Integral Leadership Education

of environmental leaders in recognizing environmental issues and solutions, especially from holistic viewpoints. This course consists roughly of four parts: preliminary learning, on-site learning, after-the-fact learning, and a joint task consisting of a presentation and report preparation. Overseas and domestic exercises lead to the award of two credits and one credit, respectively. Table 1 provides a list of the field exercises that have been implemented to date. Overseas field exercises are roughly classified as being either field-oriented or structure-oriented. Field-oriented exercises develop environmental leadership mainly through group-based work led by students, from that relating to the preliminary studies, planning of research activities in the field, implementation of field surveys, and the completion of solution proposals. Environmental leadership is fostered through the execution of field surveys. The structure-oriented exercise develops environmental leadership mainly through a series of educator-structured programs (i.e., in-class lectures, discussions, and short field visits). In all, there is a balance between five field-oriented and four structure-oriented exercises. Further information on the activities that take place in each exercise is found in newsletters posted on the APIEL website (http://www.envleader.u-tokyo.ac.jp). All field exercises bear the following common characteristics: 1) they are interdisciplinary in nature, 2) they involve a number of different stakeholders, 3) they foster students’ initiative, and 4) they feature practical issues that lack prepared solutions. Although the field study takes place over a relatively short time-period, it is possible for students to examine environmental issues on-site and discuss them with the various stakeholders involved; this engagement is made possible by the participation of local governmental agencies and companies and the cooperation of counterpart universities/research institutions. Furthermore, this educational program is designed to ensure participant diversity (i.e., to avoid an overconcentration of Japanese graduates). This design feature thus pushes students to improve their techniques in communicating with others of various cultural backgrounds. APIEL differs greatly from the project-based learning outlined by DeFillippi (2001), Frank et al. (2003), and Helle et al. (2006) in terms of how fieldwork is led by students and how a diverse range of stakeholders participate. For example, in APIEL’s field exercise called Oasis Unit (formerly Zhangye Unit; Table 1), students take the initiative in developing an interdisciplinary research plan about the issues related to water resource management. They do so while addressing practical challenges that lack prepared solutions. As a final task, students must summarize their survey results and make policy suggestions to the local government. Attempts are also being made to promote interaction among field exercise units. A joint presentation meeting of the final reports of different units is one such attempt. There are also student sessions within the international symposia and workshops that help deepen discussions among domestic and international experts. Through such joint activities, it is possible for participants to share not only lessons learned from their fieldwork, but also approaches to various types of environmental issues. Teaching members, in particular, have made the effort to join most final-presentation meetings, participate in different field exercise units, and further develop their own educational skills. In this way, APIEL is also directing its energies into the development of new educational methods that will nurture a more comprehensive range of human resources.

Objective Aspect of APIEL In line with conventional academic disciplines, APIEL offers a group of elective courses based on the specialties of GPSS and UE. Although it depends on the preference of the instructor(s) of each course, elective courses are mostly lecture-based (i.e., there are few interactions among students or between the professors and students). Compared to UE, the topics of the GPSS courses are broader and incorporate environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability. UE courses focus tightly on finding technical/engineering solutions to urban environmental problems. Although each course is single-discipline oriented, the overall selection of a group of courses takes into account interdisciplinary elements. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Future Challenges In investigating the future issues to be addressed by APIEL, whether or not the program integrates the four quadrants of Wilber’s paradigm is a topic worth exploring. First, APIEL represents a system that works to create and develop educational organizations and a curriculum that addresses interdisciplinary approaches to practical issues, and to construct domestic and international networks that involve academia, business, and government. From the systemic point of view, APIEL covers various elements essential to an environmental leadership education program (Lower-Right quadrant). Second, regarding the cultural aspect (Lower-Left quadrant), APIEL created an environment that accommodates various diversities, and the teaching members have made efforts to reach a shared vision. These aspects were addressed in the initial design of APIEL and are considered to enhance the program’s attractiveness. Third, APIEL offers a variety of courses that are both orthodox and discipline oriented (Upper-Right quadrant) as well as alternative and oriented to problem-solving (Upper-Left quadrant). Therefore, APIEL as an educational program does cover all four of the Integral model’s quadrants, and evolving interactions among them are evident. However, some issues can be extracted for further consideration. We will take up the following three issues: 1) the establishment of a formalized Environmental Studies curriculum (Lower-Left quadrant in Fig. 1a); 2) the reinforcement of a curriculum focusing on the development of environmental leadership (UpperLeft quadrant in Fig. 1a); and 3) the establishment of a method by which the effects of education can be evaluated (Lower-Right quadrant in Fig. 1a). The necessity of addressing these challenges is discussed below, based on ILESD. First, the establishment of Environmental Studies has dovetailed with the evolution in how the environment is perceived, within the context of education for the development of environmental leaders. For this reason, this matter is equivalent to a cultural facet that would be found in the Lower-Left quadrant. Based on the ILESD model presented in this article, better environmental leadership is contingent upon the integration of the four quadrants of the educational program in Figure 1a. Even if all but the Lower-Left quadrant evolves, integration will not occur if there is a lack of theory or methodology for Environmental Studies. Since it is considered difficult to develop a true environmental leader without the establishment of a shared Environmental Studies vision, the creation of the Environmental Studies discipline is considered the most important challenge. Has the Environmental Studies discipline been genuinely established? “Knowledge” that integrates the natural and social sciences is essential in properly dealing with environmental issues, which tend to involve both nature and human beings. However, knowledge derived from the natural and social sciences has not yet been integrated, as evidenced by the tendency of some researchers to use the term environmental science (Kayane, 2006). Some researchers have discussed how human beings should relate to nature, but this reminds one of Cartesian dualism; nature and human beings cannot be separated, and for this reason, human beings should not work against nature (Kayane, 2006). On the other hand, a school of thought has emerged that suggests a shift from relativism to holism, and this school is considered to be at the heart of sustainability science (e.g., Clark & Dickson, 2003; Kajikawa, 2008; Kates et al., 2001; Komiyama & Takeuchi, 2006; Swart et al., 2002; Turner et al., 2003). The definition of sustainability science states that it provides a foundation that aims to elucidate mechanisms defining global, social, and human systems and their interactions; reconstructs the three systems for sustainability; present measures and visions pertinent to the rehabilitation of those interactions; and ultimately realizes a sustainable society (Kauman, 2009; Komiyama & Takeuchi, 2006). This definition is based on the general systems theory of Bertalany (1976) and Dubrovsky (2004). Under Wilber’s four-quadrant framework, this theory is roughly equivalent to the Lower-Right quadrant’s collective-exterior aspects because it takes systems science as its starting point. Next, let us discuss the reinforcement of curricula for the development of environmental leadership. 64

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This reinforcement is thought to strengthen curricula, as there is a significant difference between the number of current elective courses and the number of new courses for the development of environmental leadership. Many elective courses offer expertise and skills; there are others, but those that cover the attitudes required for environmental leadership are limited to the compulsory course “Environmental Challenges and Leadership in Asia” and the companion course “Field Exercise.” It may be necessary to establish a course that focuses on followership theory as it pertains to leadership theory. In addition, it is important to develop new curriculum not limited to the current framework inherent in lecture-based courses and fieldwork exercises, and consider altogether novel frameworks in the development of environmental leadership. For instance, APIEL has made efforts to organize activities that bear horizontal links with different field exercise units, including joint presentation meetings that involve a variety of field exercise units, the Coca-Cola Young Environmental Leaders Summit Unit, and student sessions in workshops and international symposia (Table 1). It is necessary and desirable to evaluate differences in educational effectiveness among the various educational methods available in order to make decisions that will lead to improvements within individual established courses. For instance, there has been discussion of whether field-oriented or structure-oriented field exercises are better. The first author of this article favors field-oriented training for the following reason: Isamu Kayane (2007) has argued that the mind is generated from a mutual interference between an individual and environments. This hypothesis has been supported by several brain-science researchers (e.g., Nakada, 2000, 2003, 2004). Therefore, it is important to focus on field-oriented learning, which puts students into relevant environments to stimulate their study incentives. Finally, the creation of a method by which educational efforts can be evaluated has become an important challenge. The ILESD model, as presented in this article, may make a contribution to the establishment of basic theory in this area. When a questionnaire survey is conducted, for instance, the ILESD model can apply to a case in which the number of questions should be uniformly set for the four quadrants. However, a complicated interaction between the “four quadrants for educational programs” (Fig. 1a) on the outside of a four-quadrant holon for education for the development of environmental leaders, and “four quadrants for environmental leadership of human resources to be developed” (Fig. 1b) on the inside of the holon cannot be fully elucidated. Consequently, the ILESD outlined in this article is thought to contribute to the establishment of such an evaluative methodology. The ILESD, however, is simply one of the theoretical frameworks used within education for the development of environmental leaders. It is essential to propose other new frameworks and methodologies in the future. When these new frameworks and methodologies are indeed proposed, it is important that a thorough literature review be prepared, based on diversified perspectives other than the context of environmental leadership theory. In addition, practical approaches that adopt leading-edge findings vis-á-vis leadership education should also be reviewed. For instance, a method emerging from the Kennedy School at Harvard University (Heifetz et al., 1989) may become very informative. An examination of the Kennedy School at Harvard University in the ILESD suggests the integration of the four quadrants within an organization and within leadership education itself. E-learning, in which the use of online educational materials is facilitated through the use of information technology, is expected to serve as a new educational platform in the 21st century. It is time to establish and fine-tune educational theory vis-á-vis environmental leadership, based on the latest research results.

Conclusion This article used the four quadrants of the Integral framework to develop an integrated model of ILESD for environmental leadership education. APIEL’s approach was analyzed in terms of ILESD; we found that the program design of APIEL accomplished a certain level of integration among the four quadrants, but it will be necessary to continue efforts to further hone the curriculum for the development of environmental leaders. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Future challenges to consider include 1) the establishment of an integrated environmental studies curriculum, 2) the reinforcement of a curriculum focusing on environmental leadership, and 3) the establishment of a methodology by which educational effects can be evaluated. It is necessary to discuss further new theoretical frameworks and methodologies. In particular, leadership theory has been examined in a number of disciplines, resulting in a sizable accumulation of research results. As a direction for future research, it is important to prepare a thorough literature review based on a diversity of perspectives other than the context of environmental leadership theory. Additionally, it may be important to evaluate existing education programs, including APIEL, from the students’ perspective (i.e., what the students actually experience and think).

NOTES The definition of environmental leadership varies in the literature. For example, Berry and Gordon (1993) define environmental leadership as the ability of an individual or group to guide positive change toward a vision of an environmentally better future. Egri & Herman (2000) define environmental leadership as the ability to influence individuals and mobilize organizations to realize a vision of long-term ecological sustainability. Although the differences between environmental leadership and traditional leadership are sometimes delineated, most literature focuses on the ability to influence or change society. 2 Even if using the same word, holistic, a holistic view of environmental leadership education is essentially different from that of education of traditional disciplines. It could be the accommodation of different stakeholders’ perspectives, or knowledge from different fields, and so on. For example, Prieto and colleagues (2009) argue that it is essential to determine evaluation criteria from the perspectives of various stakeholders. 3 At the core of Wilber’s framework are four quadrants labeled “I”, “We”, “It”, and “Its.” Wilber sheds light on the holarchical structure of the universe and human beings—including substances, lives, and minds—and vividly instructs the reader on the human position and how the species should exist and coexist in the future (Kayane, 2006). Wilber’s four-quadrant framework, which is all-inclusive in its consideration of perspectives, can be used to both plan and evaluate an education program. Note that a holarchy is a nested hierarchy of holons, while each holarchy is itself part of another, larger holarchy (Wilber, 1996). 4 APIEL was previously discussed by Onuki and colleagues (2009), but the authors describe it here to avoid overlap wherever possible, and fully consider its past implementation status. 5 The external experts that constitute the Board include domestic and international university professors; experts from international organizations such as the World Bank and the UNEP; and environmental experts from government agencies and private companies. In addition to these administrative bodies, meetings led by teachers who look to support the development of educational systems and methods are also organized. Research on the development of educational systems and methods has given rise to the publication of a total of 10 academic papers, including those of Onuki and Mino (2009), Akiyama et al. (2010), and An et al. (2011). This research focus, as the raison d’être of APIEL, is of paramount importance and will continue to be explored in the future. 6 As of February 2011, a “Certificate for the Completion of the Asian Program for the Incubation of Environmental Leaders, University of Tokyo” was awarded to 11 graduates; another 21 graduates received this honor in March 2011. 1

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[in Japanese]. Environmental Conservation Engineering, 38, 719-725. Popper, K.R. (1963). Conjectures and refutations. London: Routledge. Prieto, L.C., Gilmore, J., & Osiri, J.K. (2009). Environmental leadership development: A framework for designing and evaluating a training program. European Journal of Social Sciences, 9, 586-593. Sadler, D.R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119-144. Srikanthan, G., & Dalrymple, J.F. (2002). Developing a holistic model for quality in higher education. Quality in Higher Education, 8, 215-224. Swart, R., Raskin, P., & Robinson, J. (2002). Critical challenges for sustainability science. Science, 297, 1994-1995. Trice, H.M., & Beyer, J.M. (1991). Cultural leadership in organizations. Organization Science, 2, 149169. Turner, B.L., Kasperson, R.E., Matson, J.J.M., Corell, R.W., Christensen, L., Eckley, N., et al. (2003). A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100, 8074-8089. Voros, J. (2001). Reframing environmental scanning: An integral approach. Journal of Futures Studies, 3, 533-551. Wilber, K. (1996). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000). A theory of everything: An integral vision for business, politics, science and spirituality. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2007). Integral spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Xiao, J., & Lo, L.N.K. (2003). Human capital development in Shanghai: lessons and prospects. International Journal of Educational Development, 23, 411-427.

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TOMOHIRO AKIYAMA holds a D.Sc. degree from Nagoya University in Japan. He is currently working as a project assistant professor in Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo in Japan. He has published several articles about water environment issues in Asian arid regions. Recently, he has been working on the application of the Integral approach to sustainability studies and education practice in higher education. JIA LI holds a Ph.D. degree from Nagoya University in Japan in international development. She is currently working as an assistant professor in the Faculty of International Studies and Regional Development at the University of Niigata Prefecture in Japan. She specializes in economics. Her main research interests include financial capital flows and environmental problems (energy, water) in developing countries. MOTOHARU ONUKI holds a Ph.D. degree (Engineering) from the University of Tokyo in Japan. He is currently working as a Project Associate Professor in Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo in Japan. He has been studying competences and pedagogies of sustainability education and leadership education in higher education, and working to establish Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) in the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences.

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STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS IN FISHERY SUPPLY CHAINS Ard Hordijk and Irene Jonkers

ABSTRACT This article identifies strategic improvement options that aim to increase the sustainability of fishery supply chains. An option is deemed strategic if it takes into account the underlying patterns and change dynamics in fishery supply chains system. Using the quadrants and levels of Integral Theory and the double S-curve model from chaos and complexity theory, a methodology for an integral complex systems analysis was developed and applied. Based on this analysis, three translational interventions aligned to the current interests and worldviews of stakeholders and four transformational interventions were identified, providing a challenge to the current interest and worldviews to enable further development. The interventions identified are directed at retailers, restaurants, the financial sector, and small-scale fisheries. Effective collaboration between stakeholders was found to be one of the key success factors for all of the interventions identified. KEY WORDS fisheries; supply chains; complex systems analysis; translation; transformation

M

arine and freshwater ecosystems provide a plentitude of food. However, the increase in global demand for seafood has put great pressure on fish stocks, making overfishing one of the most important ecological issues of today. Many fish species are close to extinction. Also, current fishing methods have many negative effects on marine biodiversity, such as the destruction of sea-floor habitats and by-catch of other species such as dolphins and turtles. Aquaculture has negative side effects as well, including destruction of mangroves, water pollution in fish basins, and the need for wild-caught fish as a base for fishmeal. Sustainable fisheries is an important political and societal theme in the Netherlands and worldwide. For example, it is one of the focus areas of the Dutch international biodiversity policy, and many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are active in protecting the oceans and stopping overfishing. Regulations to conserve marine biodiversity have limited effectiveness, as much of the fish are caught in international waters, and policies are not strict enough or are not being enforced effectively. Moreover, many retailers, traders, and fisheries do not see the urgency and lobby against implementing serious quotas or expanding existing marine reserves. At the same time, leading retailers and traders are striving to become more sustainable. They are developing a different type of intervention aimed at creating a market for sustainable fish, by influencing consumer preferences. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the most well-known certifier of sustainable fishing practices, and their influence is growing in volume of fish certified.1 MSC was founded in 1997 by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever, with the aim to secure future supplies of sustainable fish. In 1999, MSC became an independent certification organization. MSC certification requires fisheries to meet three principles: sustainable fish stocks, minimal environmental impact, and effective management. The fishery supply chain includes primary producers (fishermen), processors, traders (import and export), and retailers (supermarkets and fishmongers). Seafood production is complex, with many different Correspondence: Ard Hordijk, CHE Synnervate, Postbus 9655, 3506 GR Utrecht, the Netherlands. E-mail: ard@ humanemergence.nl. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 70–91

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players and sub-markets with big differences in size, level of organization, and willingness to become more sustainable. Within the sector awareness is rising that increasing the level of sustainability is possible and necessary. In the Netherlands, average revenues in the fisheries sector is around €3.6 billion and the sector employs about 14,000 people. Despite previous and current initiatives in the Netherlands, the European Union, and other regions, marine biodiversity is in severe decline. More effort to enhance sustainability is needed. Besides starting new initiatives, much can be gained by increased alignment of current efforts and designing new projects to support and enhance existing dynamics. To achieve this, it is important to understand and take into account the underlying patterns and dynamics in the fishery system.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to identify strategic improvement options in order to increase the sustainability of fishery supply chains. It focuses on change interventions that are directed at changing the behavior of actors in and around the supply chain. Our research did not focus on possible new government regulations. There are many interventions possible, but the objective is to identify those interventions that are strategic. We identify an intervention as strategic if it takes into account the underlying patterns and change dynamics in fishery supply chains. In this article, the market for fisheries and their supply chains will be primarily assessed as a complex social system. Many change initiatives mainly focus on the external, objective characteristics of systems (e.g., behavior of consumers, market developments, fisheries stock information, and government regulations). Successful interventions, however, largely depend on people and the interaction between them. Within a complex social system different actors behave according to their interests and worldviews; they build relationships and collaborate with others. This article specifically addresses the interior aspects of the system and the interaction between people and structures to shed new light on change dynamics and possible tipping points. In the following section we will start with a discussion of the underlying conceptual framework, based on complexity and chaos theory, systems thinking, and Integral Theory. Based on the insights from this analysis, a set of intervention options will be described that are intended to incorporate and make use of the underlying dynamics of the system.

Conceptual Framework Integral Theory will be used to describe and understand the fishery system. Integral Theory assumes that a complex social system should be looked at from different perspectives. Wilber (2001) distinguishes two different axes: interior/exterior and individual/collective. By combining these axes, four different perspectives can be distinguished (intentional, behavioral, cultural, and social): “I” (Upper-Left quadrant), “It” (UpperRight quadrant), “We” (Lower-Left quadrant), and “Its” (Lower-Right quadrant) (Wilber 2001). According to Wilber, sustainable change in a system is only possible if changes occur in each of these quadrants. In many change initiatives the focus is on the exterior, while a large part of the key for success lies looking at both the interiors and the exteriors and the alignment between them.

Levels of Development A second important aspect of complex social systems is developmental levels. Wilber (2001) argues that a more sophisticated understanding of developmental processes, particularly in the Left-Hand, interior quadrants, is important. He contends that the exterior quadrants develop toward greater complexity and the interior quadrants toward greater depth (of consciousness). Each successive level (or stage) of development not only surpasses (transcends) the previous stage, but includes all of the previous stages within its embrace. This patJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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tern of “transcend and include” is a fundamental feature of how people, cultures, and systems develop. One useful developmental model is Spiral Dynamics (Beck & Cowan 2006). Spiral Dynamics describes levels of consciousness as adaptive intelligences that come up as a response to specific external circumstances or problems. Once these problems begin to be solved, energy frees up. New problems with a higher complexity often arise, spurring new adaptive intelligences. Marcel van Marrewijk and Marco Werre (2003) have translated the Spiral Dynamics model into four different orientations on sustainability: 1.  Compliance-driven: sustainability at this level consists of providing welfare to society, within the limits of regulations from the rightful authorities. In addition, organizations might respond to charity and stewardship considerations. The motivation for sustainability is that it is perceived as a duty and obligation, or “the just way to act.” 2.  Profit-driven: sustainability at this level consists of the integration of social, ethical and ecological aspects into business operations and decision-making, provided it contributes to the financial bottom line. The motivation for sustainability is a business case: sustainability is promoted when it is profitable, for example because of an improved reputation in various markets (customers/employees/shareholders). 3.  Caring: sustainability consists of balancing economic, social, and ecological concerns, which are important in and of themselves. Sustainability initiatives go beyond legal compliance and beyond profit considerations. The motivation for sustainability is that human potential, social responsibility, and care for the planet are important as such. 4.  Synergistic: sustainability consists of a search for well-balanced, functional solutions creating value in the economic, social, and ecologic realms of corporate performance in a synergistic, win-together approach with all relevant stakeholders. The motivation for sustainability is that it is important in and of itself, especially because it is recognized as being the inevitable direction progress takes.

Translation and Transformation Interventions have a larger potential for impact if they take into account the different orientations to sustainability. From a developmental view, two basic interventions are proposed: 1) translation and 2) transformation. Translation refers to ensuring that an intervention is aligned with the current needs, interests, and worldviews/drivers of the stakeholders involved. Transformation refers to those interventions that challenge the current way of thinking and enable new ways of thinking to emerge. If a certain orientation is expressed fully and addresses the problems it sees, that also leads to surplus energy for creating a new orientation. In this sense, translation makes transformation possible.

Double S-curve Model Another important piece of the puzzle on development of systems concerns change dynamics. For this, we use the “double S-curve” model based on chaos and complexity theory (Eijnatten 2004; Peters, 2004).2 The underlying principle of the S-curve model is the assumption that if a specific way of working is successful, it will grow. Contrary to some mechanistic models, however, at some point in time it will run into borders and growth will slow down and eventually stop. Some people will notice the flaws before others, and start to develop new ways of working and thinking. These new ways of thinking can be related to new levels of complexity of thinking and links to the levels described in the Spiral Dynamics model. By introducing fundamentally new ways of working, a new S-curve arises. The first phase of the new system is one of trial and 72

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More complex borders

?

Time

Now Figure 1. Illustration of the double S-curve model.

error. Many experiments will fail and turn out not to be durable. In some cases the new system dies a premature death. But in other cases, from these experiments robust new ways of working and thinking will emerge and lead to the growth of a new system that better fits the current circumstances. The dynamics of the double S-curve model are represented in Figure 1. The double S-curve model makes differentiation between existing interventions possible. It allows the researcher to distinguish between an intervention that is aimed at prolonging an existing curve (by doing more of the same or by making small adjustments) and one that is aimed at developing a radical new way of thinking and doing. In a period of transition, the question is not just how to develop new ways of working, but also how to manage both the old curve and the new curve at the same time. It should be noticed that different people will hold different views on whether or not borders are in sight and thus for the urgency to develop new ways of acting. Another addition is the concept of stavolution, which points to the notion that different issues and themes go through their own development. This notion will be made clear in the Results section when it is applied to sustainable fishery supply chains.

Methods Within action research, actors in the field are actively involved in the research project and are addressed as “co-researchers” rather than “research subjects.” Studies that use this method first of all seek to catalyze change in the system in which they operate on a daily basis. Secondarily, by actually stepping into the system, researchers gain an understanding of the change mechanisms of the system being evaluated. Building a relationship with “co-researchers,” including iterative cycles of dialogue and shared meaning-making, allows researchers to influence the direction taken and are key to a successful action research project. Our research started with explorative desk research to determine the scope (which was set to Dutch market parties) and to get a first feeling of current issues. Based on the desk research, a literature survey, and our network within the field, a selection of pro-active organizations and individuals in the non-profit and business community was made. In total, 26 people were interviewed (Table 1). For the interviews, a semistructured approach as used in which underlying interests and values were specifically addressed. We also made use of the information from prior research into the Dutch flatfish fisheries (Hordijk, 2010). We analyzed the interviews and documents from a four-quadrant perspective: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Stakeholder Group

Number of Interviewees

Fishery companies Certification organizations Financial institutions Environmental NGOs Social NGOs Retailers Ministry of Development Consultant Restaurants

3 2 4 6 3 2 2 1 2

Table 1. List of interviewees in this study.

1.  Intention: the interests and worldviews of the stakeholders, including the four orientations on sustainability (Upper-Left quadrant) 2.  Behavior: the current actions and behavior of stakeholders (Upper-Right quadrant) 3.  Relationships: the relationships between the different stakeholders, how they talk about each other, how they interact and the level of trust between them (LowerLeft quadrant) 4.  Systems: the issues, trends, and systems from a socioeconomic, biological/ecosystem, and legal perspective (Lower-Right quadrant) The analysis provided us with two important types of information: a general overview of the current state of the system and the change dynamics, and a gross list of issues and themes that seemed to be relevant for sustainable fishery supply chains (see Appendix A). On the basis of the gross list, we made a short list of the most relevant issues with a trusted group of interviewees. Using the double S-curve model, for each of the most relevant issues we made an analysis of 1) how far they progressed in their own development; 2) how the different issues related to each other; and 3) how they related to the overall development of sustainable fishery supply chains. We discussed the selected issues including our analysis of their development with the co-researchers, which gave us further insight into the relevance of an issue for the stakeholders and provided further depth into those issues. For each of the major issues translation options, in which the option fits the interiors (specifically the interests and worldviews) of the relevant stakeholders, and transformation options, in which the intervention provides a challenge, incentive for development of the interiors (specifically the interests and worldviews) of the relevant stakeholders. Our analysis and strategic improvement options were further explored in a multi-stakeholder workshop. The aim was to provide more insight into the dynamics of the issues and further development of strategic improvement options. After that the workshop, some improvement options were discussed and further developed in direct meetings with two or three actors involved. In essence, we loosely followed a hermeneutical approach of shared meaning-making among the stakeholders in the system in different iterations and using different methods (i.e., semi-structured interviews, analysis, several interactive multi-stakeholder sessions).

Results Four different types of results were identified: 74

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Insight into interests and worldviews of main stakeholders Insight into the main barriers and opportunities from an all-quadrant perspective The change dynamics of the system in terms of the double S-curve models Based on the results one to three, strategic improvement options

Stakeholder

Fishermen*

Government*

Processor/ Wholesaler

Environmental NGO

Mainstream Proactive Retail

Consumer*

Horeca Foodservice/Catering Financial Sector

Interests

Worldviews

• Income • Continuity of company, minimizing costs • Personal/cultural: continuing family business; having freedom in fisheries activities • Good enabling conditions: workable government regulations; uniform control mechanisms; level playing field; protection from import non EU countries; limited responsibilities; high-quality personnel; stable government regulations; reputation of the sector

• Being a fisher is a strong part of identity • Compliance-driven: Only respect for those that are seen to be the rightful authorities (for religious fishermen God and sometimes government) • On board strong bonding between personnel • Nature is seen to be a mystery • Niche: some fishermen with caring sustainability orientation proactive in getting MSC certification

• Serving the interests of Dutch society • Limited costs of regulation, efficiency: clear rules; limited and efficient enforcement

• Compliance-driven: manage and comply with European rules • Care-driven in government employees: stimulate sustainable fisheries

• • • •

Selling more sustainable fish at a good price Active NGOs Aware consumers Marketers of retail integrate sustainability into their marketing strategy • Competitors also become active while maintaining a competitive advantage • Access to fisheries resources

• Sense of pride in profession • Intrinsic belief in sustainability and building sustainable relationships that meet the needs of all stakeholders • Challenging the whole system • Conclusion: Caring and emerging systemic orientation, working in a profit-driven market environment

• Healthy ecosystems • Contribute to transformation of markets and supply chains • Access to funding from donors and governments

• Caring orientations with emerging synergistic perspective • Questions around choosing for sustainability only or supporting small steps toward more sustainable supply chains

• • • •

• Orientation is mainly profit-driven, avoiding reputation risks • Limited opportunities are being sought • Emerging examples of care-driven and synergistic orientation

Protecting brand and reputation Preventing vulnerability to the actions of NGOs Need for control over the supply chain Need for flexibility to safeguard reputation enforcement

• High-quality products; variation in assortment • Favorable price • Trustworthy information

• Different orientations (from compliance-driven to care-driven [cultural creatives]) • More care-driven consumers in Western European markets than in Southern European markets and less in Asian markets

• Quality of fish • Long-term relationship with supplier

• Mainly profit-driven orientation • Some niche care-driven examples

• Reputation/access to clients

• Mainly profit-driven orientation

• Good reputation

• Mainly profit-driven orientation: managing risks (mainly reputational and sometimes operational)

Table 2. Interests and worldviews of stakeholders. *Not interviewed in this study. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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IND IV IDUA L

IN TE RIOR

EX TE R I O R

• Overexploitation is becoming obvious to fishermen, consumers, and buyers • Consumer awareness is high in Western Europe • Retail brands are vulnerable to reputation

I

• There are many sustainability initiatives with small-scale fisheries worldwide • Carrefour and other large retailers are investing in Southeastern Asia (consumer awareness might rise, "modern retailing")

IT

C O L L EC T I VE

WE ITS • There are many collaborations between NGOs, businesses, and government

• There is market involvement and partnerships • EU requirements are pushing governments to set up monitoring and control initiatives • Market exists for sustainable fish • Pre-assessment for MSC functions as a gap analysis tool • Market mechanism: scarcity ➯ high price ➯ less demand ➯ more stocks • Security of supply is starting to become a problem, so action becomes more urgent • Sustainable small-scale fisheries create social and economical value • Development of standard for aquaculture that includes social aspects • Input efficiency of farmed (vegetarian) fish

Figure 2. Opportunities for more sustainable fishery supply chains.

From the desk research and interactions with study participants we developed an understanding of the interests and orientations of the main stakeholders. These results are represented in Table 2. Secondly, we conducted an all-quadrant analysis of the key opportunities and barriers for more sustainable fishery supply chains, as seen by stakeholders. These analyses are represented in Figures 2 and 3. When stakeholders were asked what they saw as the key barrier to more sustainable supply chains, the response was mainly the relationships and collaboration (i.e., Lower-Left quadrant issues). The main issues were 1) a lack of action and a lot of talking in roundtable meetings; 2) a lack of coordinated involvement of all stakeholders; 3) a strong, singular focus on personal and organizational interests and no overarching collective goals; and 4) unclear roles and responsibilities. Third, from the different interactions with stakeholders a shared understanding emerged of two important developments of the current system, which might seem contradictory but take place at the same time considering the double S-curve model. The first is the growth of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and the second is the appearance of limits to growth of MSC. This might require a new model that is either complementary to MSC, to allow for further growth of this model, or as the next stage in the achievement of a sustainable fishery. Only time will tell what this tension will evolve into and whether the released energy of the current MSC approach will result in the rise of a new, more complex system. 76

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INDI V I DUA L

I N TER I O R

E XT ERI OR

• Government represents only the interests of the industry • Consumers interested in sustainable fish is still niche in Western Europe • Fear amongst fishermen to “skip the middlemen” • Each stakeholder only aims for their own mandates and interests • The gap between MSC and no sustainable fish is too large for retail and wholesalers • Lack of awareness of sustainable fisheries in the foodservice industry; hotels and restaurants; fishmongers • Focus of NGOs on what is not sustainable instead of supporting what is becoming more sustainable (i.e., cup half-empty vs. half-full) I

• Consumers not willing to pay extra • Nobody wants to pay the bill • No demand for sustainable seafood in Asia; Southern Europe • Chinese and Russian trawlers catch all fish off the coast of Guinea-Bissau and other places • Consumer choice (confusion, high price, different labels) • Middlemen do not give access to the information they have • Retail does not invest in making supply chains more sustainable, only lays down requirements • Lack of pressure on wholesalers and fisheries from the financial sector, including a financial analysis of overfished situations

IT

C OL LEC T IVE

WE ITS • Lack of effective collaboration • Lack of action and a lot of talking in roundtables • Lack of coordinated involvement of all stakeholders • Limited exchange of information and lessons learnt worldwide, which leads to inefficiencies or “reinventing the wheel”

• No overarching collective goals • Lack of money for small-scale fisheries to become certified • Lack of knowledge and information of small-scale fisheries on stocks • No management system for small-scale fisheries • Limited control mechanisms, stock data is not interpreted consistently • Social economic value that is created is not valued in the market • Fiscal dependency of fishermen in the supply chain (the middlemen) • No requirements on the quality of the fish within ecological trademarks • Health aspects related to consumption of fish (accumulation of toxins) • Role of fish in feeding the world

Figure 3. Barriers to more sustainable fishery supply chains.

MSC is Growing Several of the issues observed throughout our research are related to the growth of the MSC label (Appendix A). MSC has proven its raison d’être and is widely accepted to be the standard concerning sustainable wild fish. It is the only certificate recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).3 At the time of writing, about 7% of the fish caught worldwide is certified according to MSC standards.4 Considering the fact that MSC considers its aims met only once all fish are being caught according to its standards, there is still a long way to go. However, fisheries are increasingly interested in entering into the certification process. This trend is strongly influenced by large retailers placing stricter requirements on the fisheries. To a lesser degree, the patterns described below for MSC also apply to other forms of eco-labeling such as “traffic light systems.” These systems divide fish species in categories of “first choice,” “second choice,” and “avoid.” An example of such a system is the Dutch VISWijzer.5 Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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In addition to the growth of MSC, we also see that the MSC model and eco-labeling run into several limits that will need to be addressed in the future. Examples are the accessibility of the label to small-scale fisheries, the accumulation of toxins in fishmeat, and the bigger issue of the need for protein to feed the growing world population. Based on the above evaluation, we developed strategic improvement options for a selected number of issues. First, we will describe the possibilities related to the growth of MSC with a focus on retail, restaurants, and the financial sector. Then, in the Limits to Growth section, we will address some of the limits it will run into, including the role of the small-scale fisheries, toxins, and need to feed the world. For a selected number of the issues we will provide a description and propose strategic improvement options that 1) fit the current interests and worldviews of stakeholders as described in Table 2 (translation), 2) provide a challenge to enable further development (transformation), and 3) suggest a natural next step for its development, using double S-curve logic (Fig. 4).

More complex

Unsustainable fisheries, government only

• Supermarkets • Restaurants • Foodservice • Financial sector • Quality of product • Aquaculture • Consumers, Southern Europe • Consumers, Asia

Birth of MSC 1. Growth of MSC

Now

Limits of sight

?

• Integrating social issues in the supply chain including small scale fisheries • Feeding the world • Health and accumulation of toxic substances

2. Limits to growth and new opportunites

Time

Figure 4. Relation between the growth of MSC and the need for a new model.

Intervention Options to Allow Growth of MSC The analysis of some of the underlying MSC sectors and stakeholder groups go through their own development and influence each other. Figure 5 illustrates and gives an example of the notion of stavolution, indicating the mutual effects of developments on several sub-issues. The biggest challenge for MSC now is to manage the growth of the label and to build on its successes. To achieve that, more interest in certification needs to be mobilized. Simultaneously, the integrity of the standard should be maintained, both for the certification of large-scale fisheries and the fisheries where major investments are needed in order to meet the standards. The fact that MSC is increasingly being critiqued by nature conservation NGOs and that scientists are being involved in the set-up of the MSC Council can also be considered to be a sign of maturation.6 The growth of the demand for MSC certification depends on developments in related issues such as the awareness among consumers in Western markets; the interest in Southern European markets and from there to Asian markets; developments in different sales points (foodservice industry, retail, restaurants, hotels, and among fishmongers); and last but not least the developments in the financial sector regarding integration of 78

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Stavolution: Simultaneous development of issues that influence each other

Consumers, W. Europe MSC

Consumers, Southern Europe

Financial institutions Restaurants Consumers, Asia Retail (influenced by issues in other product categories)

Figure 5. Underlying developments of MSC per sector/stakeholder.

environmental and social aspects into their decision-making processes. In all of these advances, the development of the interior quadrants, specifically the Upper-Left quadrant (sustainability orientation of consumers and the different business actors), is key. We will further address the developments and strategic improvement options in retail, restaurants, and the financial sector. The issue of sustainable fish in the food-service industry and fishmongers were not researched in detail. The awareness among consumers in South Europe and Asian markets is a very relevant issue for further growth of the MSC and other eco-labels, but fell outside the scope of this research. We do, however, recommend further research into these markets.

Retail If we look at the different points of sale, we can conclude that the largest amount of fish is being sold through supermarkets. Large retailers are seen as the most powerful link of the supply chain, as they are in direct contact with consumers and determine which fish species are being offered (so-called “choice editing”). This makes large retailers an interesting stakeholder group to accomplish further growth of MSC-certified and sustainable fish. If retail becomes more active and poses stricter sustainability demands, they will put pressure on their suppliers and further along in the supply chain on the fishermen to become more sustainable. Protecting their reputation and brand is an important driver for many retail companies to take activities with regard to sustainable fish. The revenue share of fish for retail is not large—only 1% to 2%. However, sustainability of fish stocks is relatively easy to communicate to consumers, which is one of the reasons why environmental advocacy organizations target retail companies.7 In order to protect their brand image, retailers need better insight into the different sustainability issues regarding fish and tools to control the supply chain. Good key performance indicators are needed to be able to answer critical questions from advocacy groups. As one of our interviewees explained: “Just large enough to protect the brand image, but not so large that change would require too much investments or risktaking.” From the above we conclude that the main sustainability orientation for Dutch retailers is a mix of compliance-driven and profit-driven orientation. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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A strategic improvement option that has a translation focus (i.e., fits the profit- and compliance-driven orientation) would support supermarkets with tools that protect brand image and enable them to be as flexible as possible. A good example of this tack is the use of traffic light systems (Dutch supermarkets like Super de Boer, Jumbo, and Albert Heijn are using traffic light systems in addition to MSC).8 Each market has some version of a policy that aims to increase their “green list” share and aims to stimulate fisheries to develop action plans to shift from red to orange, and from orange to green list species. Further use of and development of (also inclusion of new issues) these traffic light systems need to be supported.9 Dutch supermarkets are not sustainable frontrunners, internationally. Retail chains such as Coop, Carrefour, and Walmart show higher sustainability efforts and do not only place strict sustainability criteria on their suppliers (as Dutch supermarkets mainly do), but also support them in the transition process.10 More and more pressure is being put on supermarkets to not only demand sustainable fish from suppliers and base decision-making on brand image protection, but to also play a more active role and accept sustainability as a central issue. In terms of a sustainability orientation, this means a shift from profit-driven toward a caring and synergistic orientation. This means, among other things, that retailers need to work with suppliers to improve the supply chain and consider how to use their marketing strength to stimulate a more sustainable seafood sector (e.g., by telling a positive story about sustainable fish instead of managing their reputation). This is part of a broader movement within corporate sustainability across all sectors, in which companies take societal sustainability issues as a starting point and from there develop business models and activities that create value for society and for the companies. In a recent article, Michael Porter and Mark Kramer (2011) call this “shared value creation” and Wayne Visser (2011) calls it “Corporate Social Responsibility 2.0.” In terms of the double S-curve model, supermarkets are at the end of the profit-driven brand image curve, and a new S-curve of “shared value creation” is emerging. This new orientation is not embraced by all actors in the system, but frontrunners are experiencing a need to develop new ways of thinking and doing. A great deal of experimentation and learning is still needed before this way of working can become mainstream for the retail sector. A strategic improvement option for Dutch supermarkets with transformational aims (i.e., making the shift toward a caring and synergistic sustainability orientation) would look at fish, a product with a rather developed sustainability policy, as an opportunity for experiments for retail in this new curve, which could serve as an example. Lessons learnt could then be used to take steps in other products of the product portfolio. Some Dutch supermarkets have already started with small steps in which they take the example of international supermarkets Coop, Carrefour, and Walmart to cooperate more with their suppliers (e.g., Albert Heijn with their “Vis van dichtbij” [fish from close-by] initiative)11 and niche-players such as Marqt and Landmarkt. More experimentation is needed, and it should be ensured that lessons learned are made visible and available to other stakeholders in the field.

Restaurants Foodservice is another interesting point of sale. It is estimated that 33% of total fish consumption in the Netherlands takes place outside of the home.12 Furthermore, restaurants can have an educational and awarenessraising function. Although we found no research to back this assumption, many interviewees mention that what consumers eat in restaurants influences their buying behavior in supermarkets. Maybe even more importantly, chefs have a great focus on and knowledge of the quality of fish. Their need for high-quality fish could serve as a challenge for those organizations that promote sustainable seafood. If the notion of quality can also be connected to responsible fishing, the proposition of sustainable fish will become richer and broader, which in turn will facilitate sustainable fish into becoming a more mainstream idea. In the Netherlands there have been several roundtable meetings and campaigns to stimulate restaurants to put more sustainable seafood on their menus (e.g., meetings organized by Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, 80

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World Wildlife Fund, and frontrunners such as Restaurant Fifteen and Figi). MSC has developed a new online methodology that makes the process of certification easier and cheaper for restaurants. Supplier Jan van As developed a concept in which the use of fish in their spawning periods are being excluded—“Vis en seizoen” (fish and the season).13 A World Wildlife Fund campaign called Duurzame vis op de kaart (sustainable fish on the menu) aimed to motivate consumers to ask for sustainable fish.14 In spite of these activities, the development of sustainable seafood in restaurants is still at a very early stage in the new S-curve. It is not known how many restaurants offer sustainable fish on their menu, either using the VISwijzer or Vis & Seizoen notions. Also, only nine restaurants hold an MSC-certificate. These restaurants probably already have an intrinsic care for the environment (i.e., a “caring orientation” to sustainability), and want to show that there are alternatives even though it does not pay back in commercial terms. Other restaurants that favor a compliance orientation have not been willing or able to experiment with more expensive sustainable seafood in our current economically challenging times. The profit-driven orientation does not receive much challenge, as restaurants have not been not confronted with reputation risks and usually have limited market opportunities (i.e., “consumers do not ask for sustainable fish”). One of the possible intervention strategies would be to better understand the interests, values, and considerations of chefs to include or exclude sustainable fish in their menus and align strategic improvement options with those (translation strategy). From this assumption, two possibilities came up: 1) improve the quality perception, and 2) enable chefs to maintain their current relationship with their suppliers. During our research many people expressed the view that the main interest of the chef is the quality and price of the fish. Although open to dispute, most chefs assume that day-fresh fish is of better quality. The first MSC-certified products that were brought on the market in the Netherlands were not day-fresh and sometimes of limited quality. Since then things have improved and day-fresh products will soon be available. However, MSCcertified products still have a negative quality image. Secondly, chefs value their long-term relationship with suppliers, so if their current supplier does not supply MSC-certified fish, they will be hesitant to switch to another supplier. Seaweb, a British NGO, seems to have followed a strategy of aligning with a profit-driven orientation. Based on insight into the concerns and interests and values of chefs, Seaweb has developed the successful “Good Catch Programme.”15 This program includes workshops and field visits organized for and by chefs; practical information to make it easier to serve sustainable seafood; promotion of best practices through the sponsorship of the Good Catch Award at the National Fish and Chip Awards; and supporting young chefs and catering colleges through the UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year Competition. It now has a network of more than 2,000 chefs. The workshops particularly seem to have connected individual chefs that have an interest in sustainable seafood into a community.16 This has enabled the chefs to learn from each other and to take more action, which increases the visibility of the new curve for the chefs themselves and to the outside world. The recently launched Jan van As–led initiative Vis & Seizoen includes the Dutch traffic light system for consumers (VISwijzer) and MSC. The main barrier for this initiative is that it is only accessible for clients of Jan van As, but the initiative is exploring the potential for working with other suppliers. A more transformational approach toward a caring sustainability orientation would be to confront chefs with the current situation of fisheries and ask them about the choices they make and values they hold in their private lives regarding sustainability, and stimulate and inspire them to apply those to their daily work. This intervention has not been put into practice and is based on the assumption that chefs in the context of their personal lives have started to develop a caring sustainability orientation.

Food Service Industry For organizations in the Dutch foodservice industry there is a growing market demand for sustainable food products and with that for sustainable seafood. For example, the Dutch government has set strict sustainabilJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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ity criteria in their purchasing policies.17 Also, an increasing number of multinational businesses and larger companies mention requirements in their CSR policies regarding catering and food served in their cafeterias. The larger foodservice companies in the Netherlands, like Albron and Sodexco, are working toward sustainable food concepts.18 Although not researched in depth, the main driver seems to be a profit-driven sustainability orientation.

Financial Sector Many mainstream banks and investors are in the course of developing social responsible investments policies and looking at ways to integrate “environmental, social and governance” criteria into their decisionmaking processes. This is mainly driven by reputation considerations, pressure from civil society and some commercial opportunities. The most well-known initiative is the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, which has over 850 signatories with approximately $25 trillion (U.S.) worth of assets under management.19 Generally, it can be stated that most seafood companies are privately owned. Only a few of them are listed on a stock exchange. Provision of balance sheet credit and credit for specific investments are the most used services that banks provide to these companies. The seafood sector is considered by the financial sector as a niche market and very few multinational banks have developed specific expertise or departments in this area. Usually, fish companies deal with regional or local offices of these banks or with smaller banks. Banks that have built up a larger expertise and market share in this area are for example the Dutch Rabobank, DNb Nor, former Iceland banks such as Glitnir, and other Scandinavian banks. The financial sector could put pressure on fisheries (upstream), fish-processing companies, trading companies, wholesalers, and retail (downstream) to become more sustainable (e.g., by formulating stricter sustainability criteria for their credits and investments or by addressing sustainability in their engagement practices). From a financial perspective, there seems to be a clear case for investors as to why fisheries that operate in an overfishing situation make for less interesting investment opportunities. Those fisheries have to put more effort (more costs) into catching less fish (less revenues). On the other hand, in practice there are many reasons why overfishing does not motivate investors to make different choices (e.g., the short-term perspective of investors and asset owners and a lack of knowledge and information). This is even more true for banks that provide credit, whose main interest is to ensure that the company is able to pay back the interest and loan. So overfishing only becomes a risk if the company is close to collapse or bankruptcy. If a company can avoid risks from overfishing, for example by moving to other areas, this usually is considered a sufficient financial guarantee for an investor. From a corporate social responsibility perspective, more and more financial institutions are formulating sustainability guidelines regarding credit provision to fisheries. In some cases, concrete sustainability criteria have been formulated. Currently, for those banks it is difficult to assess companies against those criteria, mainly due to a lack of information and capacity. Most information available is limited to fish species and the regions in which they are caught, and not to the companies themselves. Some fisheries and certainly most fish-processing companies, trading companies, and wholesalers have many different species in their assortment with diverse sustainability performances. In addition, within financial institutions there is limited time and capacity available for in-depth assessment. Moreover, sustainability is only part of the whole creditprovision process. A translation option (i.e., aligned with the profit-driven sustainability orientation of mainstream financial institutions) would be to overcome these barriers and make it easier for banks to assess their seafood industry clients. In practical terms, use could be made of the data gathered in the different traffic light systems. These systems have been introduced in different countries to inform consumers of the sustainability of fish species. For more professional buyers of fish (e.g., those working in restaurants or other foodservice busi82

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nesses), more complete and elaborate manuals or guidelines have been developed. The traffic light system is based on detailed information about the current situation of many fisheries around the world. This could be very useful information for the financial sector, but it lacks specificity, does not rate companies, and only refers to the current situation and not to future developments. In the current financial crisis, many people and organizations such as the international Occupy movement and the Dutch Sustainable Finance Lab feel that the current financial system is not working properly and that the financial sector in the future should play a more serving role, and should be proactive regarding the development of a more sustainable world.20 It would be interesting to explore with all relevant stakeholders what that would mean for the role of the financial sector in sustainable fisheries supply chains (transformation option).

Limits to Growth of MSC During our research process, issues like integrating social issues in the supply chain, population growth, and public health (i.e., accumulation of toxic substances in fish) arose. We have the feeling that MSC is currently not sufficiently addressing these issues and new ways of thinking and doing may be needed (a new S-curve). The issue of feeding the world was not researched in detail, but concerns the question of what type of food “the world” should focus on in order to feed the growing population with the least negative environmental and social impact. One of the solutions would be to produce animal protein as efficiently as possible. In Lester Brown’s Plan B (2003), it is concluded that fish catch has leveled off as a good source of protein and that herbivorous farmed fish species could play an important role in feeding the world efficiently.21 Another issue is that of accumulation of toxic substances in fish, which undermines the claim that fish consumption is healthy. According to several research studies, fish can contain high levels of mercury, lead, and industrial pollutants like PCB, DDT, and dioxins.22 High levels of these substances in the human body can cause several diseases. This issue has received limited attention in the debate on sustainable fisheries and eco-labels so far. In the future, organizations active in sustainable fisheries will need to further investigate this issue.

Small-scale Fisheries The founders of MSC were primarily focused on large-scale fisheries in Western countries. The logic behind this focus seems clear: Western parties have a big share in overfishing, can be relatively easily addressed, and have the capacity to make improvements on sustainability. However, the combined impact of the many smallscale fisheries scattered around the world is substantial, with their estimated share of worldwide catch at 45% (Kelleher, 2010). To achieve MSC ambitions, all fisheries are expected to adhere to its standards, and small fisheries that export to Western markets are confronted with strict requirements posed by buyers. For many small fisheries, the regulations are complex and costs make certification unattainable. Many of these small fisheries are involved in multispecies fishing, for which the MSC-procedure may be less suitable. Another barrier seems to be the lack of active government involvement. In many countries, formal management plans are lacking, as are reliable data archives, monitoring systems, and protocols. To address the barrier of sufficient quantitative data, MSC has developed the “risk-based framework.” This framework in principle can be used in all situations where scientific quantitative data are lacking, but was specifically designed for small fisheries in developing countries. The design is based on the results of seven pilot tests and, typical for the MSC approach, includes the involvement of several stakeholders. At the time of writing, according to MSC two small-scale fisheries have been certified using this framework and several fisheries are participating in pre-assessments and full-assessments against MSC standards. Some interviewees judge that the pilot organizations have not been successful at all. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Social Aspects of Small-scale Fisheries NGOs with a focus on nature conservation are recognizing the importance of addressing social aspects within their activities, partly as a means to reach their ecological goals. The degree to which nature can be protected is to a large extent dependent on human behavior. People will only protect nature if they are able to satisfy their needs and meet their interests while doing so. Organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature take an approach based on the concept of “livelihoods.” These organizations stress the fact that healthy levels of biodiversity and properly functioning ecosystems provide our societies and communities with water, food, medicine, and energy and are therefore essential for their livelihoods. The activity of small-scale fisheries forms a substantial component of many local economies. In addition, they provide local communities with essential nutrition. Because of the importance of the fisheries sector, several initiatives and programs have been initiated within the international development aid sector to support local fishermen and raise the living standards in their communities. This is sometimes referred to as the “slow lane” in comparison to the “fast lane” of large-scale fisheries pursuing ecological labels. Some of the NGOs involved in this line of activity are critical of labels for sustainable fisheries, which have a singular focus on ecological aspects. In 2008, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization organized an international conference in Bangkok on the theme of small-scale fisheries.23 During this conference the call was made upon the Food and Agriculture Organization to reject labels for sustainable fish that disregard social aspects. MSC has been criticized for installing a barrier for international trade because its standards are less suitable to and accessible for small-scale fisheries. During the same conference a call was made to develop more regionally based certificates, which incorporate both social and ecological criteria. It is questionable, however, whether a diversification of labels would still be comprehensible to the consumers at the end of the value chain. Local markets are also an important selling point for small-scale fisheries. Especially in countries with an upcoming middle class, the demand for fish is increasing. Local markets are usually less stringent on sustainability criteria and the added value of the MSC certificate is limited. It is also interesting to note that social aspects had a prominent role in the development of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which was founded in 2009.24 The ASC intends to become the standard for sustainable fish farms. Although there are big differences between wild and farmed fish (e.g., aquaculture is much more comparable to other farming practices so raising the sustainability standards requires major investments), the way in which ASC integrates social aspects could be valuable for MSC and other standards for sustainable wild-catch fisheries.

Interconnectedness of Large-scale Fisheries and Small-scale Fisheries As mentioned above, many small-scale fisheries consider the MSC certificate to be a trade barrier. They feel especially marginalized because most certificates are being granted to larger, more industrially organized fisheries. However, for large Western fisheries and traders with serious ambitions regarding the sustainability of their activities, the interconnectedness between their work and small-scale fisheries becomes apparent. This is made very clear by fishing activities in Lake Victoria. Several of the larger, internationally operating companies active in this lake are granted a certificate (in this case Naturland). At the same time, small-scale fisheries operate in the same area, catching undersized fish to be sold on local markets or used as a base for fishmeal in fish farming activities. The risk of overfishing the natural resources of Lake Victoria as a whole is continued, which also endangers the reputation of Western fishing companies and even puts them at risk of losing their certificates. The interconnectedness between ecological and social aspects of a sustainable value chain of fisheries 84

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is apparent when placed in the context of international development. We also observe interdependence between industrial large-scale fisheries improving the sustainability of their operations and small-scale fisheries being supported from a socioeconomic perspective. This means that the successes of organizations focusing on ecological aspects and the ones focusing on social aspects are mutually dependent. Many parties consider this issue to be very relevant. Multiple initiatives are being developed and there are still many “unknowns” regarding the exact nature of the interconnectedness and the way to approach them. We have noticed an openness toward a common search for better answers. However, there still seems to be a tendency to approach the issue from a single, dominant perspective (either ecological or social) or to consider the other perspective as a nuisance. New ways of thinking and doing are needed that integrate both social and ecological aspects, and the needs of both the industrial and the small-scale fisheries. To achieve this, a great deal of experimentation will be needed.

Discussion With our action research–based method, we saw ourselves not as objective external researchers, but as part of the system we were trying to influence. For that, we identified the strategic improvement options using both an integral systems analysis and dialogue in different iterations with stakeholders in the system. The way we influenced the system turned out to be different than we expected beforehand. The overall and complete analysis of interventions options was of limited interest to stakeholders and seen to be largely our own perspective and rather conceptual. Also, the extent to which the new intervention options were identified and adopted has been limited.25 Our influence was much more that stakeholders, through our interaction with them, developed a better understanding of what they were doing themselves by giving insight into the underlying patterns of the broader system and the relationship of their interventions to other interventions. The quadrants and levels of the AQAL model and the double S-curve-model provided us a way to go beyond a simple list of different possible improvement options, and understand and communicate how the options relate to developments in the whole system and to each other. The double S-curve model gave us the opportunity to simultaneously see the value of interventions aiming at the growth of a certain system (in this case MSC) and of interventions aiming to go beyond that system. Integral Theory provides sustainability researchers a means to understand the complexity and depth of issues in each quadrant (Tissot, 2005). The interior aspects of complex social systems are often neglected in a systems analysis, but Integral Theory assumes that they play an important role. As can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, opportunities and barriers for more sustainable supply chains were identified across all four quadrants. However, when stakeholders were asked to select the key barriers, the importance of the interior aspects was confirmed, as they mainly mentioned barriers related to the Upper-Left quadrant (a strong and singular focus on their own personal and organizational interests) or Lower-Left quadrant (e.g., failing relationships and collaboration, unproductive roundtable meetings, a lack of coordinated involvement of all actors).

Conclusion In this article we set out to identify strategic improvement options that aim to increase the sustainability of fishery supply chains. We conducted a systems analysis based on the four quadrants of the Integral model, levels of development, and the double S-curve model. The double S-curve model identified two main curves, the curve of growth of MSC in the different channels and the newer and emerging curve of models that go beyond MSC (e.g., for issues such as feeding the world, mitigating contaminants, and the role of small-scale fisheries). From our analysis we identified both translational interventions, aligned to the current interests and worldviews of stakeholders, and transformational interventions, providing a challenge to the current interest and worldviews to enable further development. The interventions we identified are: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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1. Promote further use of tools that enable supermarkets to protect their brand image and enable them to be as flexible as possible within their actions regarding sustainable seafood products. (translation) 2. Develop and execute experiments by supermarkets in which they play a more proactive role in making fishery supply chains more sustainable, which means 1) putting sustainability on the forefront instead of brand protection; 2) working with suppliers to improve the supply chain; and 3) using marketing strength to stimulate a more sustainable seafood sector. (transformation) 3. Support the development of initiatives that take into account the interests, values, and considerations of chefs to include or exclude sustainable fish in their menus. These initiatives should not only make it easier and less costly to choose sustainable seafood, but also make it more interesting to them. They should at least assure a quality perception and enable chefs to maintain the current relationship with their suppliers. (translation) 4. Confront chefs with the current situation of fisheries and ask them about the choices they make and values they hold in their private lives regarding sustainability, and stimulate and inspire them to apply those to their daily work. (transformation) 5. Develop tools for the financial sector that enable them to assess, communicate, and improve the sustainability performance of their seafood investments and credit provision activities. (translation) 6. Set up experiments in which financial institutions play a more serving and proactive role in the development of sustainable fisheries. (transformation) 7. Set up and learn from experiments that integrate both social and ecological aspects of sustainable fishery supply chains with small-scale fisheries. Learning should be focused on the effective and suitable ways of organizing and financing a sustainable fisheries supply chain with small-scale fisheries. It is also important to learn about ways to meet both the needs of the industrial and small-scale fisheries and manage their interdependence. (transformation) It is important to note that effective collaboration between stakeholders (Lower-Left quadrant) is one of the key success factors for all of the interventions described above. In our analysis of stakeholder worldviews, we found a broad spectrum of sustainability orientations ranging from compliance-driven to synergistic (Table 2). In our earlier research, within fishermen we also found indications of less complex value systems at red altitude (e.g., strong bonding on board, nature seen to be a mystery, the importance of luck). Among business actors further down the supply chain, including the financial sector, we found that the main orientation was profit-driven (orange altitude). Some leading wholesalers and retailers are exploring the path of care- and synergistic-driven orientations (green altitude), but there seems to be some dissonance with the current way of working that only requires suppliers to comply with standards and focus on reputation. Some openness and experimentation will be needed to work together with suppliers to improve sustainability performance (e.g., Albert Heijn with their “Vis van Dichtbij” initiative). As mentioned above, the business organizations in the supply chain (wholesalers, retail, foodservice, and Horeca) are firmly ensconced in a profit driven-orientation. Therefore, interventions with a translational focus (interventions 1, 3, 5 above) will probably have the most impact. As leaders’ views begin to evolve and life conditions put more pressure on the entire supply chain, it will be important to also initiate more transformational interventions and start small-scale experimentation to develop a new curve that focuses on caredriven and synergistic solutions (interventions 2, 4, 6, and 7 above). The Integral framework has the potential 86

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to see the world in these ever more complex and inclusive ways (Forsberg & Forsberg, 2009). We also noticed an emerging synergistic orientation within environmental NGOs that choose to work with sustainable fish companies (care-driven) or those that also support the change process toward sustainability within those companies (synergistic). More broadly, many NGOs are struggling with the issue of whether to focus only on environmental conditions and how to interpret social problems (i.e., as life conditions or as integrated and mutually interdependent issues). In our research and in the strategic interventions we identified, the focus was not on consumers and developments in their orientation and worldviews. We did see more care-driven consumers in Western Europe than in Southern Europe and even less care-driven consumers in Asia. If more consumers start to move into a caring orientation and have the opportunity to consume according to their value systems, this will put more pressure on the different actors in the supply chain. With the ongoing global financial crisis, it is difficult to predict whether or not this will occur. To summarize, it will be important to develop collaborations that are focused on getting concrete results and go “beyond talking,” are flexible and dynamic in nature, are based on both collective aims and individual organizational interests, and have clear roles and responsibilities for all organizations involved based on the unique strengths and resources of each stakeholder. Only collaborations that meet these requirements will be able to create a positive and sustainable future for fishery supply chains.

NOTES See: http://www.msc.org/?i18nredirect=true&set_language=en. As developed by our colleague Rob Wetzels. For a detailed description, see Peters and Wetzels (2009). 3 See: http://www.msc.org/newsroom/news/msc-acknowledged-as-only-fao-consistent. 4 Current MSC figures can be found on their website: http://www.msc.org/business-support/key-facts-about-msc. 5 English translation: fish indicator. See: http://www.goedevis.nl/. 6 See, for example: Jacquet and colleagues’ (September 2010) article on seafood stewardship in Nature. Some of the points of the critique mentioned here are: the fact that the objection procedure against certifying agencies is approached formally only; the fact that certification is still (under certain conditions) attainable for fisheries engaged in the catch of endangered species; and the disregard of small-scale fisheries (even those that operate in a sustainable manner). 7 This insight is based on multiple interviews we conducted during our research project. 8 See the yearly analysis that Greenpeace does on the status of sustainable fish in Dutch supermarkets: http://www. greenpeace.nl/Global/nederland/report/2010/5/Greenpeace%20MaakSchoonSchap%20analyse%202010%20DEF.pdf. 9 Several Dutch supermarkets committed themselves to only sell MSC-certified fish by the end of 2011. As of October 2012, this goal has not been reached. According to the CBL, the Dutch supermarket organization, by the end of 2011 85% of fish sold in Dutch supermarkets was sustainable. The CBL mainly blamed not reaching the goal on the lack of sufficient supply. 10 See: http://www.coop.ch/pb/site/nachhaltigkeit/node/64228363/Len/index.html, and http://www.carrefour.com/cdc/ responsible-commerce/our-commitment-to-the-environment/developing-responsible-products/?com.carrefour.cdc. print.page.content=true, and http://www.walmartstores.com/media/factsheets/fs_2248.pdf. 11 Albert Heijn: http://www.evmi.nl/nieuws/marketing-sales/7498/’vis-van-dichtbij’-bij-ah.html. Marqt: http://www. marqt.nl/. Landmarkt: http://www.landmarkt.nl/. 12 This includes consumption in canteens at work or school. 13 See: http://www.visenseizoen.nl/. 14 This campaign ran at the end of 2010. For details, see: http://www.wnf.nl/nl/wat_wnf_doet/thema_s/oceanen_en_ kusten/duurzame_vis_op_de_kaart/. 1 2

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See: http://www.goodcatch.org.uk/. It would be interesting to find out from what motivation or orientation these chefs developed their interests. 17 For the Dutch policy on Duurzaam inkopen, see: http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/duurzaam-inkopen. 18 See: http://www.albron.nl/551616/Duurzamer-Ondernemen-Magazine-Albron-editie-2012.pdf?v=0, and http:// jaarverslag2010.bysodexo.nl/m/magstream/sodexo/jaarverslag2010/#/14/Duurzame-visserij. 19 This initiative aims to support investors to integrate environmental, social, and governance considerations into investment decision-making and ownership practices, thereby improving long-term returns to beneficiaries. 20 See: http://www.sustainablefinancelab.nl/. 21 To quote Plan B: “With some 36 percent (750 million tons) of the world grain harvest used to produce animal protein, even a modest gain in efficiency can save a large quantity of grain.” And: “As both the oceanic fish catch and the production of beef on rangelands have leveled off, the world has shifted to grain-based production of animal protein to expand output” (pp. 226-230). For some herbivorous species of farmed fish (such as carp, tilapia, and catfish), it takes roughly less than two kilograms of grain to produce a one kilogram gain in live weight. This is much less than, for example, the figure for cattle in feedlots, which is seven. For pork, the figure is over three kilograms of grain per kilogram of weight gain, and for poultry it is just over two. 22 For example, see Stefan van Leeuwen’s (2009) article in Environmental Science and Technology. Also see: Dewailly (2012) and Tran (2012). 23 See: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1227t/i1227t00.htm. 24 See: www.ascworldwide.org. 25 Author Ard Hordijk is currently involved in an initiative that aims to develop a sustainability rating of seafood companies for the financial sector, one of the new interventions options identified. 15 16

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Appendix A Research Issues Identified as Relevant for Sustainable Fishery Supply Chains and Growth of the MSC Label • • • • • • • • •

• • • • •

What Works Market involvement and partnerships EU requirements are pushing governments to set up monitoring and control initiatives Market exists for sustainable fish Overexploitation is becoming obvious to fishermen, consumers, and buyers Pre-assessment for MSC functions as a gap analysis tool Consumer awareness is high in Western Europe Retail brands are vulnerable to reputation There are many sustainability initiatives with small-scale fisheries worldwide Carrefour and other large retailers are investing in Southeastern Asia, thus consumer awareness might rise (“modern retailing”) Market mechanism: scarcity -> high price -> less demand -> more stocks Security of supply is starting to become a problem, so action becomes more urgent Sustainable small-scale fisheries create social and economical value Development of standard for aquaculture that includes social aspects (ASC) Input efficiency of farmed (vegetarian) fish

• • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • •

•

• •

•

• • • •

What Does Not Work Consumers are not willing to pay extra No demand for sustainable seafood in Asia No market for sustainable seafood in Southern Europe Government is only representing the interests of the industry Consumers interested in sustainable fish is still niche in Western Europe Lack of money for small-scale fisheries to become certified Lack of knowledge and information of smallscale fisheries on stocks No management system for small-scale fisheries Chinese and Russian trawlers catch all fish off the coast of Guinea-Bissau; no control mechanisms, marginalized small-scale fisheries Stock data is not interpreted consistently Social economic value that is created is not valued in the market (e.g., Gambia) Fiscal dependency of fishermen in the supply chain (the middlemen) Fear among fishermen Consumer choice (confusion, high price, inconsistent labeling) Limited exchange of information and lessons learnt worldwide, which leads to inefficiencies Each stakeholder only aims for their own mandates and interests The gap between MSC and no sustainable fish is too large for retail and wholesalers; more flexibility and intermediate steps are needed Retail does not invest in making supply chains more sustainable, only puts down requirements No requirements on the quality of the fish within ecological trademarks Lack of attention for sustainable fisheries in hotels and restaurants; fishmongers; food service industry Lack of pressure on wholesalers and fisheries from the financial sector, including a financial analysis of overfished situations Health aspects related to consumption of fish (accumulation of toxins) Role of fish in feeding the world Lack of coordinated involvement of all stakeholders Focus of NGOs on what is not sustainable instead of supporting what is becoming more sustainable

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REFERENCES Beck, D., & Cowan C.C. (2006). Spiral Dynamics: mastering values, leadership, and change. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Brown, B. (2005). Theory and practice of integral sustainable development: Part 1: Quadrants and the practitioner. AQAL Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 1(2), 2-39. Brown, L.R. (2003). Plan B: Rescuing a planet under stress and civilization in trouble. New York: Norton & Company. Dewailly, E., Rouja, P., Forde, M., Peek-Ball, C., Côté S., et al. (2012) Evaluation of a public health intervention to lower mercury exposure from fish consumption in Bermuda. PLoS ONE, 7(10), e47388. Forsberg, O.I., & Forsberg, A. (2009). Comprehensiveness and depth: A guide to Ken Wilber’s integral philosophy [in Norwegian]. Oslo, Norway: Central Distribution. Hordijk, P.A., Jonkers, I., Hoefnagel, E., De Vos, B., & Smit, J. (August 2010). Integrale system analyse, Duurzame visserij [research paper]. The Hague, Netherlands: Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Jacquet, J., Pauly, D., Ainley, D., Holt, S., Dayton, P. & Jackson, J. (September 2010). Seafood stewardship in crisis. Nature, 467, 28-29. Eijnatten, F.M. van (2004). Chaotic systems thinking: Some suggestions for a complexity framework to inform a learning organization. The Learning Organization, 11(6), 430-449. Kelleher, K.K., Westlund, L., Mills, D.J., Willmann, R., & de Graff, R. (2010). The hidden harvests. The

global contribution of capture fisheries. Washington, DC: Agriculture and Rural Development Department, World Bank. Leeuwen, S.P.J. van, Velzen, M.J.M., Swart, C.P., Veen, I. van der, Traag, W.A., & Boer, J. de (2009). Halogenated contaminants in farmed salmon, trout, tilapia, pangasius, and shrimp. Environmental Science and Technology, 43(11), 4009-4015. Marrewijk, M. van, & Werre, M. (May 2003). Multiple levels of corporate sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 44 (2-3), 107-119. Peters, J., & Wetzels, R.A.E. (2009). Niets nieuws onder de zon en andere toevalligheden. Amsterdam: Business Contact. Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (January/February 2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review. Available at: http://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-ideacreating-shared-value. Tissot, B. (2010). Case study 2: Integral marine ecology: Community-based fishery management in Hawaii. In S. Esbjorn-Hargens and M. Zimmerman, Integral Ecology: Uniting multiple perspectives on the natural world (pp. 430-453). Boston, MA: Integral Books. Tran, Nga L., Barraj, L.M., Bi, X., Schuda, L.C., & Moya, J. (2012). Estimated long-term fish and shellfish intake national health and nutrition examination survey [advanced online publication]. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. doi:10.1038/jes.2012.96. Visser, W. (2011). The age of responsibility: CSR 2.0 and the new DNA of business. London: Wiley. Wilber, K. (2001). A theory of everything: An integral vision for business, politics, science and spirituality. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

ARD HORDIJK obtained his master’s degree in Econometrics from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 1996, with a focus on environmental economics. After working for an operations research consultancy for four years he joined consultancies such as the Environmental Resources Management and Twynstra Gudde, working with governments, companies, and nongovernmental organizations on sustainability issues such as climate change, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility. He now works with CHE Synnervate, where he focuses on multi-party collaboration, and MeshWorks, where he advocates for systemic change on issues such as biodiversity and ecosystems, the circular economy, and sustainable supply chains. IRENE JONKERS joined the Center for Sustainability as a researcher in September 2008. Irene holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam (2005). During her studies she focused on the relationships 90

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between government and civil society with regard to international affairs. Her interest in the role of businesses within this context arose mainly after the completion of her master’s degree. She has a special interest in social change mechanisms, multi-stakeholder cooperation, and systems thinking. Her recent research projects have an international focus and are often action-research related. 

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HOLARCHICAL FIELD THEORY Kevin J. Bowman

ABSTRACT Within the dualities of Integral Theory, Integral Scientific Pluralism synthesizes Integral Epistemological Pluralism and Integral Ontological Pluralism, as described by Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, alongside Ken Wilber’s Integral Methodological Pluralism. Further crossing the zones of Integral Scientific Pluralism in this article allows for an integration of the holarchcial drives described in my earlier work. This helps create Holarchical Field Theory, wherein holarchically embedded subjects and objects, motivated by their needs, become engaged through their interpenetrating drives. Various field theories in the social sciences help define Holarchical Field Theory for analyzing action while also inspiring the art of applying it in potential, future applications. The theory is then used to describe how it may overcome limitations in Wilber’s current use of Integral Mathematics. KEY WORDS holarchy; ontology; philosophy of science; fields

I

n this article, the fundamental components of Integral Theory are reconstituted as neither holons (as in Wilber, 1995) nor perspectives (as in Wilber, 2002, 2006), but as holarchical fields. These fields describe the ways in which holarchically embedded subjects and objects are interpenetrated by their holarchical drives when they are in various interactions. This Holarchical Field Theory (HFT) is created through a synthesis of Integral Scientific Pluralism (Bowman, 2012a) and Holarchical Development (Bowman, 2009).1 Integral Scientific Pluralism integrates within the dualities, triads, and spectra of Integral Theory Esbjörn-Hargens’ Integral Epistemological Pluralism and Integral Ontological Pluralism alongside Wilber’s Integral Methodological Pluralism. This was fostered by crossing Wilber’s (2006) eight zones with the subjectaction-object triad and the health-pathology duality. Integral Scientific Pluralism is summarized in the section immediately below. In this article, I cross the zones of Integral Scientific Pluralism with the static-dynamic duality, which allows for an integration of the dynamic drives of Holarchical Development (Bowman, 2009). This enables the development of HFT, wherein holarchically embedded subjects and objects, motivated by their needs, become engaged through their interpenetrating drives. Integral scientific inquiry then becomes a particular, high-level action (among other actions that can be analyzed) within HFT. Various field theories in the social sciences help define HFT for analyzing action while also inspiring the art of using it in proposed, future applications. Later in the article, HFT is compared with Wilber’s Integral Mathematics and suggestions are made to overcome the limitations of its current uses. Finally, I conclude this article with a preface for a future application of HFT (Bowman, 2012b). In that article, pronouns and person perspectives are oriented while overcoming problems in previous approaches to analyzing dynamics using Wilberian Theory.

Correspondence: Kevin Bowman, 2211 Riverside Ave., Box 70, Minneapolis, MN 55454. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 92–104

Holarchical Field Theory

Summary of Integral Scientific Pluralism In Bowman (2012a), I extended aspects of Esbjörn-Hargens’ (2010) Integral Pluralism (itself an elaboration of Wilber’s Integral Methodological Pluralism). My approach, called Integral Scientific Pluralism (ISP), is represented in Figure 1. Eight zones (the four quadrants crossed by the internal-external duality) are crossed with the subject-action-object triad. Whereas Wilber uses the term inside-outside to describe the duality that crosses the four quadrants to form his eight zones, I use the term internal-external and I explain why here. Wilber (2002) describes constituent parts that follow the agency of the holon as internal and those which do not as external. Items that are within the boundary of the holon are inside it, otherwise they are outside it. Some items are inside,

Individual Zone 1 Internal

Phenomenological Objects

External

Zone 5

(Disclosed/Enacted)

Phenomenology

Object (Injunction) Method/Action

Autopoietic Objects

Internal

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Autopoiesis

Phenomenologist Autopoietic Scientist (Apprehension)

Zone 2 Structural Objects Structuralism

Subject Empiricism Structuralist

Interior

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Hermeneutics Hermeneutical Objects

Empirical Objects

Cultural Anthropologist

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Social Autopoietic Objects

IEP Zone 7

Zone 3 Cultural Anthropology

Systems Theory

Internal

Internal

IMP External

External Cultural Anthropological Objects

IOP

Systemic Objects Zone 8

Zone 4 Collective

Figure 1. Forty-eight horizontal realms of Integral Scientific Pluralism. Shaded circles represent the pathology of that realm. IEP—Integral Epistemological Pluralism; IMP—Integral Methodological Pluralism; IOP—Integral Ontological Pluralism. From Bowman (2012, p. 58); used with permission. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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but not internal such as parasites or repressed thoughts. My use of internal-external matches Wilber’s use of inside-outside as in the formation of the eight zones. Yet I prefer to use the terms internal-external for two reasons. First, they can be associated with the common dynamic terms internalize and externalize, as was done in Bowman (2009). We do not have verbs like insidize or outsidify. The second reason is that, as long as the health-pathology duality is used, we can account for all of the distinctions Wilber makes without the need for both dualities (internal-external and inside-outside), which have differences that are not signified by their common meanings. Section 5 of Bowman (2012a) crosses each zone with the health-pathology duality to account for, among other aspects of multiple holons, positive and negative externalities and internalities. With the formation of HFT in this article, I cross these realms again with the static-dynamic duality, which incorporates the dynamic drives of Bowman (2009) and provides, among others, the processes of positive and negative internalization and externalization. These dynamic forces can be associated with static snapshots of positive and negative internalities and externalities. For example, a parasite and a repressed thought are pathological internalities at a moment or duration of time originating from past negative internalization. So these will intuitively account for the differences Wilber makes in his use of internal-external and insideoutside without the need for both. The crossing of the quadrants with the internal-external duality is particularly important when dealing with multiple holons, which will have different elements that are internal or external to their holonic boundaries.2 This is always the case when dealing with the actions of holons; the environment of the holon is a critical piece to examine. Employing a methodology for scientific inquiry is considered here as a subset of action. The scientist is the subject that conducts scientific inquiry embedded in epistemological zones (meaning that the zones from which scientific apprehension can arise are described intensively by epistemology). Eight general methodologies can be employed to disclose or enact eight classes of (ontological) objects. Our scientific understanding of the world is not just fragmented; those fragments tend to be unconsciously biased by modern and postmodern methods. It is not merely that there are multiple objects that are only partially disclosed as a less than eight-zonal, many-leveled object because not all methodologies are used. The problem is more severe because there are multiple subjects employing multiple methodologies in ways that are typically only transparent with regards to a small fraction of the epistemologies, methodologies, and ontologies that are invariably involved in all instances of scientific inquiry. Consider an empiricist working to disclose zone-6 objects. The subject as empiricist employs empiricism making zone-6 data and capturing aspects of objects, which are individuated parts of exterior or behavioral reality as seen on their external environment. The objects of study, however, are always part of, at least, a many-level, eight-zonal affair, but only certain zone-6 parts are observed through empiricism. Similarly, the empiricist cannot merely occupy what Wilber and Esbjörn-Hargens call a third-person perspective to disclose these realms. The empiricist must also interpret zone-6 theory and data making use of her interior-individual content of consciousness (symbols, translations, metaphors, etc.). Thus the empiricist is also a phenomenologist, although she is not likely to be a trained phenomenologist. So the best methods of contemplation currently available will not necessarily be employed. Ideally, the empiricist would also have scientific-level skill in using the other classes of methodologies such as sound structuralism, or have had internalized their insights, to be able to gain better distance from her own phenomenology and phenomenological objects; to see them with understanding of individual-interiors as studied from their imprint on their external realm. Following Wilber (2006), “the meaning of an assertion is the means of its enactment” (p. 266), a process made clearer by ISP, given that the horizontal realms of ISP further differentiate and integrate these aspects of inquiry. The empiricist portion of epistemology relates to zone-6 knowing, for instance; sensory skills and behavioral aspects external to the objects of study, or external to objects related to the study of other 94

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objects. In ISP, the scientist must make use of all eight epistemologies whether or not she is aware of them all. Empiricism with its methodological individualism tends not to consciously acknowledge the culturally constructed nature of its objects of study or of its own epistemology. This is one enduring critique of modernity coming from postmodernity’s “essential insight” that “there is no single ‘pregiven world’” (Wilber, 2000a, p. 775). Moreover, it is inevitable that the empiricist is a hermeneutist of some sort because she must make sense of her objects of study with her own meaning of the world, which directs her study and interprets her data in ways that are culturally created to a significant extent. So she must think of her objects of study relative to the hermeneutical objects of pre-existing mutual meaning in her field of study. She is also a cultural anthropologist, as she must attempt to differentiate the meaning she makes with her study as differentiated from an external view of the pre-existing mutual understanding in the field. This helps her to find a way to communicate new mutual understanding with her peers. This requires convincing her peers of the proper use of empiricist methods and interpretation while also conveying novel ideas within that general paradigm. Thus, all methodologies are employed during the course of scientific inquiry. In order to reconstruct our scientific understanding integrally, we must understand how the secondary methodologies are employed. The empiricist’s primary methodology in the previous example is empiricism, but the biases from fragmented, non-integral science emanate from the other secondary methodologies. Secondarily, empiricists, for example, have typically assumed that values, morals, and preferences are unknowable scientifically. Rather than treating them as variable and unknowable in modeling techniques, however, they have assumed that agents’ morals are fixed at egocentric while being advanced cognitively. This has encouraged selfish behavior in modern societies dominated by empiricist epistemology. It also tends to assume decision-making in agents is more conscious cognitively and better informed than it really is. It ignores interior sciences that have uncovered a distribution of agents at various stages of cognitive, moral, and other lines of development with varying degrees of health and pathology. Wilber’s contributions often derive from his recognition that theorists tend to overstate their claims because they do not hold their implicit and unconscious enactment of zones by level constant in their studies. Or, they may be transparent in their assumptions, but inaccurate when examined with the current state of scientific understanding across many domains of knowledge. In either case, they may be biased by their (implicit or explicit) non-neutral assumptions. Wilber’s skillful use of theory and data across many disciplines has allowed him to place certain theories and data in proper context and relation to each other as he unpacks and makes conscious some of the hidden, biased, or unjustified assumptions of many major theorists. Phenomenology and structuralism, for instance, help Wilber scientifically reconstruct (the methodology of) spiritual practice and (the ontology described by) perennial philosophy, but without the unchecked metaphysical (and ontological) pre-givens that they once assumed. According to Wilber (2006, pp. 44-46), modern and postmodern knowledge refute these metaphysical assumptions. Postmodern findings in hermeneutics and cultural anthropology are included in the AQAL model, which greatly humble the overly strong claims of, especially, modern, exterior methodologies that assume the scientist is not biased or limited by her own culture, for example. The existential lack of meaning in pathological relativism in some zone-3 science, which derives from the assumption that no relative truth can be relatively stable or reliable (Wilber, 2000a, pp. 746-747), is overcome with the promise of higher-level meaning and holarchical reality found in some zone-2 and zone-4 science. For other examples of Wilber’s integral reconstruction, see Bowman (2012a). Integral Scientific Pluralism makes Wilber’s epistemology and methodology more transparent and usable for others in their own areas of expertise. It is unreasonable to assume that scientists can control for, and make explicit, all the relevant epistemological, methodological, and ontological factors that ISP specifies. Yet, ISP can guide the researcher to be more intentional with regards to what is, and what is not, controlled for. Of those factors for which the researcher does not have the ability or resources to control, ISP can be used as a next best proxy for their control by treating a study as a module that links up to the existing body Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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of disciplinary and transdisciplinary theory and evidence currently available. This I call Integral Scientific Modularity (ISM). Integral Theory can contextualize the results of models that make simplistic assumptions. For the previous example, pre-existing studies on the actual morals and cognition distributions of agents in a given population may help the scientific writer contextualize the results from mathematical models that assume egocentric, cognitively-advanced agents. See Bowman (2012a) for more on how ISM adds to the literature on Integral Research. Notice that each subject, action, and object area within each zone of Figure 1 is divided among healthy and unhealthy portions. To the extent there is equal opportunity, help for the disabled, advancement based on merit, loving parental care, constructive moral codes, ecological balance, fairly well-adjusted individuals, and so on; there are healthy aspects of each zone of the ontological world. Examples of pathologies in the various ontological realms include child abuse, mental illness, political corruption, nepotism, ecological crisis, arbitrary moral codes, and physical ailments. It is reasonable to say that our current understanding of sound science has uncovered aspects of health and pathology in each of the eight ontological zones. Similarly, there are healthy and pathological aspects of each epistemological zone within scientists and scientific communities conducting scientific inquiry. They significantly influence whether or not methodologies will be employed well or pathologically. See Bowman (2012a) for some examples of how the epistemological and methodological realms are divided by the health-pathology duality.

Merging ISP Realms with Holarchical Drives This section will reconstitute this version of integral metatheory such that its fundamental component is neither holons (Wilber, 1995), nor perspectives (Wilber 2002, 2006), but rather fields which include static capabilities and potentials of subject and object holons as well as their interpenetrating dynamic drives. My previous work (Bowman, 2009) has described dynamics in Integral Theory as differentiated from, but also associated with, the dualities that make up holarchical realms. This made use of Wilber’s writings to provide a clarification and extension of his four dynamic drives of holons (agency, communion, self-transcendence, and self-dissolution), which were specified as part of his 20 Tenets (Wilber, 2000a, pp. 48-54).3 The fuller set of drives provides direction for analyzing action, including communication, here with the ISP framework. I define positive dynamic drives as tendencies toward action that foster, or are consistent with, further development. Negative drives are tendencies toward action that prohibit development or contribute to regression. The drives and examples of each of their corresponding actions are given in Table 1. See Bowman (2009) for more on the limitations of, and omissions within, Wilber’s specification of only four drives; the theoretical justification for specifying a healthy and unhealthy drive per pole of each duality in Wilber’s AQAL model; and some of the implications of these drives, including a novel conception of holarchical development. The holarchical drives represent tendencies towards categories of action that are associated relatively intensively with a particular pole of an integral duality. There is some overlap in the examples of Table 1 because action in a quadrant or realm will be a combination of drives. An example of a combination of positive interiorization and positive individuation (relatively intensive in the intentional quadrant) could be when a teenager begins to question his parents’ thinking and develops independence of thought (this also involves positive ascension). In the Lower-Left quadrant, a combination of positive interiorization and positive collectivization may include a conversation that clears up destructive tension between two co-workers. This article makes clear distinctions between static states, capabilities, and realms versus the dynamics within and between holons. With Wilber’s concept of Kosmic address, subjects and some dynamics are combined. Kosmic address is defined as altitude plus the perspective of a holon (Wilber, 2006, p. 69). I consider taking a perspective a dynamic process since holons are capable of redirecting their focus in various ways. Personality types, on the other hand, can be used as part of the description of a person who tends to 96

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Interior-Exterior Duality Positive Interiorization Training or reading a book that expands one's

Positive Exteriorization Putting into writing a brilliant idea;

understanding.

reproducing another machine part; forming muscle memory from practice.

Negative Interiorization Ignoring exterior causes from a belief that we can

Positive Interiorization Operating with limited intention because one

change all of our reality by recognizing the exterior as illusory; paranoid interpretations.

thinks thoughts are only products of brain chemicals reacting to exterior stimuli; computer hacking a benevolent charity’s website.

Individual-Collective Duality Positive Collectivization Contributing to social value; learning the language of the collective; openness to learning from another person.

Positive Individuation Honoring individual choice; respecting the individual perspective for its partial truth. Negative Individuation Alienation from the collective; not honoring the partially-valid individual perspective.

Negative Collectivization Indiscriminately accepting all individual choices as equally valid; destructive herd behavior.

Internal-External Duality Positive Internalization For society, taxing gas to make drivers bear costs of pollution; taking responsibility for a mistake.

Positive Externalization Releasing limiting thoughts; firing an incompetent worker; the destruction of a virus by antibodies.

Negative Internalization Absorption of pollution by an innocent bystander; feeling guilt for what is beyond one's control.

Negative Externalization The loss of awareness from a peak experience; Projecting beyond oneself one's own repressed issues.

Higher-Lower Duality Positive Ascension

Positive Descension

Releasing attachment to a literal notion that demons cause illness in order to open to the germ theory of disease; emergence of a higher capacity.

Enjoying the act of eating healthier such that the lower hunger drive is satisfied with rational understanding of health; green-level parents teaching amber-level children

Negative Ascension

to recycle. Negative Descension

Denying an ability to attain higher awareness with transformative practice (rather, thinking only through death or by miracle can one go higher); blind obedience to higher-level authority when one should know better.

Denying greater potentials of the lower (e.g., one must abstain from sex to transcend lower expressions of it); an orange-level holon disallowing the expression of feelings.

Table 1. Holarchical drives and examples of their corresponding actions.

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take particular perspectives or who is more developed in certain areas. In Bowman (2011), I introduced the term holarchical embeddedness, which conceptually separates a subject or object from processes. Holarchical embeddedness of an individual holon is the level of development of the individual in various lines (its psychograph); its membership in groups, occupation, and amount of capital it owns or works with (its related sociographs); plus its typology. Holarchical processes or dynamics are the perceptions, analyses, changing relations, choices, actions, etc., of an agent or multiple agents through holarchical realms where agents are positioned initially by holarchical embeddedness. Actions link subjects and objects in particular subjective and objective states through certain moments in time. The holarchical drives of Table 1 connect subjects and objects of Figure 1 with dynamic processes. Reality is always at least an ISP affair, a dynamic event between subjects and objects across all zones. Notice that there is a drive for each of the poles that make up the multiple levels of the 16 horizontal realms of the subject or object. The realms created by interior-exterior times individual-collective times internal-external times health-pathology times higher-lower correspond, respectively, to the dynamic dualities of interiorization-exteriorization, individuation-collectivization, internalization-externalization, positive-negative, and ascension-descension. The two sets of dualities (static and dynamic) are linked by the static-dynamic duality. So, for instance, a negative drive from a scientist may originate from a unique shadow element from her own psyche (zone 1) or from a common shadow aspect from the problematic portion of the conventional wisdom of her discipline that she shares (zone 3). It can also be stated that the static subject-object duality corresponds to the dynamics of subject-object interaction, where the interaction is differentiated by the holarchical drives. The dynamics are described here as within and between subjects and objects and can be used in linguistics. The statement “He read Wilber’s book” implies the subject enacts the object by reading with at least the exterior portion of this method (passing eyes over words and turning pages). “His mind benefited from that book” suggests positive interiorization and positive individuation from object to subject with the interior portions of the reading method (forming meaningful mental images, reflecting on the material, etc.). The degree to which the subject can benefit is a function of the embeddedness of the object (e.g., well-intentioned, highquality, teal-altitude material across various domains) and subject (perhaps teal in certain lines and lower in others) and the dynamic effort expended or the degree to which the subject rises to the challenge of the object. The formal separation of action from capabilities or static states is commonplace and highly useful, and therefore is needed in Integral Theory. One example is found in national income accounting. Stocks of human, physical, and knowledge capital plus natural resources are a nation’s assets at a particular point in time; say the beginning of the year (static, holarchically embedded capabilities). They are employed each year to produce the country’s GDP or total output (the dynamic processes of the assets). This production of goods and services provides consumption goods and may add to the capital stocks for a new, higher level of capital at the start of the following year. Another example is the categorization of state versus action verbs. As their names imply, state verbs such as “is” tend to describe a subject or object in a particular static state while action verbs such as “run” describe dynamics of a subject or object. Therefore, the philosophy of this article suggests specific distinctions and relations between relatively static and active developmental theory. Developmental stage theories for cognition (Piaget; Aurobindo), morals (Kohlberg; Gilligan), values (Graves; Beck and Cowan), techno-economic base (Lenski; Marx), and so on, can be thought of as intensively specifying deep structures relating to capabilities, limitations, and potentials of subjects and objects. Therefore, these are relatively static developmental theories relating to actual and potential embeddedness. Action developmental theories, in contrast, include William Torbert’s action inquiry (Torbert et al., 2004) or Chris Argyris’ action science (as interpreted developmentally by O’Connor, 2008, 2010). These action theories have specified the action logics and guiding action-strategies by level of individual and organizational development and so are describing relatively more the dynamic drives associated with various levels of embeddedness. Integral U (Wilber & Scharmer, 2003), the integration of Theory 98

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U (Scharmer, 2009) into the AQAL model, is another example of action-intensive aspects of Integral Theory, in this case working to harness the power of states of consciousness to empower transformation of individual and collective holons. The full description of this framework can now be seen as a Holarchical Field Theory, which will be explained in the next section.

Holarchical Fields In the initial specification of his AQAL model, Wilber (1995) considered holons as the fundamental components of reality. In his latest phase of theorizing (Wilber, 2002, 2006), the fundamental component became perspectives. The fundamental component of HFT is neither holons nor perspectives, but rather the fields (intentional, behavioral, cultural, and social) that include and interpenetrate holarchically embedded and acting subjects and objects. The holarchical field concept transcends and includes holons (the relatively static descriptor of holarchically embedded subjects and objects) and their actions (resulting from their space-timespecific drives, which include, in part, perspective-taking). A definition for a field by English and English (1958) was found by Smith and Smith (1996) to apply broadly across all social and natural sciences. A field “substitutes events for things having fixed properties, and sees events as totalities in which parts of the event are what they are, qualitatively and quantitatively, only in terms of the rest of the event” (English & English, p. 207). This definition applies to HFT. The crossing of the eight zones with the subject-action-object triad along with the embeddedness of subjects and objects interpenetrated with holarchical drives fosters holistic examination of a holon dynamically engaged with its environment while making qualitative, quantitative, and other ontological, methodological, and epistemological distinctions. Notice also the similarities of HFT with the field theories in the social sciences following Lewin (1936, 1951) and Kantor (1946, 1959). In these theories, the subject acts according to a probability function informed by its environment, its potentials, its history of actions with the object, and the intrinsic characteristics of the objects. A subject is disclosed in a particular state, but cannot be fully described in its entire multiplicity. An individual human’s expressions and relations, for example, are in constant flux, and it is only when an individual is engaged when one captures certain aspects of it in a particular state. Even maintaining a particular state through time is a dynamic event that requires subject and object to persist in equilibrium. In theory, a subject’s expression and action can be estimated by a probability function based on the holarchical embeddedness of the subject and all relevant objects. The subject’s and object’s pre-existing statics (i.e., needs, characteristics, capabilities, potentialities, occupation, incentives, and social power differentials) and history with components of the environment are all potentially described by holarchical embeddedness. The HFT probability function, of course, is not an easier one to specify. The theory, however, does provide a conceptual framework for analyzing existing theory and data more formally in field-theoretic terms. The success Integral Theory has had in integrating developmental and philosophical theory and data can significantly empower field theories. We can see a connection to Bourdieu’s (1984) conception of a field as a bounded social space with positions held in relation to one another, differentiated by power and status hierarchies, which produce in occupants and institutions particular ways of being, thinking, and doing. Rummel (1975, 1976, 1981), following field theorists such as Sorotkin (1969) and Ushenko (1946), similar to HFT, treats dynamic interactions as stemming from interpenetrating drives between subject and environment. These drives make up a vector field. Applying these approaches to HFT, dynamic interactions can be described by a holarchical vector field where the dynamic drives are vectors that act on, and from, the subjects, objects, and their actual and potential space. In mathematics, vectors specify magnitude and direction. Each holarchical drive (of Table 1) represents a different holarchical direction of force. Variations in their magnitude allow for relatively greater energy and intensity in different portions of holarchical space. Complementary drives from, or to, subject and object (with proper balance of competition and cooperation Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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in the given situation) can amplify those dynamic energy waves for novel creativity, or they may cancel or dampen each other out. Balanced, positive drives will work to satisfy needs in healthy ways that contribute to internal or external development. Holarchical embeddedness helps determine the potential power (magnitude) of a subject’s or object’s drives. It would be wise to always treat the zones of ISP as also divisible by the actual-potential duality where drives are constrained by what is possible. Positive drives will foster development. The 20 Tenets (extended by the fuller set of holarchical drives) provide a theory about the moves that result in more developed individuals, cultures, and societies. For example, moves that reconcile polarities with the transcendence of the limitations in opposing views, but inclusion of their partial, seemingly irreconcilable stances guide us to the positive potentialities of subject and object interaction. These positive potentialities are powerful, beneficial attractors for further development and creative emergence. Potential negative interactions are described by the opposite such as greater polarization of subject and object away from reconciliation of their partial truths making mutual satisfaction of needs that depend on further development less likely (or satisfying lower needs in less healthy ways). Pathological imbalances create forces that prevent holons to coalesce as they might under the attractive forces of potential, positive drives. In a related line of field theories following Stephenson’s (1953) Q-methodology, one’s subjective preferences are accessible and usable as objective data consistent with Wilber’s broad science and IMP (which are included in ISP). Subjective questions can be posed to individuals. Representative answers from multiple respondents are then given to the test subjects who rank them according to the degree with which they agree or disagree. This allows for objective analysis of subjective preferences. Therefore, HFT can be used to inform field theories in the social sciences of the capabilities, potentialities, and limitations of agents in field-theoretic settings. Meanwhile, field theories via HFT can inspire integral theorists to more systematically analyze complex dynamics.

Comparing Aspects of Integral Mathematics with Holarchical Field Theory This section describes some ways Wilber uses Integral Mathematics in contrast to the dynamic analysis encouraged by HFT. A key argument in Bowman (2009), regarding the specification of a set of dynamic drives to correspond with each of the dualities in Integral Theory, is that development to a higher stage is typically associated with a move that is relatively intensive in a particular holarchical direction. Transformation is not a move that is necessarily balanced in the vertical and horizontal dimensions. A move to a higher first-tier stage does not necessarily proceed with full inclusion of its lower levels, but only, at least, minimum core capacities. Beck and Cowan (1996) and Wilber (2000b) state that the integral or vision-logic stage of consciousness is the first to significantly recognize and honor the role of all stages that preceded its own. For example, orange-altitude holons tend to suppress lower-level feelings while embracing mental cause and effect reasoning. The next stage (green altitude) tends to suppress its lower level of simple cause-and-effect reason (orange altitude) in favor of reconnecting with, and expanding the sense of feeling into a wider array of perspectives. The integral stages tend to integrate feelings, instrumental reason, and intuition within a substantially more mature intellect and intentionality. That is, teal altitude may more deeply include a given first-tier stage than its successor first-tier stage does. Therefore, it is necessary to allow for development or regression with variable intensities in the dynamic drives. Wilber’s vertical drives only specify a positive ascending drive (self-transformation) and a negative descending drive (self-dissolution). Integral Theory also needs to have positive descending and negative ascending currents, as the examples in Table 1 demonstrate (and as do less formal aspects of Wilber’s writings).4 The value of developing in a particular holarchical direction will depend on the environment in which holons find themselves engaged. Consider further the following examples that demonstrate the benefit of specifying the subject holon as having internal and external relations with its object environment while al100

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lowing for positive and negative drives by pole of each integral duality. Beck and Cowan (1996) and Wilber (1995) attribute vertical transformation to the necessity to solve problems created at the existing structure of development. Beck and Cowan describe the environmental conditions of each stage necessitating transformation or dissolution. Moreover, Beck and Cowan argue that successive stages oscillate between individual and collective emphasis. Lastly, today’s problems are often the result of complex interactions of agents at different, typically conflicting levels and types of development. For example, I (Bowman, 2010a, 2010b, 2011) have characterized failures to implement sound economic policy, which may have consensual support in the scholarly economics literature, as the result of warring political-economic types across all major stakeholder groups at relatively less mature levels within the learning line of political-economic development. Agents tend to be segmented by the major stages of values development, occupational incentives, and so on. Of course, Wilber has brilliantly specified the war of partial perspectives and the problems of imbalanced development. An example of his opposing flatland reductionisms includes the tendency to reduce reality to the exterior realms for modernity or to the cultural (Lower-Left) quadrant for postmodernity. Yet we would like to analyze these issues in the formal specifications of the theory. Thus we must differentiate not only the typical expressions of a holon at a particular level from that level’s emergent capabilities (Wilber’s distinction between surface features and deep structures), but also map out the healthy and pathological of these typical expressions in relation to its relatively healthier potential or less healthy dangers when included within differently developed realities. Policy prescriptions, cultural therapy, integral coaching and consulting, and Integral Life Practice can potentially profit by specifying ISP embeddedness of subject and object and their interpenetrating drives taken versus prescribed in given situations. In HFT, embeddedness of subjects and objects are each 16-zonal, with 16 drives operating in varying degree between subject and object. HFT recognizes an ontology that is causally efficacious and constraining in some ways, while also allowing for potential beyond our current skillful means of enactment. For example, take a Harvard business professor that is dependent on proprietary data for his case study. Rudimentary assumptions by the subject (professor) of the object (a firm) may distort the subject’s understanding of the object. The subject (professor) studying the object (the business) is not only engaged by the methodology consciously employed; the subject’s scientific choices (a subset of the engaged drives) will also be affected by how the subject is initially embedded. This embeddedness of subject is also within the object of study (receiving drives from it) because access to the data may depend on relatively favorable assessments of the businesses analyzed. Zingales (2012) has analyzed these and other academic biases that tend to favor established interests. Therefore, acknowledged methodological drives can be a mere subset of the total drives interpenetrating subject and object (to and from each) during the use of the methods (or of agents’ actions more generally) where directions and strengths of drives are influenced by actualities and potentialities. Given that reality is more complex than our ability to understand it, the subject is always constrained, influenced, or potentially empowered in unknown ways by the Kosmos. This formally overcomes Roy Bhaskar’s (1978) specification of the epistemic fallacy, which is the erroneous view that “statements about being can be reduced to or analyzed in terms of statements about knowledge; i.e. that ontological questions can always be transposed into epistemological terms” (p. 36). Regarding the level a holon will operate from, Wilber (2002) treats expected level-specific behavior as a probability function of past expression of the individual and the length of historical time that the structures of that level have been in existence (Kosmic habits). With this function, it is not clear how behavior of an amber agent, for instance, will be expected to be different in a Western European city versus a Middle Eastern one today, two regions with very different distributions of agents by level; and regions embedded in a global society in common, yet in very different ways. These cultural differences are treated as relatively unexamined differences in surface expressions in Wilber’s AQAL model for the amber agent. In HFT, the environment of Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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the amber agent becomes as essential for the theory as the basic structures of the subject, and the environment is not reduced to the exterior quadrants. Rather, in all four quadrants, there are internal and external aspects for the subject and object, which mutually influence each other through engagement. In his Integral Mathematics (a notational system, not a system of mathematical operations), Wilber uses Kosmic address of the subject and object to specify the perspective of the subject and the position at which the object is viewable. Mutual understanding may occur, but deeper analysis typically takes the form of merely more complex views, such as a fourth-person perspective. Besides Wilber’s emphasis on including interiority, as his examples of Integral Mathematics surely do, his uses tend not to include many essential insights of his integral vision such as his own, relatively unspecified methodology used to transcend and include major theorists. Toward this aim, as with Integral Scientific Modularity, HFT hopes to encourage the description of the growth in epistemological knowledge with a more mature employment of methodologies to better integrate a fuller set of ontologies.

Conclusion This article proposes a more fundamental layer of integral metatheory, holarchical fields, to transcend and include holons, their drives, and their interactions. HFT synthesizes Integral Methodological Pluralism and two other integral approaches that have extended Wilberian theory in certain directions (Esbjörn-Hargens’ Integral Pluralism and my Holarchical Development). Suggestions were offered for using HFT to conceptualize and use existing state and action developmental theories. Holarchically embedded subjects and objects are active within a field of drives, causing change in and by holons through holarchical space-time, and integral scientific inquiry can be seen as a high-level form of holarchical field action. HFT creates a framework for a genuine Wilberian action science. Crossing the dualities of interior-exterior, individual-collective, internal-external, higher-lower, health-pathology, subject-object, static-dynamic, and actual-potential with one another provides a useful conceptual tool for analyzing events more formally using Integral Theory. In Bowman (2012a), I describe my admiration for Wilber’s integral methodology in constructing the AQAL model. In this article, HFT was used to suggest ways in which Wilber’s vision could be further explored more formally than what has been developed by Integral Mathematics thus far. In future work (Bowman, 2012b), I will compare HFT with Wilber’s Integral Mathematics in greater detail. There, I point out inconsistencies and reductionisms regarding the use of pronouns, person perspectives, and some dualities in the work of Wilber and other integral theorists (Edwards 2003; O’Connor, 2008, 2010) who have attempted to overcome these issues. The application provides a needed clarification of inconsistencies and reductionisms associated with these aspects and some uses of dualities in the integral literature.

NOTES My extensions of Integral Theory diverge from Ken Wilber’s approach and standard Wilberian thought. Therefore, I am offering them as a separate, but related branch of integral metatheory. 2 See Edwards (2010) for justification of crossing dualities, triads, and spectra in metatheory. 3 I criticized Wilber’s vertical dynamic drives as specifying only a positive ascending and a negative descending drive rather than having positive and negative drives for each vertical direction (Bowman, 2009). Earlier, Fred Kofman (2001) leveled a similar critique that spurred Wilber to offer an explanation and different verbiage (self-immanence replaced self-dissolution) for the missing drives to correct his 20 Tenets (Wilber, n.d.). 4 HFT treats each vertical drive as a larger dynamic category that includes more than one drive in Table 1. More precisely, self-transformation represents relatively balanced development, including the emergence of a new stage, but also involving at least both positive vertical drives, unless otherwise specified. Self-dissolution is the reverse, a regression with the loss of the highest stage, at a minimum, which entails negative ascension and negative descension. 1

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REFERENCES Bhaskar, R. (1978). A realist theory of science. Hassocks: Harvester Press. Beck, D. & Cowan, C. (1996). Spiral dynamics: Mastering values, leadership and change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bowman, K. (2009). Holarchical development: Discovering and applying missing drives from Ken Wilber’s twenty tenets. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 28(1), 1-24. Bowman, K. (2010a). Integral political economy. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 5(3), 1-27. Bowman, K. (2010b). The financial crisis of 2008–2009: An integral political-economic analysis. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 5(3), 39-67. Bowman, K. (2011). Holarchically embedding integral political economy: Helping to synthesize major schools of economics. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(2), 1-29. Bowman, K. (2012a). Integral scientific pluralism. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 7(1), 54-66. Bowman, K. (2012b). Correcting inconsistent uses of perspectives, pronouns, and dualities in integral theory: An application of holarchical field theory [working paper]. Edwards, M. (2003). Through AQAL eyes, Part 7: “I” and “me” and “we” and “us” and “you” and “yous.” Retrieved June 4, 2011, from http://www. integralworld.net/edwards11.html. Edwards, M. (2010). Organizational transformation for sustainability: An integral metatheory. New York, NY: Routledge. English, H., & English, A. (1958). A comprehensive dictionary of psychological and psychoanalytic terms. New York, NY: Longman’s Green. Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (2010). An ontology of climate change: Integral pluralism and the enactment of multiple objects. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 5(1), 143-174. Kantor, J. (1946). The aim and progress of psychology. American Scientist, 34, 251-263. Kantor, J. (1959). Interbehavioral psychology: A sample

of scientific system construction. Bloomington, IN: Principia. Kofman, F. (2001). Holons, heaps and artifacts (and their corresponding hierarchies). Retrieved October 12, 2012, from http://www.integralworld.net/ kofman.html. Lewin, K. (1936). Principles of topological psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: Selected papers (D. Carwright, Ed.). New York, NY: Harper. O’Connor, D. (2008). Integral catallactics: An Integral reconstruction of market theory and practice (August 7-10, 2008). Integral Theory Conference Proceedings. Pleasant Hill, CA: John F. Kennedy University. O’Connor, D. (2010). Integral praxiology: An inquiry into the essential nature of human action (July 29-August 1, 2010). Integral Theory Conference Proceedings. Pleasant Hill, CA: John F. Kennedy University. Rummel, R.J. (1975). Understanding conflict and war, Volume I: The dynamic psychological field. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Rummel, R.J. (1976). Understanding conflict and war, Volume 2: The conflict helix. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Rummel, R.J. (1981). Understanding conflict and war, Volume 3: The just peace. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Scharmer, C.O. (2009). Theory U: Leadership from the future as it emerges, the social technology of presencing. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Smith, N., & Smith, L. (1996). Field theory in science: Its role as a necessary and sufficient condition in psychology. Psychological Record, 46(1), 3-19. Sorotkin, P. (1969). Society, culture, and personality. New York, NY: Cooper Square. Stephenson, W. (1953). The study of behavior: Q-technique and its methodology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Torbert, B., with Cook-Greuter, S., Fisher, D., Foldy, E., Gauthier, A., Keeley J., Rooke D., et al. (2004). Action inquiry: The secret of timely and transforming leadership. San Francisco, CA: BerrettJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Koehler Publishers, Inc. Ushenko, A.P. (1946). Power and events: An essay on dynamics in philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Wilber, K. (n.d.). Stream of consciousness. Retrieved October 12, 2012, from http://blog.gaiam.com/ quotes/authors/ken-wilber/44104. Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, ecology, spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000a). Sex, ecology, spirituality (second edition). Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000b). A theory of everything: An integral vision for business, politics, science, and spirituality. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

Wilber, K. (2002). Kosmic karma and creativity. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Retrieved July, 2004, from http://wilber.shambhala.com. Wilber, K. (2006). Integral spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world. Boston, MA: Integral Books. Wilber, K., & Scharmer, O. (2003). A conversation between Ken Wilber, Otto Scharmer. Denver, CO, September 17. Retrieved December 27, 2011 from http://www.presencing.com/presencing/dol/ Wilber-2003.shtml Zingales, L. (2012). Economists’ capture. Presentation at the American Economics Association Meetings, Chicago, IL, January 6-8.

KEVIN J. BOWMAN, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of economics at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has created mathematical models with the forces of invention, innovation, and diffusion solving puzzles in the relationship between inequality and growth. Kevin has extended Ken Wilber’s dynamic drives, developed the first mathematical model for Integral Theory, and is a leader in the field of Integral Economics. Kevin has synthesized Wilber’s and Sean Esbjörn-Hargens’ Integral Pluralisms and his own Holarchical Development into Holarchical Field Theory. His work has appeared in Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Eastern Economics Journal, Journal of Asian Economics, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, and the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice.

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SURRENDERING INTO WITNESSING

A Foundational Practice for Building Collective Intelligence Capacity in Groups Olen Gunnlaugson and Mary Beth G. Moze

ABSTRACT While a noted enthusiasm for the “we-space” has developed within the integral community in recent years, there is a need for practices and methods for directly working with intersubjective field dynamics in groups. This article presents a post-personal practice, surrendering into witnessing, for evolutionary groups to more effectively discern and engage complex emergent collective-intelligence processes. Surrendering into witnessing is a five-phase practice designed to co-create optimal conditions for the emergence of collective intelligence and wisdom. KEY WORDS collective intelligence; intersubjective; field dynamics

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o a great extent, the generative capacity of groups hinges on a collective movement beyond the familiar horizons of the individual “I” into a subtle experience of conversation from a shared unfolding “we” experience directed from mutual resonance, presence, and emergent inquiry (Gunnlaugson, 2007; Scharmer, 2007). Within the broader integral community, interest in engaging this collective experience has given rise to developments such as the “we-space” (O’Fallon, 2007; Wilber, 2007; Wilber et al., 2008), “enlightened communication” (Cohen, 2011; ; Gunnlaugson, 2007, 2009; Hamilton, 2004), “a higher we” (Cohen, 2011), “transparent communication” (Hubl, 2011), and “collective field” (Patten, 2011), among others. To date, the focus of these evolutionary group processes has been primarily directed toward developing a means of evolving consciousness interiorly and collectively through shared states and transformative experiences of collective mind.1 Yet, in spite of the different respective intersubjective breakthroughs with these group processes, engaging the we-space for the purposes and outcomes of collective intelligence, such as solving difficult social or organizational problems or bringing about new creative discoveries in different domains of knowledge, continues to remain a comparatively uncharted region of research and inquiry. Accompanying the growing promise of these post-personal, evolutionary groups is the need to further clarify core practices to effectively engage and enact collective intelligence capacities, as well as improve upon the effectiveness of existing communication process methodologies. In the context of group communication, collective intelligence practice relies to a great extent on thinking from a deeper ontological level and way of being that is more in relation to the group field (Gunnlaugson, 2012; Scharmer, 2007) and what is arising from within the evolutionary group. To this end, we introduce a foundational practice—surrendering into witnessing—for evolutionary groups to access key ground conditions within the intersubjective field. Within evolutionary groups, based on our research and experience in facilitating groups, surrendering into witnessing serves as a catalyst in facilitating the necessary shifts within

Correspondence: Olen Gunnlaugson, Université Laval, Pavillion Palasis-Prince, 2325, rue de la Terrasse, Office #1505, Québec City, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 105–115

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individuals and the group for more stable access to the post-personal group field. As evolutionary groups develop the collective capacity to surrender into the witnessing state, this enactment fosters the capacity for thinking intersubjectively from a deeper shared source and shared post-personal state of being, in turn helping evolutionary groups access certain core conditions for collective intelligence emergence.

Shortcomings of Conventional Groups: A Brief Caricature Group communication norms in conventional groups tend to be limited and transactional, consisting of individuals listening and speaking from the commonplace condition of perceived separateness, both internally and within the subtle phenomenological realm of the group field. Individuals embedded in a more traditional secular worldview generally experience this separation as implicit to the context of their lifeworld, presumed as a pregiven aspect of one’s experience of ordinary waking life and consciousness, which is further reinforced by traditional public norms of debate, monologue, and discussion (Tannen, 1998). To draw out this caricature a bit further, thinking and listening from our separate self-sense prevents us from apprehending certain forms of emerging knowledge. Being to a great extent unaware of these limiting conditions, conventional groups tend to inadvertently generate polarization, fragmentation, destructive conflict, and other problematic experiences of communication. While it is overly simplistic to locate the root cause of these communication limitations back to an egocentric self-referencing orientation, when individuals habitually orient their thinking from the all too familiar psychosocial medium of the separate self and its pre-existing beliefs, communication issues invariably surface. Generally speaking, the ego and its defenses are well entrenched within sociocultural norms of behavior and intention (Ehlers, 2004; Vaillant, 1992, 1995). Nevertheless, this self-circumscribed orientation within the context of group communication brings about limiting conditions that obstruct the emergence of collective intelligence processes, which rely on the ability to sense and presence new knowledge, learning, and discoveries (Gunnlaugson 2007, 2012; Scharmer 2007).

The Ontological Experience of Surrender Traditionally, within more secular individualistic contexts of Western culture, surrender is understood in terms of defeat or giving up (Branscomb, 1993). Closely associated with this interpretation is the notion of submission, which involves the domination of one person over another (LaMothe, 2005). These conceptualizations of surrender naturally trigger the ego’s defenses and limit our ability to rest with and orient to one another in a more direct, open, and authentic manner. For the purposes of this article, we depart from this traditional secular view and draw attention instead to a transformative understanding of surrender as an inner shift from a personal to transpersonal or post-personal state of consciousness. This form of surrender involves slowing down to encounter an experience more directly. In learning to be more fully with what is, we make ourselves available to this perennial depth dimension of experience and reality and in turn open ourselves to new discoveries to be revealed through the phenomenon of emergence (Rutledge, 2004; Wolff, 1974). By relaxing our ordinary experience of separateness, in the subtle action of surrender we come into contact with a more permeable and expanded sense of self as a part of a larger distributed field and ground of being. The individual essence remains, but the primary identification with personality and habitual self-sense is relaxed. In turn, this expands our self horizons through an underlying felt connectedness with each other and the group field of consciousness. Surrender is, in many respects, an alchemical, bundled experience of seeing the world through soft eyes (Shapiro & Soidla, 2004; Tiebout, 1949); it is a subtle enactment that spontaneously brings about a relational transmutation in our way of being with others. While surrendering involves letting go of defenses that otherwise evoke self-contraction, the act of surrender itself is a distinct inner movement that is motivated by curiosity and oriented toward learning (Moze, 2009; Tiebout, 1949). The state of surrender is quite simple 106

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and yet complex in its ability to radically relate to an undetermined vastness. Research has highlighted key aspects of what is experienced in surrender, including timelessness, openness, limitlessness, connectedness, mutuality, receptivity, non-judgment, dynamic immersion, improvisation, suspension, and mindfulness without thoughts (Moze, 2009). The ontological dimension of surrender tends to be a subtle yet vibrant liminal state and space between certainty and uncertainty (Linds, 2004) from which we can engage with the subject at hand in a more tentative and ultimately creative and profound fashion. In surrender, there is a release of energy formally held in the contracted egoic state, giving rise to an improvisational quality of awareness, receptivity, and responsiveness to the unknown—a dynamic but subtle flow of emergence and waning that actualizes the potential for new meaning (May, 1982; Rutledge, 2004). Entering into the experience of surrender results in an increased sense of self-acceptance, self-reliance, inner peace, positive feelings, and ability to authentically express oneself (Jones, 1994; McDonald, 2003; Tiebout, 1949). In this liminal state, consciousness becomes more fluid, flexible, and creative through shared presence within a greater collective experience. As surrender happens through an embodied relationship to the present moment, a renewed curiosity for the unknown develops, awakening an innate desire to know and be known. In the state of surrender, we process our experience more inclusively, and are able to more clearly distinguish between perceptions and potentially greater truths (Branscomb, 1993; Jones, 1994). This cultivates a quality of non-personalized intimacy and relatedness with others, moving us toward greater unity while also paradoxically enhancing the need for autonomy (Branscomb, 1993; Hidas, 1981). Notably, the surrendered experience of one person can cause a shift or surrender in others because they are drawn toward the unifying nature of the surrendered state (Tolle, 1999). Interestingly, the surrender of one individual tends to invite and catalyze a more collective experience with others.

Surrendering into Witnessing The Witness is aware of space, aware of time—and is therefore itself free of space, free of time. It is timeless and spaceless—the purest Emptiness through which time and space parade. So this pure Seer is prior to life and death, prior to time and turmoil, prior to space and movement, prior to manifestation—prior even to the Big Bang itself. – Ken Wilber (1996a, p. 224) Surrendering, as it has been described, is also a powerful point of access for entering into the witnessing state. Witnessing helps us become aware of how we are otherwise enmeshed in our thoughts and feelings, which, once discovered, provides an opening for stillness along with access to new epistemological and ontological horizons and capacities of being. Surrender helps us relax and step out of accustomed habits of mind and emotions, while witnessing provides a distinct way of being with and holding the content of experiences. Here, unconscious and unobserved habits of knowing or personal feeling are re-contextualized as partial perspectives within the witnessing state. It is not that we leave our minds behind or dismiss feelings as being inconsequential; rather, witnessing opens up a clearing in experience from which everything arising can be seen more clearly and vividly with less personal identification. Surrendering out of the well-established cultural habit of being our thoughts and feelings to having them (Bohm, 1996; Kegan, 1994) provides an important basis to reorient the self to stillness, as a function and expression of its original nature. In giving the self permission to open into this greater tacit underlying context of being, we access a rich interconnected realm from which to creatively re-engage our experience collectively (Gunnlaugson, 2009). Traditionally, this shift into the witnessing state involves experiencing the deeper source of our experience individually, referred to in the traditions as “I-am-ness” or the essential higher self (Wilber, 1998). The Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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witnessing state provides vital access to a greater spiritual context out of which knowing and feelings can emerge anew. This opens up our knowing and feeling to draw directly from a more profound source of experience. Frances Vaughn (1985) elaborates on the spiritual milieu of the transpersonal self: The transpersonal self remains in the background of awareness until we choose to pay attention to it. The transpersonal self characteristically is experienced as wise and compassionate, alert and calm. Perception is clear, accurate, and nonattached. Affect is joyful and loving, and the predominant emotion is gratitude. There is an easy flow of energy, clear vision, easily focused or diffused attention, and a sense of being connected to everyone and everything as an integral part of a larger whole. At the same time, this awareness can be described as being nothing special, or just a quiet letting-be. One need not become different in order to experience it … There is a sense of being, not only in harmony or resonance with the beyond but also of being a part of and belonging to the beyond. One feels a heightened connectedness and an absence of loneliness, worthlessness, and fear. (p. 28) Vaughn’s description highlights the deeper tacit virtues that become a part of experience through this transcendent dimension of witnessing. Witnessing also draws on meta-awareness, which cultivates a more refined relationship to the discursive mind in such a manner that interrupts the intellect from being the chief epistemological faculty in command. Thomas Jordan (2000) comments on the function of meta-awareness: “Instead of being had by one’s habitual behavioural patterns, emotions, desires and thoughts, meta-awareness means that there is a locus of witnessing in consciousness that can make the behaviours, emotions, desires and thoughts objects of attention” (p. 3). Jordan’s point is not to objectify the contents of consciousness by engaging a detached internal observer, but rather to evoke a distinct form of observing experience in the moment. Within this shift is the opportunity to become the witnessing awareness itself that observes. This helps to further undo the pervasive conditioning of perceived separateness between the one who is experiencing and the one who is observing the experiencing. As such, the witnessing perspective involves forging a new in-the-moment relationship with what is ordinarily identified as ours or mine. The inner relaxation of self-identification, brought about through an infusion of embodied meta-awareness, which is distinct from the more common experience of being self-conscious, becomes possible. When we are identified with a perspective, it uses up our energy. However, when we bring a gentle witnessing presence to our perspectives, instead of self or ego, energy becomes available to be re-deployed toward attention, but more importantly—accessing this deeper field within the we-space. Witnessing experience opens up capacity and energy, freed of the former attachment or personal investment. Witnessing in this sense opens up a shared interior context within which we can discover a more profound interconnected basis of who we are, how we tend to identify with our thoughts and feelings, and how this identification tends to significantly limit our capacity for creativity and insight.

Witnessing as an Ontological Base Camp in the Intersubjective Field Building on the points presented in the previous section, through ongoing practice with the process of surrender, the witnessing experience contributes to building a supportive container for evolutionary groups to develop key capacities for collective intelligence work. Container functions as a metaphor for the group’s capacity for “holding space” (Corrigan, 2006) or the ability to remain with the arising creative and relational tensions within collective processes of generative learning and thinking together for the purposes of collective intelligence. The quality of unconditional presence and ability to surrender into witnessing plays an important role in strengthening the container within evolutionary groups. A robust contain108

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er supports the possibility of a deeper transmutation in both our self-identity and the very nature of the collective thinking process as a co-embodied ontological event. More conventional groups stand in contrast here, with poorly functioning or non-existent containers that are needed to facilitate collective access to the ground of being and higher we. Inasmuch as the witnessing experience is fundamentally beingoriented, it does not draw on the existential, survival orientation of the ego with its accompanying needs and drives. Due to the transpersonal nature of the witnessing experience, listening and speaking can be expressed from moment-centered relating and communing from a deeper collective transpersonal context. By developing the capacity to surrender into witnessing awareness, group participants can shift between the figure and ground of the conversation. That is, participants shift between focusing on the immediate subject of conversation (i.e., the figure) to experiencing the emergent process of conversation from the shared post-personal background of non-attached stillness and lucidity of collective witnessing (i.e., the ground). Practitioners within evolutionary groups learn to draw their thinking and listening from a felt sense of unity with the field, brought about by both witnessing and participating in the experience. In surrendering into this experience, participants learn to relax the boundary between one’s self and the greater collective experience. Or to put this in another way, perceived separateness that typifies a conventional group is diminished, while a shared sense of engagement is heightened. When practiced collectively, the witnessing experience becomes a basecamp for individuals and the collective to access authentic creative engagement within the intersubjective field (Gunnlaugson, 2011). From this basecamp, evolutionary groups can embark upon a learning process that involves engaging with and leading the conversation from the witnessing state. Here, witnessing opens up and draws upon actual shared interior resources of consciousness in contrast to more gross-level strategies of the mind (i.e., use of a certain type of passionate evolutionary discourse to stimulate interest in the we-space). This point becomes crucial insofar as witnessing provides an experiential rather than ideological reference point for groups to come into moment-to-moment presence in a state beyond the conditioning and ignorance of the separate self. It is not that egoic functioning is completely transcended. It is more that a third-person, less attached and therefore less invested in perspective of ego becomes possible through the eyes of the collective witness. Much like returning to the breath in meditation, re-embodying witnessing awareness for evolutionary groups offers a comparatively more reliable context from which to navigate a subject or conversation. Like the breath, the witness becomes, with sufficient practice and embodiment, a safe place that we can return to in the we-space for the purposes of further refining our discernment of what is and what is arising. As such, the witnessing perspective and experience provide a subtle yet stronger access point for listening, speaking, and interacting within the collective interior dimension of the we-space (i.e., zone 3 of Integral Methodological Pluralism). Within the transpersonal dimension of the witnessing experience, a shared context opens up within the group to access stillness collectively, with stillness being a key phenomenological aspect of the witnessing state and creative reference point for accessing collective intelligence capabilities in groups (Gunnlaugson, 2012). Through the stillness accessed in the witnessing state, post-personal groups are given the chance to make in-the-moment contact with the creative source of their own experience (Gunnlaugson, 2011; Scharmer, 2007) as well as this deeper underlying transpersonal self and its faculties of being and generative knowing. The longing to know and to be known from stillness and non-separateness creates an ontological opportunity to establish a new context to root our thinking from this deeper ground of human experience. With practice and sufficient embodiment, the witnessing experience becomes an ontological basecamp in the intersubjective field, providing a tangible post-personal reference point for evolutionary groups to resource from when building new knowledge, ideas, and discoveries through collective intelligence communication processes. While surrendering into witnessing is key, it is important to clarify that one is not surrendering critical discernment, which is crucial to deconstructing groupthink tendencies that accompany any group (Irving, 1972). Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Enabling Conditions for Surrendering into Witnessing Certain conditions are helpful in fostering the experience of surrendering into witnessing within evolutionary groups. Trust—whether in the group, ourselves, or in our ability to communicate and orient from the group field—is a key enabler (Branscomb, 1993; Tiebout, 1949, 1954). Without trust, there is rarely the authentic surrender or capacity for witnessing that is necessary for the work of collective discovery. By extension, an underlying disposition of accepting what is and what is arising (Jones, 1994), rather than holding to fixed notions concerning the process or outcomes of the we-space communication, helps reinforce trust. A committed engagement in curiosity is an important enabler of surrendering into witnessing, as it informs and directs action and inclines us to engage with the unknown for the sake of new learning (Levitt et al., 2006; Moze, 2009). Curiosity is closely associated with interest and openness to experience (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Whereas interest broadens our thoughts and promotes exploration of new information, and openness allows for a lack of perceived boundaries and embracing the unknown, curiosity enables us to override preservational drives and to more intentionally respond to the innate desire for learning and growth (Fredrickson, 1998; Moze, 2009). While interest helps to direct attention and openness provides a quality of relating to others, curiosity mobilizes individual and collective learning processes, which is helpful when practicing surrendering into witnessing. Curiosity is a form of cognitively induced deprivation arising from the awareness of gaps in our knowledge (Loewenstein, 1994). Being aware of these gaps awakens curiosity, while ignoring these gaps or remaining rigid in our existing certainties creates a barrier to curiosity. Evolutionary work, as it has been broadly conceived within the integral community, rests on recognizing the limits of our knowledge and engaging our curiosity for the purposes of growth, development, and awakening. Authentic and engaged curiosity motivates action, and it is a core catalyst for surrendering into witnessing and collective intelligence processes. Evolutionary groups in this sense provide an ideal context for surrender and discovering new insights because curiosity is activated by person-environment interactions. The ambiguity inherent in social situations and interpersonal encounters not only elicits curiosity, but greater curiosity correlates with greater intimacy (Kashdan & Fincham, 2004), thereby enhancing the dynamics of the we-space. Curiosity involves being more interested in what we do not know than being invested in defending or advocating what we already presume to know. Another key enabling condition for surrendering into witnessing is co-creating an environment of mutuality. Whether in a face-to-face gathering or a virtual event, this condition brings about a sense of individual and collective well-being; mutual respect and acceptance for everyone engaged in the situation; an absence of dominating behaviors; and an invitation to relax more deeply (Atwood et al., 2002; LaMothe, 2005; Levitt et al., 2006). Mutuality can be environmentally supported through a careful selection of furniture, lighting, colors, and general attention to environmental elements (Bechtel & Churchman, 2002; Levitt et al., 2006). Mutuality can also be interpersonally supported with shared principles of engagement. Rituals can help facilitate the transition phases involved with surrendering into witnessing by offering a safe gateway into the experience, which also satisfies deeper spiritual, emotional, and community needs (Campbell, 2004; Houston, 1985). Opening rituals may include sharing a few minutes of group silence or meditation, offering an intentional check-in at the beginning of the gathering, or ringing a bell or bowl to evoke harmonic resonance.

Surrendering into Witnessing: The Practice Surrendering into witnessing provides a foundational intersubjective practice for evolutionary groups interested in accessing a post-personal basecamp for navigating their inquiry into collective intelligence. While the method itself may seem complex or challenging to consistently access for some, there is a simplicity and 110

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quality of being at home in the practice that develops with ongoing integration and embodiment. Drawing in part from the world’s wisdom traditions, but also from more current insights into evolutionary group practice and research, we will now further elucidate upon what is involved with the practice itself.2 Surrendering into witnessing involves the following five phase process: 1) surrender into presence, 2) discover your subtle embodied access point of connection to this deeper shared state of distributed presence within the group, 3) connect to witnessing awareness from this presence, 4) come from the space of the witness in your listening and speaking, and 5) support the we-space in this practice by resting in deeper stillness and attention when not engaging with the group directly (Fig. 1).

5) Support the we-space from the witness

1) Surrender into presence

2) Become established in shared presence

4) Come from the witness when speaking & listening

3) Connect to witnessing awareness

Figure 1. The five phases of surrendering into witnessing.

Phase One: Surrender Into Presence Wisdom practices such as awareness-based meditation facilitate surrender from conventional separate-self sense to a more subtle, distributed experience of one’s self as a part of the underlying ground of presence of our original nature. Ongoing meditation practice familiarizes practitioners with this tacit dimension of self and develops the attentional and know-how ability to surrender at will into these deeper states of being. To support an optimal engagement with this phase of the practice, we recommend combining regular meditation with we-space practice. This is helpful in order to make more consistent and direct in-the-moment contact with our fundamental nature as it is and as it is arising. It also helps us move into the unknown with a developed curiosity and sustained engagement of attention with what we do not currently know or understand.

Phase Two: Become Established in Shared Presence An important pre-condition to accessing the deeper generative dimension of the we-space involves being able to come into the relational dimension of shared presence. What is your personal point of access for coming into shared presence? The metaphor “point of access” is a visual reference point. For some this will be useful; others, however, may need to find their own embodied reference point that does not draw on spatial awareness so much as a felt sense or sensation. There are different paths to this basecamp, but each path in a manner Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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consistent with its own way of knowing discerns the route distinctively. Accessing the distributed quality of presence involves co-attending and resting in the group field with others. Again, this is a metaphorical depiction that may or may not resonate. The greater significance of this phase is to access presence through subtle means of knowing and being that become available through deepened collective states of consciousness.

Phase Three: Connect to Witnessing Awareness Accessing witnessing awareness from shared presence is important. Connecting to shared presence tends to awaken the ground conditions for a non-egoic passage into the witnessing experience. Traditionally, pointing out instructions offers an effective method for noticing the ever-present witness in our experience. The skillful means at this junction lie within our ability to become aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations. The objective here is to notice that they are experiences. In peeling back the proverbial layers (i.e., thoughts, feelings, sensations), we begin to encounter a deeper experience of emptiness and freedom. From this in-themoment discovery or rediscovery arises the desire for non-interference and allowing more experience to be as it is. In coming into a place of non-identification and unconditional acceptance of experience, we can begin to access a deeper source of stillness and wakefulness that lies at the heart of the witnessing state.

Phase Four: Come from the Witness when Listening and Speaking A practitioner should now be ready to begin experimenting with coming from the witness state in the group inquiry (i.e., listening and speaking from this experience directly). At first, it may not be clear why this is important. With practice, it will become clearer that engaging the we-space conversation from the witnessing state allows for a deepened receptivity to an underlying tangible source of creativity. By learning to redirect attention to this underlying source as we listen and speak through access to the deep present, we begin to find a more reliable transpersonal or post-personal basis to engage with others than the separate self. Coming from the witness collectively provides a comparatively authentic basis for evolutionary groups to orient and navigate post-personal processes in groups.

Phase Five: Support the We-space from Deeper Stillness As practitioners learn to identify and come from the witnessing experience in Phase Four, they become more established in observing the natural flow of their experience in the conversation and resting in this embodied observance. By orienting from the witness, attention can now be redeployed toward discerning new knowledge and learning and discoveries within the emergence process (unlike the case of most meditative traditions). This is a key point, in that learning to discern what is arising in the emerging conversational stream to a great extent relies on cultivating an instinct or subtle felt sense for articulating what has the most resonance and value—in terms of emerging knowledge, realizations, or discoveries. Resonance at this stage of the practice becomes a chief barometer for deciding what is worth sharing or letting go of. In Phase Five, the witnessing state offers a useful individual and collectively interior context out of which to gauge resonance. Additionally, resting in the witnessing state provides a basis for holding the group in an environment of postpersonal attention, which further strengthens the group container and holding environment.

General Remarks on the Surrendering into Witnessing Practice Surrendering into witnessing is an invitation to discover firsthand in our experience a new basis of self-identity in the context of conversation as well as life more fundamentally. This work will necessarily involve some form of encounter with the commonplace mistaken identity of one’s self as fundamentally separate from the 112

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nature of life and reality. Thus, learning to discern the deeper nature of who we are involves an experiential unfoldment of the self in relation. Much like any consciousness practice, there are important enabling conditions for surrendering into witnessing. The process cannot be forced, nor can evolutionary groups expect to access the witnessing space consistently when in the we-space. Unlike in the context of personal practice, however, the we-space generates a powerful intersubjective field that can serve as a catalyst and enabling condition for helping individuals surrender more deeply into witnessing awareness. This practice proceeds from the recognition that fundamentally our human scope of identity is too limited for the purposes of collective intelligence undertakings. What is needed for post-personal groups is a continued insistence on apprehending, embodying, and enacting a richer depth dimensional sense of who we are individually, collectively, as well as culturally and within the ultimate context of the emerging story of the universe. Consistent with the message of the wisdom traditions, we invite you to suspend preconceived ideas or assumptions, take up the injunctions, and try out the practice with the intent of discovering how it can serve collective intelligence processes.

Conclusion Through our narration of the perspectives and phenomenological territory of surrendering into witnessing, the main intent of this article was to introduce and clarify skillful means that will benefit groups in their undertaking of collective intelligence communication processes. By drawing from the traditional wisdom practices of surrendering and witnessing, we make the case for surrendering into witnessing to build upon the work of current evolutionary groups. We also offer the practice as a standalone method to help evolutionary groups facilitate the necessary interior shifts that help us move beyond the traditional limiting norms of communication and more effectively unearth collective intelligence approaches to group communication. In this sense, the practice can serve a catalytic function in priming individuals and collectives to discover a powerful transpersonal access point to the group field.

NOTES 1

For the purposes of this article, it is important to clarify that the term “evolutionary groups” is not specific to an integrally informed group practice. Although the scope of the concern in this article lies within integrally informed evolutionary groups as defined above, we recognize the importance of a greater trans-traditional emergence of post-personal processes across different group contexts. In brief, this collective process is by no means dependent upon an integral context or culture. Nevertheless, significant developments have emerged in recent years within the broader integral community that we believe merit continued research and inquiry. 2 This article arose out of my work and research as a scholar-practitioner as well as more recent conversations with colleagues. The practice that is described was not generated from a particular empirical study. I (O.G.) have been working with a broad cross section of evolutionary groups for the better part of a 15-year period. Collective work in groups also has been central to my studies and research as an undergraduate and graduate student, as well as a postdoc and currently as a faculty member. There is no optimal size for a group, as this practice is designed for practitioners interested in bringing about deeper collective intelligence processes in groups of any size.

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Hidas, A.M. (1981). Psychotherapy and surrender: A psychospiritual perspective. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 13(1), 27-32. Houston, J. (1985). Pathos and soul-making. Voices: The Art and Science of Psycholotherapy, 21(3-4), 7379. Hubl, T. (2011). Transparent Communication. Retrieved August 25, 2012, from http://www.thomashuebl. com/en/activities/transparent-communication. html. Irving, J. (1972). Victims of groupthink: Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascos (second ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Jones, G.S. (1994). The surrender experience in recovery from substance dependence: A multiple case study. Dissertation Abstracts International, 56B(03), 1688. (Publication No. 9521490). Jordan, T. (2000). Dimensions of consciousness development: A preliminary framework. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from http://lightmind.com/library/ essays/Jordan-01.html. Kashdan, T.B., & Fincham, F.D. (2004). Facilitating curiosity: A social and self-regulatory perspective for scientifically based interventions. In P.A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 482-503). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. LaMothe, R. (2005). Creating space: The fourfold dynamics of potential space. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 22(2), pp. 207–223. Levitt, H., Butler, M., & Hill, T. (2006). What clients find helpful in psychotherapy: Developing principles for facilitating moment-to-moment change. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 314324. Linds, W. (2004). Stopping in-between: (Inter)playing moments of a theatre workshop. Educational Insights, 9(1). Retrieved August 11, 2012, from http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/ v09n01/articles/linds.html. Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), 75-98.

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May, G.G. (1982). Will and spirit. New York, NY: Harper & Row. McDonald, M.V. (2003). A phenomenological study of adult development: Older women, growth seeking, and experiencing turning point events. Dissertation Abstracts International, 64B(07), 3560. (Publication No. 3097136). Moze, M.B.G. (2009). A theory of surrender: Understanding psychological surrender with comparison to ego defense. Dissertation Abstracts International, 70B(04), 412. (Publication No. 3353782). O’Fallon, T. (2007). Leadership and the interpenetration of structure and state stages: A subjective exposé. Integral Leadership Review. Patten, T. (2011). What’s emerging in the collective field? The Beyond Awakening Blog. Retrieved from: http://beyondawakeningseries.com/blog/ terry-patten/what%E2%80%99s-emerging-inthe-collective-field/. Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Rutledge, M.E. (2004). Dance as research: The experience of surrender. Dissertation Abstracts International, 65A(10), 3740. (Publication No. NQ96011). Scharmer, O. (2007). Theory U: Leading from the future as it emerges. Cambridge, MA: SoL Press. Shapiro, S.I., & Soidla, T.R. (2004). Eternity is in love with the productions of time. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 36(2), 202-219. Tannen, D. (1998). The argument culture: Moving from debate to dialogue. New York, NY: Random

House. Tiebout, H. M. (1949). The act of surrender in the therapeutic process with special reference to alcoholism. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 10, 48-58. Tiebout, H. M. (1954). The ego factors in surrender in alcoholism. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 15, 610-621. Tolle, E. (1999). The power of now. Novato, CA: New World Library. Vaillant, G.E. (1992). The historical origins of Sigmund Freud’s concept of the mechanisms of defense. In G.E. Vaillant (Ed.), Ego mechanisms of defense: A guide for clinicians and researchers (pp. 3-28). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Vaillant, G.E. (1995). The wisdom of the ego. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Vaughn, F. (1985). Discovering transpersonal identity. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 25(13), 1338. Wilber, K. (1996). Up from Eden: A transpersonal view of human evolution. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. Wilber, K. (1998). The essential Ken Wilber: An introductory reader. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2007). The integral vision: A very short introduction to the revolutionary integral approach to life, god, the universe and everything. Boston , MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K., Patten, T., Leonard, A., & Morelli, M. (2008). Integral life practice: A 21st-century blueprint for physical health, emotional balance, mental clarity and spiritual awakening. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wolff, K.H. (1974). Surrender and the body. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 2, 19-60.

OLEN GUNNLAUGSON, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in leadership and organizational development within the Department of Management at Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada. Olen’s academic work has been published in academic books, peer-reviewed journals, and presented at numerous international conferences. Olen brings an increasingly multidisciplinary approach to his research interests of communication processes in teams, conversational leadership, the development of management skills, and leadership coaching. MARY BETH G. MOZE, Ph.D., is a personal coach and an integral spirituality practitioner. She received her doctorate in “Transformative Learning and Change” from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her research and interests focus on personal development, conscious evolution, and the understudied phenomenon of surrender as it relates to the moment of personal and collective transformational shifts. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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THE APPLICATION OF INTEGRAL THEORY TO FUTURES SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT Dennis Morgan

I

ntegral Futures (IF) is largely the innovation of Richard Slaughter during the beginning of the 21st century.1 On the basis of Dr. Slaughter’s pioneering work, other futures practitioners have successfully applied IF to their research and practice, which was showcased in a 2008 special issue of the journal Futures.2 Mostly, these integral futurists demonstrated how IF, as a theoretical framework for futures/foresight research and practice, could help futurists better understand and thus improve futures methodologies.3 However, my own particular application of IF relates to futures schools of thought as images of civilizational futures; thus, in this article, I will not refer to futures methodologies but will instead focus on futures schools of thought and their evolution during the past 40 years.4 Hopefully, consideration of futures schools of thought as civilizational futures within the IF framework will help to better understand the challenge of the future as well as how to construct a multifaceted, comprehensive, integral image of the future for the 21st century. Before presenting this comprehensive image of the future through the IF framework, I will briefly introduce the four-quadrant model, as developed by Ken Wilber, to be followed by an overview of the origin of the three futures schools of thought in the 1970s. I will then show how these three futures schools of thought evolved into the present-day eight futures schools of thought, which can be located within each of the quadrants of the four-quadrant IF framework. Finally, I will show how modern and postmodern stages of consciousness are reflected in distinct images of the future.

The Four-Quadrant Model As a whole, the four quadrants of Integral Theory represent a map or theoretical window for interpreting reality, the universe, all that exists, or “everything,” as Wilber (2000a, 2000b, 2007) has bluntly stated.5 Even so, it can also be applied to specific phenomena as well; for example, the four-quadrant model has been applied to disciplines/fields such as medicine, art, business, education, spiritual practice, politics, psychology, media, social work, and ecology.6 This new holistic perspective has enabled these disciplines to engage in their respective practices more freely and completely than had been previously understood, largely due to the incorporation and revitalization of the “invisible” Left-Hand quadrants. These quadrants represent the internal or subjective qualities or natures that are not readily “seen” in the external world, but which, nevertheless, are just as important, vital, and “real” such that, without their consideration, the interpretation of reality is reduced and compressed into “flatland,” a monological, Right-Hand only “It”/“Its” perspective that is the cause of much of the pathology, dissociation, and alienation that so plagues modern life.7

Three Futures Schools of Thought Before exploring the map of the future through the lens of the Integral framework, I will first examine ways that the future has been perceived through schools of thought within the field. When the first futures program was developed at the University of Massachusetts in the early 1970s, Dr. Chris Dede and others who initiated the program systematically surveyed a variety of sources on studies of the future and through a brainstorming Correspondence: Dennis Morgan, Wansan-ri San 89, Mohyun-myun, Choein-gu, Yongin-si, Kyonggi-do 449-791, South Korea. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 116–127

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School

View

Positive Extrapolist (PE)

• Technology is a “good thing” • Future is shaped in the image of technology

• H. Kahn • J. Simon • A. Toffler • R. Kurzweil

• Linear progression + scientific materialism + positive extrapolation of dynamic technological systems/society (Right-Hand quadrants)

Negative Extrapolist (NE)

• “Limits to growth” environmental impact study • “Overreach and collapse” scenario • Critique of positive extrapolism

• • • • •

Club of Rome D. & D. Meadows P. Ehrich L. Brown B. McKibben

• Scientific critique of PE + comprehensive dynamic systems view (Lower-Right quadrant)

Transformationalist (T)

• Spiritual values over materialist/consumer values

• • • •

W. Harmon O. Markley R. Theobald V. Vinge

• Emphasis on spiritual values and transformational paradigm shift to new age (Left-Hand quadrants)

• Transformation of consciousness • Paradigm shift to “new age”

Authors

Quadrant

Figure 1. The three futures schools of thought.

session identified three distinct “schools of thought” concerning the future.8 Since the evolution of technology was seen as the main driver of the future, the three schools of thought (positive extrapolists, negative extrapolists, and transformationalists) focused primarily on the role of technology in fashioning the future in the image of a technological society. Accordingly, the image of the future emerged as severely fractured since the futures schools of thought were greatly divided on this question; for example, the positive extrapolists were quite “positive” about a technological society, that it was mostly a good thing that technology continue to be the main driver of the future, and that the image of the future would be a world shaped in the image of technology. Effectively, the positive extrapolists were scientific materialists and technological determinists convinced of the inevitability of progress through further developments of science and technology (Fig. 1). On the other hand, the negative extrapolists were not so convinced about the future of the technological society and world. Increasingly, largely because of the environmental movement of the 1960s, a new consciousness emerged quite critical of the technological side-effects taking a great toll on the environment, principally in the form of air, water, and land pollution; ozone depletion; species extinction; deforestation/ desertification; and global warming. In 1972, through the sponsorship of the Club of Rome, Dennis and Donella Meadows published Limits to Growth, which showcased the computer modeling of dynamic systems to simulate interactions and the exponential growth of five variables: world population, resources depletion, industrialization, pollution, and food production. The conclusion of the study depicted an overreach and collapse scenario of industrial civilization during the 21st century. Over the years that followed, the overreach-and-collapse conclusion drawn by the Limits to Growth (LtG) research project has stirred considerable criticism and controversy within the futures field and beyond. The gist of the technological optimist response to LtG is that LtG is mere “chicken-little” alarmism while the computer modeling system and simulations are just that—a crude model of oversimplified simulations Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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that bear little resemblance to the complexities of the “real world.” Besides that, the techno-driven positive extrapolists believe that the negative side-effects of progress and growth are well compensated for by the positive benefits of technology and, moreover, technology itself has demonstrated time and again its capacity to create positive solutions to its negative side-effects and will continue to do so in the future. For the negative extrapolists this reaction and criticism is misplaced—more indicative of “scientism” rather than real science, which accepts the results if the method and data are shown to be valid. Instead, it seems that the positive extrapolists do not accept the results not because of any fault in the method or data but only because the results challenge their fundamental assumptions and worldview, which is their “great faith” in technology and the virtues of capitalism. For the negative extrapolists, this reaction represents an example of paradigm blindness and a state of denial. To this day, despite the storm of criticism, through a number of updates, the Club of Rome LtG study has weathered the crisis with its fundamental thesis still intact (Turner, 2007), and though science and technology has come up with some solutions to the “global problematique,” it does appear that the global crisis has only grown worse during the past 40 years, while the promised technofixes have mostly been a case of “too little, too late.”9 The dispute between the positive and negative extrapolists over the role of technology in the future is largely a dispute within science; however, one other futures school of thought is more critical of the scientific paradigm in general, at least in its capacity to bring about the transition to a new kind of society that cherishes spiritual values over material, consumer-based values. Instead, this futures school of thought focuses on the transformation of consciousness as a key prerequisite to the realization of a new paradigm for the 21st century and beyond. Thus, members of the third futures school of thought, known as transformationalists, envision and propose creative, “alternative futures” that acknowledge the subjective realm of spirituality and the evolution of consciousness in its image of the future. Though not necessarily rejecting science and technology in general, it nevertheless rejects the way that the technological society tends to reduce the individual to a mere consumerist cog-in-the-wheel of the economic machine. As a child of the New Age movement, the transformationalist futures school of thought also does not accept traditional religion, at least in the form of authoritative, literalist fundamentalism, just as it does not accept the scientific materialism that seems to displace traditional religion in the modern, rational worldview. Instead, it seeks to reaffirm spirituality, spiritual values, and transcendental consciousness as part of a new paradigm and worldview that is to replace technology as the key driver of the future and produce a new civilization primarily based on spiritual rather than material values.

Three Futures Schools of Thought within the Integral Futures Framework At this point, one might inquire whether these three futures schools of thought can be identified within the IF framework. Indeed, if so, then how can the IF framework help us to better understand the three futures schools of thought in the context of the whole? Let us take a look at how these schools of thought are positioned within the IF framework (see Fig. 2). First of all, regarding the positive extrapolist school of thought, we can see that the image of the future projected operates entirely within the Right-Hand quadrants. In the UR quadrant, it is the image of technoman, who functions within the scientific-materialist paradigm as an economic animal and consumer of products. At the same time, however, techno-man plays one of the many well-defined roles within technological society and industrial civilization, depending on her status, class, nationality, or cultural orientation. Essentially, he is a “PAC-Man” since the main imperatives in life are to possess property/things, amuse oneself, and consume products.10 Although technological systems are increasingly dynamic, they are also increasingly autonomous and lead to a homogenous, one-dimensional mass culture.11 In contrast, the image of the future for the negative extrapolists is based on a more advanced dynamic systems theory than that of the technological society, for 118

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C O L L E C T IV E

I ND IV ID UAL

I N TE R I O R

E X TE R I O R

Transformationalists = Transformations of Consciousness

Positive Extrapolists = Techno/PAC-Man

I

IT

WE ITS Transformationalists = Worldview / Paradigm Shift

Positive Extrapolists = Technological Society Negative Extrapolists = Comprehensive Dynamic Systems Critique

Figure 2. The three futures schools of thought within the Integral Futures framework. Note: Futures schools of thought are depicted as civilizational futures.

the systems theory of the negative extrapolists contains the critique of technological systems and is more comprehensive, taking into account all externalities.12 Even from a purely scientific-materialist perspective, the negative extrapolists’ critique exposes the destructive direction of technological society within industrial civilization and the capitalist system. This critique is more potent than Marx’s critique of capitalism (which focused primarily on human-to-human relations within capitalism), for the LtG critique exposes the self-destructive nature of capitalism through a human-to-environment critique, strongly implying that a fundamental structural shift is necessary in order to avoid an otherwise inevitable overshoot and collapse scenario in which the quality of life for future generations is jeopardized. Furthermore, the LtG critique implies that superficial technological quick-fixes are not going to be enough to prevent the breakdown of industrial civilization; in other words, the conclusion indicates that the system itself is inherently broken and in need of a complete overhaul, calling for a new way of life. This brings us to the identification and discussion of the third futures school of thought, transformationalism, which represents a “third way” or “alternative futures” within the IF framework. The technological society within industrial civilization, powered by capitalism as the engine for development and growth, is the hallmark of modernity; yet this era arguably is coming to a close, so what will replace it? Can it be restructured in a way that preserves its redeeming features? The transformationalist futures school of thought has sided with the negative extrapolists’ vision of the future; however, the transformationalists went a step further and deeper to begin to visualize a new future based on a paradigm that emphasizes spiritual rather than material values. For this reason, the transformationalist school of thought about the future opened up the Left-Hand quadrants, which until then had been thoroughly repressed by the scientific-materialist paradigm of modernity. The transformationalists do not deny the progress of science and technology, but they feel it is imperative to point out the reductionism, repression, and domination schemes that have systematically reinJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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terpreted and remade man in the image of its machines. Moreover, as the LtG study revealed, this machine has become autonomous and is hell-bent on the destruction of the biosphere—the foundation of all life. Thus, within the IF framework, we can see the emergence of the transformationalist futures school of thought within the Left-Hand quadrants, proposing nascent, alternate futures in contrast to the direction of the “official future” of the mainstream positive extrapolists who operate entirely within the Right-Hand, objective quadrants (the “True”). Actually, one might object that the Left- and Right-Hand quadrants should not be in opposition to each other, and perhaps ideally speaking, that is correct; yet, at the same time, the IF framework is dynamic, exposing the dialectic of change. For example, positive extrapolism contains the seeds of its own critique from within the scientific-materialist paradigm; negative extrapolism appears as the antithesis of the positive extrapolist school of thought; and transformationalism appears then as the new thesis or paradigm of futures beyond overshoot and collapse.13

From Three to Eight Futures Schools of Thought In 2007, 15 years after I graduated from the futures program at the University of Houston, I had the honor to work with Dr. Richard Slaughter on an Internet-based, meta-scanning research project called State of Play in the Futures Field (SoPiFF). While scanning, recording, and analyzing futures sources, I was struck how the three futures schools of thought had seemed to have expanded to eight and could, furthermore, be paired, showing distinct lines of development within each quadrant (Fig. 3). For example, in the UR quadrant, the positive extrapolist image of the future as techno-(PAC)-man, refashioned in the image of its technical civilization, had taken a decidedly transhumanist direction toward Ray Kurzweil’s image of the future as the Singularity. In fact, one could say that the positive extrapolists had arrived at a new stage of development, with their own version of transformation in the future, one in which the image of man is completely transformed into the image of the machine.

C OLLE C TIVE

IN D IVIDUAL

I N T ER I OR

EXT ER IO R

Spiritual Transformationalists

Anti-civilizationalists

Permaculture

Earth Community

Transhuman Singularity

I

IT

WE ITS

Techno/PAC-Man

Global Empire

Global Sustainable Development

Figure 3. From three to eight civilizational futures. 120

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At the same time, in the LR quadrant, we can see how the positive extrapolist image of the future has become globalized after the end of the Cold War in the distinct image of the American empire and multinational corporations. This vision of the future was boldly announced by the George W. Bush administration in its neoconservative manifesto, The Project for a New American Century (2000), which outlined the American strategy for global domination in the 21st century. The technological society of industrial civilization, linked with multinational corporations, now contains a distinctly American flavor of a global empire ruled by a multinational “corporatocracy.” However, is this empire sustainable? Thus, within the LR quadrant, the LtG negative extrapolist critique created the impetus for transcendence through the principle of global sustainable development (GSD) as the only means by which globalization can be tempered and global empire transformed. The principle of GSD has become very critical to futures studies—to such an extent that futurists can now say with confidence that either the future will be sustainable or else there will be no future. The image of global empire must be transformed into the image of global sustainable development; otherwise, the overshoot-and-collapse scenario threatens the future with devastating consequences for future generations during the 21st century and perhaps centuries to come. This transition is the greatest challenge of the future during this century. Moreover, the IF framework also reveals that the Great Transition cannot come about solely through the Right-Hand quadrants, for the recognition of the validity of the Left-Hand quadrants is also critical for the transition to be successful and complete (Raskin et al., 2007). The new paradigm must be one in which all quadrants are validated and balanced; otherwise, the future will develop into what Wilber calls “flatland”—a one-dimensional existence within an unsustainable, autonomous, technological society on a runaway course of industrial civilization (Fig. 4). Hence, the impetus for transformation within the LR quadrant from global

C O L L EC T I VE

IN DI V I D UA L

I NT E RI O R

EX T E RI O R

This quadrant has been reduced to a mere shadow of the Right-Hand quadrant futures schools of thought. Spirituality has been systematically denied and suppressed or else represented as pseudo-spirituality, which is a caricature of authentic spirituality. Consciousness has been mechanized and flattened such that it merely replicates advances in artificial intelligence: just as machine consciousness is made to replicate human consciousness, so human consciousness is manufactured in the image of the machine.

I

Transhuman Singularity

Techno/PAC-Man

IT

WE ITS

A materialist culture expresses values that conceive of the public good as a mere shadow-reflection of the corporate good. The “good” of the corporation is determined by the “goods” it produces, which are “good” for the individual to purchase and consume; thus, the individual exists merely to serve the interests of the corporation, which has become a global empire in a flat world.

Global Empire of the “corporatocracy” in an unsustainable technological society = the collapse of industrial civilization (GSD is an impossibility)

Figure 4. The future of flatland civilization. GSD—global sustainable development. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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CO L L ECT IVE

IND IV ID UA L

INT E RIOR

E XTE RI O R

Spiritual Transformationalists

Transhuman Singularity

Anti-civilizationalists

Techno/PAC-Man

I

IT

WE ITS Permaculture

Earth Community

Global Empire

Global Sustainable Development

Figure 5. Dynamic interactions within the Integral Futures framework.

empire to GSD comes from within through the transformation of values, ethics, and worldview toward a new, sustainable, global culture based on Earth community. This line of development can be seen in the LL quadrant of the IF framework (Fig. 5). Initially, this change began as an act of civil disobedience by pockets of localized, independent, organic farming communities that refused to depend on or have anything to do with the direction of industrial civilization. The finest example of these can be seen in the advent of “permaculture,” which is the movement to create a “permanent agriculture” that does not depend on unsustainable, large-scale agricultural technology and the oil that greases it. Because the advent of permaculture, along with other localized organic farming community movements, implies a new cultural awakening and orientation to one’s immediate environment and the future, I have placed it in the LL quadrant as the antithesis to the culture of global empire.14 However, these isolated pockets of resistance will not be enough to bring about a transformation to GSD. Largely through the advent of the Internet, global consciousness has awakened in a thoroughly democratic form that yearns for a new paradigm that can transform global empire into GSD, in the form of a new, “natural capitalism,” directed through wise foresight, in a principled way that goes beyond sustainability toward a vision of environmental economics and Earth restoration that guarantees the protection and preservation of future generations and all life upon the Earth. Finally, we turn to the UL quadrant, which is the home of transcendent consciousness, creativity, and spiritual growth. It might be surprising that I have placed the rebellious and anarchistic “anti-civilizationalists” within this quadrant. However, one must bear in mind that anti-civilizationalists are the original Romantics, artists, spiritual leaders, and philosophers who criticized Western, industrial civilization for its materialism and rational denial of spirituality. Though overemotional, idealist, and irrational at times, they fought for the integrity of the individual in the face of increasing materialism and mechanization of technical civilization. The problem, however, as Wilber (2000a) has pointed out, is that some of these artists and philosophers were 122

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also affected by the logic of the industrial grid to become spirit-denying nihilists.15 Still, credit must be given to the Romantics and anarchists who dared to defy the image of techno-man and instead chose to “swim upstream” in the fight to preserve the integrity of the individual, and many of them did go on to realize new pathways to transcendent consciousness and spiritual growth. That’s why I draw the line of development in this quadrant as a matter of spiritual evolution and transformation from “anti-civilizationalist” to “spiritual transformationalist.” Because many of these spiritual pioneers and revolutionaries of the modern era did not have cultural support, they had to swim against the current and face a dark night of the soul in order to realize new pathways to consciousness transformation and spiritual growth. Indeed, some of them, like William Blake, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Søren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Hermann Hesse, Rudolf Steiner, G.I. Gurdjieff, Mohandas Ghandi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Sri Aurobindo, were later recognized as great spiritual teachers and leaders of humankind, acting as luminaries of the future, demonstrating the way of the evolution of consciousness and spirituality.16 These are the great wise men and women, then and now, whose teachings bequeath to us a spiritual legacy that forms the basis for the agreed-upon values, morality, ethics, and worldview of the culture of the “good society” within Earth community.

From Modern to Postmodern Consciousness of the Future One other important factor to consider through the IF framework is the evolution of future consciousness. As Dr. Thomas Lombardo (2006) has shown in his research, future consciousness is an integral part of consciousness itself, and so the foresight capacity was evident even in the early stages of human evolution. However, according to Integral Theory, consciousness has evolved in distinct stages throughout eras of human history, so at the same time, future consciousness evolves alongside and reflects the particular stage of consciousness of each era of human thought (Fig. 6). Particularly during the modern era, when the evolution of consciousness became associated with the idea of progress, future consciousness became an integral part of civilization, and the image of the future has played a significant role in the evolution of Western culture. Thus, we can affirm that the systematic study of the future is, for all intents and purposes, a child of the modern era. That is why in the IF framework, the futures schools of thought in the Right-Hand quadrants are reflections of modern consciousness about the future. Modern • • • • •

Reductionist scientific materialism Right-Hand quadrants only absolutism Techno/PAC-Man Technological society “Flatland” one-dimensional appropriation of Left-Hand quadrants • Seeds of transcendence through LtG “overshoot-and-collapse” critique • “Democracy” as an ideological tool to manufacture consent and legitimize rule • Global empire of industrial civilization ruled by “corporatocracy”

Postmodern • Reaction to modern consciousness and crisis • Rejection of mainstream paradigm • Revitalization of Left-Hand quadrants • Spiritual transcendence and transformation of consciousness • New Age movement • Alternative futures • Universal pluralism • Authentic democracy • Transformation of “empire” to “global sustainable development”

Figure 6. From modern to postmodern images of the future. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Every stage of consciousness, however, contains the seeds for its own transcendence, often in the form of critique. Hence, modern consciousness provided the basis for its own critique and transcendence in the form of postmodernism—the emergence of a new stage of consciousness out of modernism, which transcended the scientific-materialist paradigm and provided the basis for an alternative, transformationalist futures schools of thought to emerge. As a matter of fact, one could even say that the shift to futures, in the plural, rather than “the future,” is indicative of the emergence of postmodern consciousness, which places great value in universal pluralism. At the same time, while pluralism is one of the great contributions of postmodernism, it can also be a weakness if pushed into extreme relativism. Moreover, as I pointed out concerning the anti-civilizationalists, the deconstructive skepticism of postmodern consciousness can become nihilist, absurd, and thus irrelevant. Furthermore, just as modern consciousness contains the seeds for its own transcendence, so it is with postmodern consciousness as well. Postmodernism and poststructuralism must go beyond deconstructive critique, with its backwards-looking reaction to modernism, if it is to provide a new, forward-looking paradigm to represent the consciousness of the next era in the 21st century. In other words, it must go beyond epistemological pluralism if it is to continue to be relevant in the field of futures studies.

Conclusion The four-quadrant model of the IF framework is a theoretical, comprehensive, aperspectival map of the future that demonstrates how all perspectives on the future interact and evolve through time. Regardless of their shortcomings, I think everyone will agree that maps can be quite useful, especially when determining what direction you are going in, and the more accurate and comprehensive our futures map is, the better off we are when it comes to co-creating the future. After all, the purpose of futures studies is to understand where we are, how we got here, what direction we’re now facing, where we want to go, and how to best get there—and to do that, a theoretical blueprint or conceptual map of the territory, though imperfect, would be helpful. Some futurists have questioned whether futures studies is a field or whether it even needs a theoretical framework, instead positing a poststructuralist epistemological pluralism as the best approach to futures inquiry and practice. However, if futures studies is to continue to be relevant in the future, I believe it needs a theoretical framework beyond epistemological pluralism. Contrary to what some futurists contend, I do not believe that epistemological pluralism (absent of an integral framework) is the best overall approach to futures or foresight studies, since such an approach tends to become too relativistic. More importantly, as mere reaction to modernism, it does not offer an integrated vision as a way forward and can only lead to further fragmentation within the futures field. Instead, an integrally informed map, such as that of the IF framework, goes beyond postmodern epistemological pluralism to offer a more comprehensive, in-depth, theoretical window into the multifaceted nature of the image of the future in the 21st century. The IF framework allows all futures perspectives to be represented, so we can see how they evolve and interact in time to reveal more about the challenge of the future today, and how to overcome challenges in order to move toward global sustainable development within an integrally informed, authentically democratic Earth community.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund of 2012.

NOTES 1

Dr. Slaughter’s first serious attempt to apply some aspects of Ken Wilber’s philosophy to futures studies can be found in “Transcending Flatland” (1998); the first mention of an “Integral agenda” in “Knowledge Creation, Futures Meth-

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ods and the Integral Agenda” (2001); and the first mention of “Integral Futures” in Futures Beyond Dystopia (2004). 2 See Morgan (2011) for an overview of the contributions of integral futurists in the 2008 special edition of Futures. 3 For example, Slaughter (2008) illustrates the “new clarity” that the Integral approach brings to his own work; he then applies Integral Theory to other futures methods to reveal how “Integral” can add a new dimension of awareness to their respective applications. Joseph Voros (2008) examines six different paradigmatic frameworks and reveals how Integral Theory is able to incorporate them all and is thus best suited for the multidisciplinary nature of futures studies. J. Floyd (2008) demonstrates the potential “Integral renewal” holds for systems methodology in futures studies, and Stewart (2008) reports on the “valuable outcomes” of integral methods in futures work. Finally, Riedy (2008) gives particular attention to causal-layered analysis by identifying its strengths and weaknesses of the Integral framework. 4 “Futures schools of thought” are the predominate ways that the future is perceived—the “approach” to the future, including fundamental philosophies/ideologies regarding the future. The “future” here is understood to be the future of mankind, but the plural form “futures” is used because of differences in perceptions, approaches, ideologies, and so on. Images of “civilizational futures” here refer to the various images of the future of human civilization due to the very same ideological differences and approaches. While I recognize that there have been many civilizations throughout human history, as Toynbee (1946) points out, it does appear that the direction of human history has been moving toward one civilization, which is mostly in the image of modern, Western civilization. On the other hand, this is a contentious point, of which disagreement on is at least partly responsible for the “cracked” image of the future; hence, I refer to images of civilizational futures as reflections of futures schools of thought. 5 This description of the four-quadrant model is a short summary and my interpretation of Wilber’s work, so all credit for this section is given to Wilber. 6 Wilber (2007) relates that, whether you are working in “business, psychotherapy, ecology, law, or simply everyday living and learning, the Integral map helps make sure you are ‘touching all the bases’” (p. 17). Also, Wilber (2006) states that Integral Theory has the capacity to help index “any activity—from art to dance to business to psychology to politics to ecology—it allows each of those domains to talk to the others” (p. 3). Moreover, the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice regularly features articles that explore the application of Integral Theory to these areas and others. 7 “Flatland,” writes Wilber (2000b), of the “Descended grid,” has “marked the entire modern and postmodern condition” (p. 389). It is, essentially, the collapse of the Left-Hand (interior) dimensions of the Kosmos into their RightHand (exterior) correlates. It “collapsed interior depths into observable surfaces” (p. 132), or “flatland,” resulting in a monological perspective on life. 8 See Bowman and colleagues (1978) for the original presentation of the three futures schools of thought. Moreover, some discussion of the three futures schools of thought can be found in the section on “Techno-futures” Morgan (2009), as well as the sections “Futures Schools of Thought as Shifting Images of the Future” and “Positive Extrapolist, Negative Extrapolist, and Transformationalist Schools of Futures Thought” in Morgan (2010). Finally, these futures schools of thought were confirmed via e-mail correspondence with Peter Bishop, Chair of the University of Houston Futures Studies program (as Dr. Bishop related, they are “also as I remember them).” Bishop attributes the conceptualization of the three futures schools of thought to C. Dede, who also taught graduate-level futures studies courses at the University of Houston during that time. However, through my e-mail contact with Dr. Dede (now at Harvard University), I was informed that it was more of a “collective product” from discussions at the University of Massachusetts futures program (according to Dede, the “first in the country” in the “early 1970s”) rather than something that Dede would consider as his conceptualization alone. 9 According to Slaughter et al. (2007), the global problematique, “originally coined by the Club of Rome in the 1970s,” represents an “interlocking set of major systemic problems” globally (p. 41). 10 For readers who may not be familiar with the Pac-Man video game that first appeared in 1980, see http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man. 11 The techno-driven future, “… quite often coupled with the ideology of neoliberal globalization, reflects an economic and technologically autonomous future of a homogenous and one-dimensional consumer society in which humans are Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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reduced to economic animals and cogs within machine civilization” (Morgan 2009, pp. 72-73). Instead of “a future characterized by the brachiating of new possibilities and unforeseen occurrences, we get the rapid linear succession of ‘new’ products that are endless iterations of consumer desire succeeding one another like cards on a blackjack table” (Collins, 2008, p. 4). As Collins (2008) comments further, we do not need to “speculate on what the future may bring when the answer is on the next page of the catalogue . . . the future will be shelling out the same hamburgers” (p. 5). 12 However, because the negative extrapolists also operate entirely within the scientific-materialist paradigm, they are situated within the LR quadrant, though, as we will later see, the negative extrapolists point to implications for alternative futures within the LL quadrant. 13 The dialectic of change as thesis-antithesis-synthesis was originally formulated by Kant, Hegel, and Fichte. Contained within the thesis is its opposite, the antithesis. Concerning the futures schools of thought, the positive extrapolists are the thesis (of modernity), but they also contain within them the seeds of their own critique (and transcencence), which is negative extrapolism. However, since both schools of thought are expressions of the scientific materialism of modernity, the transformationalists appear as a “negation of the negation,” which realizes transcendence and, hence, the start of a new paradigm (of postmodernity). Is this a “synthesis?” I am hesitant to call it such; instead, I posit it as a new thesis that has emerged from the dialectic of the positive and negative futures schools of thought. The Integral Futures framework reveals the dialectic of change within the three futures schools of thought. 14 I recognize that one could very well argue that because permaculture is characterized by technological approaches to farming, it should be placed in the LR quadrant. However, because permaculture, along with other localized farming communities, represents one of the only viable alternatives to global empire, with a distinct sets of social and cultural practices, and because these independent organic farming communities also represent the beginning of a new cultural awakening based on new ecological values and ethics beyond the end of the Age of Oil, then they represent more than just organic farming techniques, for they simultaneously act as pockets of resistance to global empire from within. 15 Not to idealize the Romantics and anti-civilizationalists, since some anti-civilizationalists “… fall into the camp of ‘back-to-nature’ modern romantics, whom Wilber criticizes extensively for their denial and hatred of all transcendence. For this reason, Wilber depicts them as paying tribute to the ontology of the industrial grid: “In other words, they worship the nature that was disclosed by the differentiation of the Big Three. And they think that this nature is the only reality. That is, they have made a god out of the modern collapse of the Big Three to the Big One; they have made a god of monological nature. Mononature, and mononature alone, is real. It is their God, their Goddess” (Wilber, 2000b, p. 419). 16 I would place Ken Wilber in this company as well.

REFERENCES Bowman, J., Kierstead, F., Dede, C., & Pulliam, J. (1978). The far side of the future. Washington, DC: World Future Society. Collins, S.G. (2008). All tomorrow’s cultures: Anthropological engagements with the future. New York, NY: Berghan Books. Floyd, J. (2008). Towards an integral renewal of systems methodology for futures studies. Futures, 40(2), 138-149. Hardt, M., & A. Negri. (2005). Multitude: War and democracy in the age of empire. London: Penguin Books. Hawken, P., Lovins, A., & Lovins, L.H. (2000). Natural 126

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capitalism: Creating the next industrial revolution. New York, NY: Back Bay Books. Hayward, P. (2008). Pathways to integral perspectives. Futures, 40 (2), 109-119. International Institute for Ecological Agriculture. About permaculture. Retrieved February 3, 2012, from http://www.permaculture.com/node/137. Korten, D. (2006). The great turning: From empire to earth community. San Francisco, CA: BerrettKoehler Publishers, Inc. Lombardo, T. (2006). The evolution of future consciousness. Bloomington, IN: Author House. Lutz, C. (2009). U.S. bases and empire: Global perspectives on the Asia Pacific. Asia-Pacific Journal. Retrieved February 3, 2012, from http://www.

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japanfocus.org/-Catherine-Lutz/3086. Meadows, D. H., Randers, J., & Behrens III, W.W. (1972). The limits to growth. New York, NY: Universe Books. Morgan, D. (2009). Futures schools of thought within the integral futures framework. Foresight, 11(5), 68-79. Morgan, D. (2010). Civilizational futures within the integral futures framework: The plural quadrants. Foresight, 12(6), 69-90. Morgan, D. (2011). Futures and the future: An integral response to epistemological pluralism in futures studies. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(2), 112-134. Polak, F. (1971), The image of the future (Trans. by E. Boulding). Amsterdam: Elsevier. Project for a New American Century. (2000). Rebuilding America’s defenses: Strategies, forces, and resources for a new century. Washington DC: Available from: http://www.newamericancentury. org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf. Retrieved July 10, 2012. Raskin, P., Banuri, T., Gallopin, G., Gutman, P., Hammond, A., Kates, R. & Swart, R. (2007). Great transition: The promise and lure of times ahead. Boston, MA: Tellus Institute. Riedy, C. (2008). An Integral extension of causal layered analysis. Futures, 40(2), 150-159. Slaughter, R.A. (1998). Transcending flatland. Futures 30(6), 519-533. Slaughter, R.A. (2001). Knowledge creation, futures methods and the integral agenda. Foresight, 3(5), 407-418. Slaughter, R.A. (2004). Futures beyond dystopia. Lon-

don: Routledge. Slaughter, R.A. (2008). What difference does “integral” make? Futures, 40(2), 120-137. Slaughter, R.A., Riedy, C., May G., Morgan, D. & Conway, M. (2007). State of play in the futures field: Final report. Foundation for the Future. Sounds True. (2003), Kosmic Consciousness [audio book]. Louisville, CO: Sounds True. Stewart, C. (2008). Integral scenarios: Reframing theory, building from practice. Futures, 40(2), 160-172. Toynbee, A.J. (1946). A study of history (Abridgement of Vols. I-VI (by D.C. Somervell). London: Oxford University Press. Turner, G.A. (2007), A comparison of the limits to growth with thirty years of reality. Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion. Caberra: CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems Working Paper Series. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from http://www.csiro. au/files/files/plje.pdf. Voros, J. (2008). Integral futures: An approach to futures inquiry. Futures, 40(2), 190-201. Wilber, K. (2000a). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000b). A theory of everything: An Integral vision for business, politics, science, and spirituality. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2006). Introduction to Integral theory and practice: IOS basic and the AQAL map. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 1(1), 1-40. Wilber, K. (2007). The integral vision: A very short introduction to the revolutionary Integral approach to life, God, the universe, and everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

DENNIS MORGAN, M.A., M.S., is an associate professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in South Korea. Morgan has lived in Korea for more than 12 years while teaching English in a university context. He has an M.A. in Applied Linguistics for TESOL (2004) and an M.S. in Futures Studies (1992). In 2007, he assisted Richard Slaughter in an Internet-based research project, State of Play in the Futures Field (SoPiFF). Through this project and subsequent correspondence with Dr. Slaughter, he became interesed in how Integral Theory can serve as an epistemological framework for futures studies. Two publications in Foresight, “Futures Schools of Thought within the Integral Futures Framework” (2009) and “Civilizational Futures within the IF Framework” (2010), express his research interest in Integral Futures. At HUFS, besides teaching four-skills language courses, he also teaches courses on Globalization, American Studies, and Intercultural Communication. During summer and winter breaks, he lives with his wife and three children in the Philippines.

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MAKING HEADWAY DURING IMPOSSIBLE TIMES Richard A. Slaughter

I

n a pluralistic world, there is no single way to understand or describe a global emergency. That said, there are more and less productive ways of attempting to do so. Shopping lists of symptoms abound, and they may be useful to the extent that they identify areas of concern and forewarn that various responses may be necessary. But Einstein’s insight that problems cannot be resolved at the level on which they are first understood or described is widely overlooked. In other words, while an accurate description of the problem is a useful first step, it is only that. A second step requires a meta-level overview, and a third seeks to develop relevant responses that can be developed and applied at a number of levels and in a variety of contexts. This article looks at a couple of conventional perspectives on the global emergency from within the futures community and attempts to draw out what they offer as well as some of their limitations. My investigation into what these perspectives tell us starts with a brief justification for using the Integral model in this context, touches on an integral controversy that played out in the pages of the journal Futures, and shows how a number of “proto-solutions” can be envisaged. The latter can be thought of as “solutions in embryo” that need to be developed, critiqued, and applied by many agents.

Conventional Perspectives on the Global Emergency William Halal and Michael Marien (2009) are to be congratulated for engaging in a public debate about what they call the Global Megacrisis (GMC) and for extending the conversation to others. The GMC is a term used to describe the simultaneous emergence of numerous severe global problems at around the same time. It applies most directly to issues such as climate change, peak oil, species extinctions, environmental deterioration, and the challenge of weaning humanity away from its currently ill-advised path of “economic growth at all costs.” As is clear from a number of sources during 60 years of insight into global systems, the crisis has not sprung upon us out of the blue—it has been steadily emerging over the past century. We have seen during this time how many observations and warnings about the planetary condition have been offered, yet have mostly been ignored. Culturally speaking, we have simply not been paying attention.1 Such oversights can be seen as one way of identifying an underlying cause of the GMC: the lack of clarity about the ever-growing and disruptive mismatch between interior and exterior development. Halal’s analysis places a high level of confidence in the ability of “technology” to move things forward, and I agree with Marien that this is a wildly optimistic estimation. Technology is not mere “stuff”; it emerges from complex social processes and is ever and always ambiguous. It is metaphorically a double-edged sword that takes away even as it purports to give. So we cannot expect “technology” in any shape or form to help us resolve the GMC other than in marginal ways (Fig. 1). Marien’s broader and generally downbeat view is more in tune with the views set out below. Where I differ from both is that there are capabilities within individuals and cultures that have thus far hardly figured in such debates. This can be seen by considering the “drivers” of the GMC along with far fewer “resolvers” (factors that may help resolve it) in Figure 1. What this reveals is similar to the pattern I found when surveying the literature on global warming (Slaughter, 2009). That is, most attention is given to Correspondence: Richard A. Slaughter, Foresight International, P.O. Box 793, Indooroopilly, Queensland 4068, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 128–138

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I ND I V I DUAL

INTERIOR

E XT E RI O R

None

None

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IT

C O L L E C TIV E

WE ITS Drivers • • • •

Drivers

Industrialization growing rapidly Little political will Recession likely for years Institutional failures could grow severe

Resolvers • Forces of social change

• • • • • • • •

Scientific forecasts for climate change are grim Dangerous environmental impacts are likely Methane a growing new threat Reducing CO2 is costly Increasing water scarcity Cyber-insecurity Weapons of mass destruction Organized crime continues to grow worldwide

Resolvers • The world is accelerating use of alternative energy • The technology revolution introduces new powers • Countries and urban areas “going green”

Figure 1. Overview of driver and resolver domains.

Lower-Right (LR) phenomena, which is the familiar collective exterior world.2 Less attention is paid to the Lower-Left (LL) quadrant, which reveals the interiors of collective cultures. No attention is paid at all to the Upper-Left (UL) quadrant of individual interiors nor, interestingly, to the Upper-Right (UR) of individual action (Fig. 2). One can see that a great deal of otherwise useful work omits the domains of human selfknowledge and human action, so central to Integral Theory and practice, and is hence unconsciously biased. Although this is a huge oversight, it is at the same time a surprisingly common one, which occurs in most publications dealing with the global predicament, in scenario projects, and in institutional foresight initiatives. Another example can be found in an ambitious American futures project, The Millennium Project (MP), which has been running for about 15 years, with 30 or more “nodes” situated around the world and considered by some to be an exemplar of this kind of work. The MP aspires to be globally interconnected, has links with practitioners around the world, employs state-of-the-art methodologies, and therefore provides a broad conceptual grasp of the GMC. Much of its work is framed around “15 global challenges” (Fig. 2). Note the similarities and differences with Figure 1. For example, the LL quadrant is dominant (in contrast to the more usual LR), which means that the MP has paid at least as much attention to cultural issues as to technical ones, which is worth noting. What Figure 2 also shows, however, is that none of these worldJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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IN D IVID UA L

IN TER IO R

EXTERIOR

None

None

I

IT

COLLECTIVE

WE ITS • Genuine democracy

• Sustainable development and climate change

• More global long-term perspectives

• Clean water without conflict

for policymaking • Ethical market economies • Improving decision-making capacity • New security strategies • Changing status of women • Transnational organized crime • Ethics in global culture

• Balancing population growth and resources • Global convergence of ICT • New and reemerging diseases • Energy needs • Accelerating sci/tech

Figure 2. Overview of Millennium Project global challenges.

shaping issues have been related back to the development (or lack of it) of individual humans, which they, in fact, originate from. The underlying message is that these “global challenges” are unrelated to individual human understanding or action; in other words, this approach provides another one-sided “map” of global issues that completely overlooks human agency. What we have here is, in one sense, a category error and in another a clear example of paradigm blindness. It is simply not credible to work from within a U.S. context and overlook the human sources of global dysfunctions that clearly operate there (Slaughter, 2008b).

What do Conventional Accounts Tell Us? At least two main consequences follow from the above. First, conventional accounts that privilege LR phenomena such as cities, infrastructures, and technologies can certainly be vital starting points, for they bring to our collective attention a highly relevant global agenda. However, work that ends at this point or, as in the second example above, only includes the LL (interior collective) domain of cultures, languages, and institutions, is only dealing with half of the story. Moreover, such accounts also tell us that the framing perspectives and conceptual foundations that are being evoked are inadequate and lagging behind what might be called the “growing edges” of futures inquiry. The four-quadrant model of Integral Theory is widely used but is by no means the only new tool to have emerged.3 Nevertheless, it helps us take the next steps by providing part of a larger, more coherent and more 130

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systematic framework. Through this expanded view we can identify many of the human (as opposed to technical) sources of the global emergency, along with some of the most promising avenues that lead toward various kinds of resolutions (see below). There are several reasons for this: 1) the four-quadrant model draws attention to the interior development of individuals and cultures to reveal the shaping power of each (Wilber, 2000); 2) it balances inner/outer, individual/collective factors; and 3) it is an objective framework that is not culture specific and so does not tell anyone what to think. Figure 3 shows one of the outputs of a 2009 international survey on the State of Play in the Futures Field (SoPiFF) (Slaughter, 2009), which provided early empirical evidence that integrally informed futures/ foresight methods were uncommon, to say the least. In one respect, this could be considered “normal” in that it takes time for new or renewed methods to diffuse from their original contexts and be more widely taken up. In another instance, however, a factor beyond unconscious bias came into play and requires brief comment. 180 160

N u mb e r

140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Systemic

Linear

Critical

Integral

Figure 3. State of Play in the Futures Field metascanning results for type of methods in use. From Slaughter (2009, p. 11); used with permission.

The Integral Futures Controversy In March 2008, a group of colleagues and I published a special issue of Futures devoted to Integral Futures (Slaughter, 2008a). The issue sought to take a “first pass” look at a new and emerging area and to consider some early implications. I wrote specifically to colleagues that it was indeed an exploratory project and that feedback was welcome. The issue was later dubbed “one of the most important futures publications of 2008” by the Association of Professional Futurists. Unfortunately, one colleague, whom I had known and worked with for some 20 years, took exception to our work and set about organizing a “rebuttal” issue (Inayatullah, 2010). This issue was published exactly two years later and sought not so much to critique our work as to diminish it and us as well. So instead of the kind of productive critique and commentary that we had intended, we were subjected to poisonous and bitter abuse that accused us of being “Wilber acolytes” with “hegemonic” intent. I was particularly sorry to discover that some young and emerging scholars well known to me had been drawn into this exercise. For a while I was unsure of how to respond. Over time, however, a group response emerged and was published in this journal.4 One of the contributors to the earlier special issue (Chris Riedy) wrote a conciliatory response and one (Dennis Morgan) wrote a finely crafted rejoinder. A third author (Dana Klisanin), who had not been involved in the earlier controversy, wrote a beautifully nuanced piece that put a name to this “most egregious error” (i.e., “disparaging the life’s work of one’s colleagues”) and drew the whole set of responses Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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together. I wrote a short introduction that sought to counter the notion that “integral anything” is something to fear or demonize. So this unfortunate “controversy” was brought to a conclusion—at least for the time being. One lesson here is that, in contrast to positive critique that helps move things along, the new is often resisted and misrepresented, thus hampering efforts to make progress.5 We should bear in mind that the integral controversy is by no means an isolated example—similar events are common in virtually all fields of enquiry. They occur not because people are naturally or necessarily competitive but because processes of sense making are diverse, varying greatly from person to person. Moreover, they are often only partly conscious. One’s approach to any field or discipline is determined to a considerable extent by background and enculturation, worldviews, values, and similar UL and LL factors that may or may not be clearly reflected upon by participants. It is therefore encouraging to see that within the broad arena of integral work false dichotomies of either/ or thinking can be transcended as people from different areas start to consider how different methods and approaches can be mutually beneficial. One that came to my attention (as this article was being finalized) considers how two approaches to integrally informed coaching can each illuminate the other. Jim Arsenault compares and contrasts Wilber’s Integral model with that of Otto Laske, whose “four quadrants of dialectic offer a more comprehensive and deepened view of each of the Integral quadrants.” He adds that “understanding and realising in one’s thinking the four quadrants of dialectic through a professional study of dialectics enhances one’s effectiveness as a coach” (Arsenault, 2011, p. 4). Arsenault considers the distinction between looking “at” clients and looking “as” clients (Divine, 2009). In the former, “looking at our clients through a particular lens, we are able to gather evidence to assess the client’s approximate ‘location’ according to the lens we are using.” Then, he continues, “we are able to look as the client and imagine how we might get along in the world with this particular view of reality.” In summary, “looking at and looking as allows … coaches to craft practices that are fitting for the client at a particular place in their developmental journey” (Arsenault, 2011, p. 4). He suggests that, while those working in the Wilberian tradition make their own evidence-based assessments originating from the use of the five elements of the AQAL model, those in the Laske tradition have access to more standardized assessment tools that allow a coach to make more accurate assessments of “the client’s sense-making, meaning-making, and psychological profiles.” For the writer, this is like “adding a zoom lens” to assessments made by the former. The result, therefore, is not a standoff or a battle for dominance—but a conversation. Finally, Arsenault emphasizes that there are benefits to be had in both “directions.” For those in the Laske tradition, “having even a basic understanding of the AQAL model and Integral Theory can be of tremendous value,” for “integral is inspiring as a scoping tool and as enabling systems modelling” (Arsenault, 2011, p. 5). In my own recent work on the global emergency, and for reasons set out above, I chose to employ standard futures-related literature as background, drawing on more widely distributed material dealing with phenomena across all the domains discussed above. Although I am reluctant to admit it, the futures field has made no perceptible dent in the trends that continue to threaten and undermine humanity’s collective future. The dominance of administrative, technical, and academic influences in futures enquiry is evident in many places, including the results of the SoPiFF project and the abstracts for a major international futures conference in 2011.6 For such a vast and ramified field, the majority still go to work every day on issues related to the secondary human economy and too few on those issues associated with the primary natural one that is now under unprecedented threat. The value of integral perspectives emerges time and again both within the integral community and beyond it.7 A result of this approach is the ability to assemble a broader, more coherent picture both of the global emergency/GMC itself and of what I call “proto-solutions,” as outlined below (Slaughter, 2010a, p. 153). These are “solutions in embryo,” as it were, that can be expanded, re-defined, or reinterpreted in unlimited ways in different cultures and environments. 132

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Proto-solutions for an Emerging Agenda When confronted by daunting, global-scale problems, it is not unusual for people to feel disempowered or fatalistic. Indeed, it is understandable that if individuals are operating within conventional worldviews within which reality appears cut and dried, they may well feel that they have few options beyond business as usual—yet an integral perspective draws attention to a fact that, as I have outlined, is widely overlooked. It becomes clear that what any individual perceives depends upon the internal resources that he or she brings to the task. By understanding what this means in more depth, we open up a truly vast arena of possibilities.8 This is by no means a new idea. It was beautifully summed up by E.F. Schumacher (1977) some years ago when he wrote that “at the level of man, there is no discernible limit or ceiling. Self-awareness … is a power of unlimited potential” (p. 48). So here, in no particular order, are some examples of what might be called “emerging imperatives” or “requisite actions” that constitute effective responses to the global dilemma: •

We need to shift from viewing the Earth as merely a set of resources for human use (a utilitarian view) and to begin to see it as a complex web of living and non-living components of which we are a part (i.e., an ecological view).

•

We need to stop ignoring the most significant signals that are being generated by the global system and begin listening to them, taking them seriously, and working out what they mean both for personal behavior and public policy. Environmental scanning and strategic analysis are tools that have been mainly used in limited ways— mainly economic and technical applications—by corporations and governments. Environmental scanning in the public interest is overdue and vital.

•

The widespread dismissal of the Limits to Growth (LtG) perspective and its later manifestations needs to be reassessed and thoroughly revised. While systems modeling is by no means immune to criticism, the deeper understanding of the global system that arises from it (and earth science in general) needs henceforth to be factored into all major decision-making processes.

•

We need to recognize that the extremes of the growth-addicted (cornucopian) view, based on assumptions about the capacity of the global system to absorb impacts without serious damage, have been invalidated. Equally, the consumerist dream that was constructed upon this basis urgently needs to be retired in favor of a more encompassing and durable ethic that accords with new realities.

•

Similarly, since what right-wing apologists everywhere like to call “free enterprise” or the “free market system” is hastening the collapse of global systems, it is vital to recognize that the ascendency of neoconservatives and their model of “economic rationalism” is over. Both need to be superseded by what Schumacher calls an “economics of permanence.” Such shifting toward steady-state economies is not easy and will take time—yet the sooner the process is engaged, the better off humanity will fare in the long run.

•

The best way to respond to climate change, peak oil, and other crucial global issues is to understand them as unambiguous indicators of our collective need to change course and re-establish human civilization on a more enduring basis. Picking holes in the latest IPCC report or seeking temporary fame by engaging in climate change denial are merely subversive acts designed to undermine the call for action. Over time, they will be recognized as such.

•

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dustrial overdemand) are beyond the pale of political discourse nearly everywhere. However, the sooner elected representatives and major institutions seriously engage with the varied prospects of collapse, the better are our chances of moderating the extent of the damage.9 •

Equally, the longer we choose to ignore these concerns, the more widespread, damaging, and uncontrollable this process will be. For example, every year that passes means that less oil remains to energize the necessary transitions and the greater will be the impacts on global ecosystems and other species. Facts of this kind also constitute social driving forces that encourage the early uptake of social foresight.

•

We need to recognize that proposed transition strategies may all be worthy of consideration, but they are also expressive of very small and non-representative constituencies, mainly derived from the currently rich nations. The relative absence of voices from non-Western nations and the non-affluent constitutes a striking imbalance that urgently needs to be corrected. This must be a global conversation that accommodates differences of every kind. In such a conversation, developmental factors from the UL and the LL quadrants need to be brought into focus and used to clarify interactions that remain confused such that different viewpoints are difficult or impossible to reconcile. This is one of the reasons for the failure of the November 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark, climate change conference and many similar events in which a great deal of hope have been invested. Without the clarity and insight afforded by the AQAL model, future initiatives will also likely prove fruitless or underdeliver.

•

We need to recognize that dynamic factors within the UL quadrant have been almost universally overlooked in the search for solutions and strategies. In the process, a vast amount of human capability has been undervalued. To correct this, we should be seeking to develop a spectrum of responses within which each person and social group can find their own truth and, from this, their own mode(s) of response. While there are clear global imperatives, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to personal, group, and community responses.

Figure 4 uses the four quadrants to condense and summarize much of the foregoing into what I call “domains of generic responses.” It is clear from this that we cannot hope to make headway into dealing with the GMC or global emergency with conventional thinking (i.e., if we only address one, two, or even three of the domains referred to above). We have to deal with all of the domains, as well as the many interactions between them. This suggests a profound rebalancing of our efforts, attention, and material wealth. In order to re-focus some of the issues discussed above, I return to one of the most central concerns of our time—the need to deal with our addiction to growth.

Beyond the Growth Imperative Given the continuing reverberations of the 2008/2009 financial crisis, the near-default of the United States, and the continuing structural issues within the European Economic Community, many people around the world are hoping for a more stable and less crisis-ridden outlook. The near-universal desire is for a return to “healthy economic growth” to boost confidence and stimulate a worldwide economic recovery. Wherever one cares to look, a resumption of growth is seen as the solution to our current difficulties. But that is simply not the case, and pretending otherwise will lead us into greater difficulty than most of us imagine—or perhaps can imagine. 134

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I ND I VI DUA L

I N T E R I OR

E XTER IO R

Interior Human Development

Exterior Actions

Human development factors that frame perception and condition motivation and capacity have primary role. Options for translation and transformation. Refocuses debate, strategies, on fundamental issues and opens up basis to resolve them.

Focuses on what people actually do: their habits, behaviors and strategies. Strategies of avoidance. Also the efforts they put in to “make a difference.” Behavioral drivers and inhibitors. The many applications of design.

I

IT

C O LLE C TIVE

WE ITS Interior Cultural Development

Global System, Infrastructure

The role of cultures, ideologies, worldviews and language that mediate self and other. Embody socialization frameworks with embedded presuppositions and hierarchies of values. Establishes foundations of economy. Actively selects specific options from much wider range of possibilities.

The physical environment, its cycles of matter and energy. The types of infrastructure(s) superimposed upon it. The kinds of technologies that are employed and their impacts (resource depletion, pollution, ecological simplification, etc.) on the global system. Visible consequences of value, cultural and design choices.

Figure 4. Domains of generic responses. From Slaughter (2010a, p. 153); used with permission.

In working on my book The Biggest Wake up Call in History, I spent a good deal of time researching what is collectively known about the state of the global system. What I discovered was that while knowledge advances, and details change, the underlying trends are unmistakable and unambiguous. For example, a 2009 study headed by John Rockstrom (2009) of the Stockholm Environment Institute concluded that humanity had already crossed three boundaries that should have never been crossed: climate change, reduction in species diversity, and an out-of-kilter nitrogen cycle. It also reported that humanity is on track to exceed four more boundaries by 2050: ozone depletion, fresh water usage, ocean acidification, and land use changes.10 What stands out is that even at this relatively late stage it does not appear that we are generally aware of these facts or their implications. Alternatively, if we are aware, then there is a strong tendency to discount them. These are obviously UL quadrant issues. Yet looking at the situation with the fresh eyes provided in part by an integral lens means that we can more easily spot current contradictions and perhaps start to resolve them. For example, thousands of highly educated and very capable people spend many hours each working day scrutinizing a range of high-tech screens that display up-to-date information on currency movements and market changes. These people are, in other words, completely au fait with the detailed operation of the secondary human economy. But, equally, they are almost completely ignorant of trends within the primary earth economy upon which our lives and well-being depend. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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It would, of course, be entirely possible to reverse this situation and have large numbers of informed people monitoring the results of climate change studies, species loss, ocean acidification, and the like. We have the technical capacity and also, I would argue, a very clear need. But in affluent, growth-oriented, consumer-based societies there is little interest, and virtually no installed capacity, to detect and interpret the messages or “signals” that the global system constantly emits. It is left to various scientific sub-groups, NGOs, and minor political parties, all of which can be, and are, readily dismissed. The penny has simply not dropped that the growth economy is already deeply in debt to the primary earth economy and falling into greater debt with each passing year. Some suggest that we started to exceed boundaries in the 1980s. While most people have enjoyed the products of economic growth, there is now compelling evidence that we must not merely constrain old-style growth but bring it to an end. I am not alone in coming to this conclusion.11 Other observers have also shown exactly how and why we need to wake up and bring to full awareness a clear understanding of where the earlier paradigm is leading. It is a situation that will severely test our species, as there are no simple answers or easy exits. Continuing old-style growth basically tears up what might be called “natural capital” and transforms it into short-term goods and services, many of which we do not need anyway. Or it accumulates in remote data stores of unreal “bubble money” that is purely symbolic and can vanish without a trace. Looking to growth to provide social well-being is like expecting cancer to improve human health. Part of the problem is that to recognize how dysfunctional growth has become is just too challenging for those whose wealth, income, social standing, and personal identity are tied up with and dependent upon the earlier system. These are mostly UL concerns, so that is indeed where attention needs to be directed.12 Waking up to our real predicament can be shocking and painful, yet there are huge benefits to be derived from doing just that. Gaining greater clarity about our real situation means we can stop being passive and begin dealing with it. It also means that we can be more honest with ourselves, with our families, our colleagues, and the less well off. To know that you and yours are heading for a global train wreck of huge proportions means that you have a chance to either avoid it or at least minimize the impacts. Trend is not destiny. There are more pathways to sustainable futures than have ever been widely and seriously considered. Currently, climate change and the onset of peak oil are occurring at a time when, if we had our heads in the right space, we would be gearing up as if for the equivalent of a wartime economy and changing policy and behavior in a multitude of useful ways. But, despite repeated attempts by various people and groups, mainstream attitudes and practices are barely aware of these uncomfortable new realities. It could be concluded that notions of growth and business-as-usual are such deeply embedded addictions that they will not be surrendered until the natural world is collapsing in our faces, and even then one has to wonder. Here in Australia, the debate around climate change and other growth-related issues has been pathetic. If it is this hard to put just one reparation measure in place, how much more demanding is it to imagine that a whole raft of others would be proposed and implemented? Yet this is what it will take to get us off the growth path and into a steady-state economy. In the interim, I propose two specific foci for our efforts. The first is to reconsider UL motivations and values, with all that they imply. The second is to move away from the secondary economy and back to the primary earth economy, which is under unprecedented duress from the overgrowth of a single unfinished species—Homo sapiens. It is, after all, only a matter of time before we are caught up in processes of global adjustment that go far beyond human control.

Conclusion Overall, what I think emerges from this view is a much clearer picture of where concerned individuals, groups, and organizations need to redirect their attention. Solutions will not emerge from new technology and associated infrastructures, no matter how “green” or sustainable they are considered to be. They will begin to 136

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emerge when people reflect more honestly and clearly upon their own interior selves and understand that the most potent sources of innovation lie within agents of knowing themselves. The central proposition put forward here is that it is the very sense of self in all its complexity and potential depth that determines what capacities are brought to bear on the global emergency—and hence the character and usefulness of solutions that can emerge.13 The cultural environment in which newly aware selves emerge into and operate within also dictates how well or poorly these capacities are nurtured, and whether they are fully developed or extinguished. To me this is a vital and profoundly empowering prospect that, properly understood, changes everything. We are indeed in the early stages of a global emergency and the time to wake up is now.

NOTES 1

See “60 Years of Insight into the Global System” (Slaughter, 2010, p. 28). Futures work in the United States has been stranded here for as long as I can remember, which is why it has a pervasive tendency to merely “skim the surface” of social reality. 3 For a useful overview of uses and approaches, see Collins and Hines (2010). 4 See the section titled “Critical Responses” (pp. 105-156) in Volume 6, Number 2, of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. 5 This same process has been highly visible in Australia as the current Labour government has placed a great deal of political capital at risk in order to establish a price for carbon emissions. The current opposition has used every trick in the book to delay, confuse, challenge, and undermine these efforts. 6 See “Book of Abstracts” for the Yeditepe International Research Conference on Foresight and Futures in Istanbul, Turkey (http://marc.yeditepe.edu.tr/yircof11.htm). 7 See review by Ron Cacioppe (2011) in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Also see that of Healy (2011) in Interislander magazine. The latter review clearly demonstrates the value of the Integral Futures perspective in the mind of an alert and objective observer whose focus is not on contending theories but on relevance to real-world people and situations. Both reviews are available at: http://www.foresightinternational.com.au/reviews. 8 I explore some of these in “Part Two” of Slaughter (2010b). 9 See Slaughter (2010b) for a discussion of overshoot and collapse. 10 Rockstrom (2009) is an authoritative source on this vital subject. He is the executive director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, a policy institute specializing in sustainable development and environmental issues. 11 See the work of Gilding (2011) and Jackson (2011), for example. Both authors address these issues in constructive ways. 12 “Part Two” of my book The Biggest Wake Call in History (Slaughter, 2010a) explores this issue in some depth. 13 The emphasis here is not only on cognitive development but a wider range of factors, including values, self-sense, moral reasoning, worldview, and so on. See Slaughter (2010a, pp. 172-179) for three examples of individuals who exhibit some of these qualities along with some real-world consequences. 2

REFERENCES Arsenault, J. (2011). IDM executive coaching and integral coaching communities: How they can be good companions for each other. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/ezine/2011-09.html. Cacioppe, R. (2011). The biggest wake up call in history

[book review]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice 6(2), 157-162. Collins, T., & Hines, A. (2010). The evolution of integral futures: A status update. World Future Review, 2/3, 5-16. Divine, L. (2009). Looking AT and looking AS the client: The quadrants as a type structure lens. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 4(1), 21-40. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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Gilding, P. (2011). The great disruption. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury. Healy, P. (2011). The biggest wake up call in history [book review]. Interislands. Available at: http:// www.foresightinternational.com.au/reviews Inayatullah, S. (2010). Epistemological pluralism in futures studies. Futures, 42(2). 99-102. Jackson, T. (2011). Prosperity without growth. London, United Kingdom: Earthscan. Marien, M., & Halal, W. (2009). Global megacrisis survey: Four scenarios on an optimism/pessimism axis. World Future Review, 1(5), 48-51. Rockstrom, J. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461(24 September), 472-476. Schumacher, E.F. (1977). A guide for the perplexed. London, United Kingdom.: Jonathan Cape. Slaughter, R.A. (Ed.). (2008a) Integral futures [special

issue]. Futures, 40(2). Slaughter, R.A. (2008b). Is America the land of the future? Foresight, 10(4), 4-28. Slaughter, R.A. (2009). The state of play in the futures field: A metascanning overview. Foresight, 11(5), 6-20. Slaughter, R.A. (2010a). The biggest wakeup call in history. Brisbane, Australia: Foresight International. Slaughter, R.A. (2010b). Evaluating overshoot and collapse futures. World Future Review, 2(4), 5-18. Slaughter, R.A. (2011) The integral futures controversy: An introduction. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(2), 105-111. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Boston: Shambhala.

RICHARD A. SLAUGHTER, Ph.D., is a futurist/foresight practitioner, author, editor, and teacher. Currently, he is Director of Foresight International in Brisbane, Australia (www.foresightinternational.com.au). He is a longstanding fellow of the World Futures Studies Federation; from 2001 to 2005, he was its President. He is co-author of Education for the 21st Century (Routledge, 1993), author of The Foresight Principle—Cultural Recovery in the 21st Century (Praeger, 1995) and Futures Beyond Dystopia—Creating Social Foresight (Routledge, 2004), editor of New Thinking for a New Millennium (Routledge, 1996) and The Knowledge Base of Futures Studies, Vols. 1–4 (Futures Study Centre, 1996), and co-editor of the World Yearbook of Education 1998: Futures Education (Kogan Page, London, 1998). In 2009, he received an award from the Association of Professional Futurists for editing a special issue of Futures on Integral Futures Methodologies. Also during 2009, Richard was appointed as Patron of the Asian Foresight Institute, which is based at Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok, Thailand. His two non-academic passions are bird photography and art. His latest book is To See With Fresh Eyes: Integral Futures and the Global Emergency (Foresight International, 2012).

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Book Review Keith Witt

Reviewed: Ucik, Martin. (2010). Integral Relationships: A Manual for Men. Santa Rosa, CA: singles2couples.org Publishing. Integral Relationships is a magnificent synthesis of Integral Theory and current relationship literature and research. Like most integral books, Martin Ucik uses the AQAL model to organize data from a multitude of writers, practitioners, and disciplines. One strength of Integral Relationships is in specifically applying the AQAL model to men’s relationships with women. I enjoyed cruising through Ucik’s tapestry of knowledge systems, as looking for patterns in the interplay of multiple perspectives is one of the Integral model’s most reliable pleasures. Each dimension Ucik offers is potentially fruitful territory for insight and understanding. Among countless examples: • • • •

The distinctions between “needs” and “neediness” (p. 34) Five levels of sexual exchange (pp. 56-58) Five levels of animus and anima development in men and women (pp. 58-66) Chapter Seven’s discussions of primary fantasy and personality (pp. 83-91)

One weakness of Integral Relationships is over-complexification and over-categorization. Anything expanded through quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types tends to create the density and volume of a doctoral dissertation, which is never an easy read (as evidenced by the fact that my father is the only person—including my doctoral committee, I’ve always suspected—who read my entire dissertation). Such volumes of material tend to result in too much “tell” and too little “show.” I understand that Integral Relationships is a manual, but stories and personal anecdotes can leaven the densest writing. In addition, Integral Relationships has practically no relationships in it! I found myself longing for just one couple having a real conversation about sex, love, conflict, money, or commitment—something like, “I felt a thrill run through my spine as her face lit up with surprise when I confessed that I too enjoyed light bondage.”

This Book is for Men Integral Relationships uses current data organized through the Integral lens to offer solutions to today’s alienation and divorce problems. Ucik speaks to men, challenging them to wake up to the integral good news and apply it to how they relate and bond with women. Targeting men was a good choice, because few women will be able to read this book. Hostile references to various forms of pain a man can experience from a lover periodically slip through the cracks as Ucik discusses the challenges of modern and postmodern women, and there is practically no zone-3 material (what resonates with us—you and me—often is what makes a conversation feel intimate, and is what the feminine in all of us tends to be drawn to). For example, Ucik occasionally falls into the trap of equating worldviews with Correspondence: Keith Witt, 2860 Kenmore Place, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. E-mail: [email protected]. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2012, 7(3), pp. 139–145

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their unhealthy expressions. He is especially harsh on feminism (pp. 13, 21,156, and endnotes 56, 151): “... green women tend to see men and patriarchy as the prime cause of conflict, violence, injustice against women and children, and environmental problems in the world, which leads many to become men-hating social or radical eco-feminists” (p. 156). On the brighter side, Integral Relationships advocates understanding women and self from over a thousand different perspectives generated by the Integral model (Chapters 11 and 12), and makes the case that observing and adjusting to integral address provides solutions when couples get into trouble.

It’s Always Harder Than it Sounds Integral Relationships begins in familiar territory: • • •

Good long-term relationships are rare and difficult Most relationships books are read by women and don’t seem to help much Integral understanding provides the solutions we have all been yearning for (pp. 1-3)

It has become somewhat obligatory to criticize other relationship books when you write a relationship book. This misses the point that if any two partners fully embody any relationship system, they are likely to be served in a deep way. Most relationship books describe idealized forms of intimacy that look and sound wonderful. The big questions for Integral Relationships are, “What makes this so hard?” and “How is integral understanding going to make it easier?” Ucik regularly suggests couples or individuals “get therapy” when problems arise. To a certain extent this is punting on the most relevant and slippery variable in satisfying intimacy. Most people need little help falling in love, and to a large extent rely on non-rational processes in doing so (Fisher, 2004). Right-Hand quadrant social research suggests strongly that how they manage the inevitable dramas after the romantic infatuation lightning bolt strikes and fades largely determines relational longevity and subjective satisfaction (Gottman, 2007). I have found that effective therapy often requires shifts in both partners’ worldviews toward more realistic, pro-mutuality, growth mindsets that value expanding love, and empowering these shifts can be fiendishly difficult. Any therapist will tell you that one of the quickest ways to access a couple’s core issues is observing what happens when problems arise. In crisis, how able and willing are they to receive influence to get back to love? Escalating conflict and general inability to regulate relational defensive patterns into healthy intimate contact predict painful marital disasters. Decreasing frequency and intensity of conflict combined with regular shared fun predict relational stability and satisfaction (Gottman, 2007). Does Integral Relationships contribute to helping us decrease the bad and increase the good? As is often the case in integral dialectics, the answer is, “Yes and no.” Research into satisfying long-term relationships has established process principles of successful relating (Gottman, 2005; Johnson, 2003), and characteristic neurological activations in long-term couples who remain romantically satisfied after the temporary “romantic infatuation” ends (Fisher, 2004). These principles can be taught and these activations cultivated in every altitude or vMEME (Witt, 2007a), and one of Integral’s great gifts is helping us language universal truths to appeal to different worldviews. Understanding the dimensions and principles Ucik details will enhance your understanding of yourself, your feminine partner, and potentially create vast opportunities to disidentify from unhealthy perspectives and impulses. Just think back to how your world was rocked by your initiation into Integral understanding— how everything became different. I predict you will have similar mind-blowing awakenings if you take the time to read and grok this book. 140

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How to Have the Most Fun Reading Integral Relationships First of all, I recommend you take your time and—as is also a good idea with Ken Wilber’s books—read the endnotes as you work your way through the text. It was fun for me to hear from familiar and unfamiliar voices the vast array of data and opinion generated by scientists, seekers, and lovers over the years. Also, as always, there were new gems you might have missed or forgotten from Wilber’s work (e.g., the five dimensions of intersubjectivity as identified by Esbjörn-Hargens in endnote 432). I love many of Ucik’s sources and was delighted to make the acquaintance of new voices. The Preface and Introduction are a good layout of the premise that satisfying long-term intimacy is hard in current society and that everybody would be a lot happier if integral men hooked up with post-feminist, post-postmodernist women in integrally informed relationships (pp. 13-14). Ucik illustrates and documents the conflicts and discrepancies of our current amalgams of vMEME combinations in potential lovers and ourselves. Chapter One introduces versions of Eros and Agape, and provides an evolutionary timeline applied to relationships. I agree with Ucik’s conclusions that the current age needs new forms of intimacy that integrate the demands and strengths of genetic imperatives and cultural development with the evolutionary waves of consciousness that currently consume so many of us.

Part I: The Biological and Psychological Makeup of Men and Women Here, Ucik starts to lay out a structural understanding of masculine, feminine, and relationships. Combining spiritual dimensions with biologically based drives and his concept of men and women’s “primary fantasy” gives a good sense of what is to come—understand your primary fantasy (sexual ideal combined with emotional/psychological magnet states/traits) plus an AQAL evaluation of yourself and your partner, and you’re likely choose better and love well. Part I is my favorite section. First of all, it is full of great data from old friends (John Gottman, Helen Fisher, David Deida) and new (Warren Farrell, Patricia Love, and Geoffrey Miller, to name a few). Ucik challenges taboos blocking frank discussions of sex, gender roles, and cultural influences, taking a firm stand that men are getting the short end of the stick having to fulfill old stereotypes while adapting to modern and postmodern women’s rights and demands (p. 21). He also begins long lists of perspectives generated by relationship research and opinions organized through lines, levels, states, and types. It’s especially nice to have the ascending/descending, agency/communion dimensions up front and central to the rest of the work. One of Wilber’s greatest contributions is his transmission of spirituality’s dazzling forms, with Plato inspiring Plotinus, inspiring Wilber, inspiring all of us (Wilber, 2000, 2006). Ucik touches on the social dynamics of egalitarian relationships in this era of parity of male/female authority, and I would like to hear more from him about this subject. The world has never before had significant numbers of long-term, economically stable couples with financial, sexual, and spiritual parity. This new wave of relationships presents challenges that integral understanding can help resolve into deeper love. Integral Relationships advocates AQAL insight deepening consciousness and guiding thoughts and actions, and I agree that this is the future. Ultimately, multiple perspectives are becoming more prevalent, whether they are explicitly integrally informed or not. The more we study intimacy, the more apparent it becomes that, developmentally, it is the tetra-emerging emotional dynamics of managing genetically based neurobiological processes with the desires for satisfying life partnership, service, and self-transcendence that create both the problems and the solutions for this emergent relational form (Witt, 2012). Ucik takes us up the developmental spiral and, like most of us who fell in love with Spiral Dynamics, proceeds to speak the vMEME language throughout the rest of the book. Pages 154 to 158 especially illusJournal of Integral Theory and Practice

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trate how cool it is to observe signature characteristics of women with different centers of gravity, with a wry summary for quick categorizations on page 168: • • • • •

“Magenta women express naive, irrational, and superstitious beliefs...” “Red women express many egocentric needs such as freedom, respect, and having fun without concerns for others or the future.” “Amber women speak of conservative family and religious values...” “Orange women boast about their independence, education, success, possessions, career, early retirement plans, expensive sports and hobbies...” “Green women go on and on [a little hostility toward postmodern women here] about unconditional love, their feelings, spirituality, care for animals and nature, world peace...”

Whether you agree or disagree with these specific characteristics or generalizations, men observing vMEMEs in women and themselves changes everything—like AQAL, it is psychoactive. Speaking the language of Spiral Dynamics also helps us disidentify with rigid positions arising from the unhealthy aspects of any vMEME, and this is enhanced with adding lines and levels to the Spiral. Wilber, with his gift for creating more granularity and deeper understanding, came up with the Integral Psychograph, well described in Integral Relationships (p. 41), revealing people as complicated combinations of observable and mysterious developmental variables. I like Ucik’s attempts to quantify integration of anima and animus in his stages of animus development in men and anima development in women (pp. 60-65). This parallels his sex state/stages of repressed, to fucking, to having sex, to lovemaking, to transcendent sex (pp. 56-58), although I believe only a man would situate “fucking” as a stage in a developmental line. The frameworks that unfold provide legitimate developmental signposts that can guide growth and intimacy. I wish he would have cross-validated and refined these with neurobiological and attachment research. Archetypes like sex object, wife, hero, and king have characteristic Right-Hand quadrant correlates that can help us understand healthy and unhealthy expressions of universal forms. Chapter 5, States of Falling in Love, quotes groundbreaking research on lust, romance, and commitment, but fails to offer much direction for turning this knowledge into satisfying relationships. Managing and regulating states of consciousness is arguably the challenge of human existence and a major focus of integrally informed psychotherapy (Witt, 2008b).

Part II: Men and Women Come Together Part II starts off with promising data and speculation cross-connecting primary fantasies with developmental levels. I was just settling in with Ucik’s ideas about passion/intimacy/dependence triangles, when Chapter 10, Differences in Male and Female Consciousness Development, began to irritate me. Parts of Chapter 10 illustrate the hazards of cross-disciplinary generalists making broad statements (which, God knows, I have done in my own writing, so I understand the temptation of such simplistic framings). Yes, evolutionary biology, psychology, and cultural anthropology give us great insights on evolutionary forces driving beautiful women to challenge competitive men to strive and transcend. But to assert that this explains “...why there haven’t been many major female inventors, explorers, artists, commanders, philosophers, chefs, founders of religions, or state leaders throughout human history” (p. 120) ignores the fact that women have largely been suppressed and dominated for 10,000 years. The antebellum U.S. South did not produce any black exemplars in these categories either, since blacks, like women, were denied civil rights, education, and opportunity and were property. 142

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Where Is the Developmental Neurobiology? Like many integral writers, Ucik misses much of the magic of developmental neurobiology and attachment research, the two most widely validated Right-Hand quadrant disciplines exploring defenses, non-conscious processes, and relational patterns in bonding, sex, and parenting (Siegel 1999, 2003; Witt, 2007a). I prefer my metaphor-based systems validated and guided by the Right-Hand quadrants. Neglecting the quadrants creates predictable problems. Wedging human experience into metaphor- driven theories is what brought us trickle-down economics, communism, psychoanalytic theory, and—oddly—the radical behaviorism of the 1950s and 1960s. The Beautiful, Good, and True aspects of all these disciplines were largely lost in overgeneralization and theory divorced from research from all eight zones—these mistakes do not get made nearly so much with tetra-understanding.1 I also have problems with Ucik’s explanations of psychopathology, but they are mostly the same problems I have with a vast number of 20th-century psychologists. Defensive states and states of healthy response to the present moment are omnipresent and consciously invisible to most people. Just noticing them regulates them and accelerates development, and maintaining the value of adjusting toward healthy states speeds progress. Receiving influence from wise others maximizes development (Witt 2007a, 2008a, 2009). Inter- and intrapersonal regulation of defensive states can be framed as a line of development in itself (Witt 2007a, 2008a), and is central to relational happiness or misery. We have reliable techniques to develop the brain areas associated with healthy relationships, embrace Beautiful, Good, and True beliefs, and manifest progressively more prosocial lives. Such processes and practices are especially welcome in an intimacy book, and I wish Integral Relationships included more of them.

AQAL Understanding Heals All relationship books, including Integral Relationships, are great at describing superior relating. This is wonderful for inspiring effort and clarifying goals. On the other hand, when I am wandering in the desert, telling me how cool and lush the mountains are doesn’t help me deal with the wasteland I am lost in. Where the rubber hits the road in relationships is in how well we handle the inevitable adversities of intimacy, which always involves some amount of suffering. Ucik offers integral understanding as a healing, guiding force for relational development.

Part III: Applying the Integral Relationships Model in the Real World Chapters 11 and 12 discuss using Kosmic address to evaluate yourself and potential partners, and, if you pay your integral dues and embody the language, opens up incredible possibilities for intimacy. Ucik advises men to not discuss theoretical details of his material with women, but rather to embody the principles, and in general I believe this is good advice. On the other hand, I have observed many relationships benefitting from both embodiment and discussion of principles and practices. All humans possess some degree of novelty seeking (Cloniger, 2004)—it is arguably part of what drove us to our current Anthropocene era reshaping individual/collective consciousness and Earth’s biosphere. Helen Fisher (2003, 2004) believes novelty-induced dopamine rushes can enhance intimacy and eroticism. Exploring multiple dimensions of yourself and your lover with your lover can provide endless delicious insights and shared intimacy, and the Integral model is the king of generating multiple dimensions. Ucik emphasizes selection of potential appropriate partners and evaluating current partners as a good idea (though people rarely leave a hot love affair on theoretical grounds). Integral Relationships could lead to fun conversations with current or potential lovers. If you enjoy Integral Theory and she either is clueless or hates it, your job is to find a way to delight her with integral ideas. If you can have pleasurable conversations (men Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

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tend to lecture), it’s a good sign for both of you. I love the dating tips in Chapter 13 for the same reasons I love Guide to Getting it On! (Jonnides, 2011) for teenagers. Specific recommendations for dating via the Internet and otherwise provide basic information that is obvious to many, but not to all. For instance, for creating an online dating profile Ucik suggests, “The first step is to write down who you are, why you want to be in a partnership, what qualities you are looking for in a woman, and what kind of partnership you are seeking” (p. 166). Another example is how he details the rhythm of online dating from winking, to e-mail, to a phone call (where you listen and help her feel comfortable), to a short “low maintenance” meeting (p. 170). Similarly, Appendix 1 is a fun reprise of Wilber’s appendix in Integral Spirituality—I once read an article asking somewhat plaintively, “What do you have to do to get into Ken’s appendixes?”—where Ucik categorizes books for different levels/colors. Whether you agree with him or not, they provoke new perspectives.

The Verdict Integrally informed men will benefit from this book, and likely will enjoy and be illuminated by many parts of it. The integrally uninitiated will not find it nearly as appealing, but that is the challenge of all integral writers—to create accessible integral understanding for those who might not be fully conversant with the AQAL model. Integral Relationships offers maps of great swaths of relationship country, generating countless perspectives, hypotheses, and possibilities that support integrally informed conversations about multiple relationship dimensions, both intra- and interpersonal. I suspect we will be discussing, researching, and expanding these ideas and perspectives for decades to come. This process of dialectical inquiry cross-validated through eight zones is one of the Integral model’s great contributions to science, and, in Integral Relationships, to how men can love better.

NOTES 1

Freud was a failed neurobiologist who left the study of brains of lampreys, crayfish, and other such creatures to create psychoanalytic theory. Ideas like cathexes of energy, eros, thanatos, ego, id, and superego are all metaphors attempting to describe neurobiological processes. Similarly, Marx constructed complex theories based on social Darwinism, moral outrage, and his own opinions about how people and cultures developed­—all essentially metaphors for socioeconomic systems—which he and millions of others expanded and fiercely defended, never cross-validating from the Right-Hand quadrants. Learning theory and behaviorism conceptualized consciousness and human motivations as frameworks composed almost exclusively of operant and classical conditioning processes studied primarily in rats, dogs, pigeons, etc.—essentially metaphors for consciousness and motivation mistaken for actual consciousness and motivation—which we have since discovered are vastly more complex and qualitatively distinct from pure operant and classical models.

REFERENCES

Coyle, D. (2009). The talent code. New York, NY: Bantam Books.

Bateman, A., & Fonagy, P. (2004). Psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: Metallizationbased treatment. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cloniger, R.C. (2004). Feeling good, the science of wellbeing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 144

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Fisher, H. (2003). “The anatomy of love.” Presented at the Lifespan Learning Institute. Fisher, H. (2004). Why we love: The nature and chemistry of romantic love. New York, NY: Henry Holt. Gottman, J.M., & Silver, N. (1999). The seven principles for making marriage work. New York, NY: Three

book review

Rivers Press. Jonnides, P. (2011). Guide to getting it on! Saline, MI: McNaughton and Gunn. Johnson, S. (2003). Creating secure attachments, The Anatomy of Intimacy. Presentation at the Foundation for the Contemporary Family, University of California, Irvine, November 5-6. Siegel, D.J. (1999). The developing mind. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Siegel, D.J., & Hartzell, M. (2003). Parenting from the inside out. New York, NY: Penguin Wilber, K. (2000). Sex, ecology, spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2000). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2003). Kosmic consciousness [audio recording]. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Wilber, K. (2006). Integral spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern and postmodern world. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Witt, K. (1982). An investigation of the effectiveness of treatment involving talking plus touching in enhancing health. Santa Barbara: Fielding Institute.

Witt, K. (2007a). The attuned family: How to be a great parent to your kids and a great lover to your spouse. Santa Barbara, CA: Graduate Institute Publishing/iUniverse. Witt, K. (2007b). The gift of shame: Why we need shame and how to use it to love and grow. Santa Barbara, CA: Graduate Institute Publishing/iUniverse. Witt, K. (2008a). Sessions: All therapy supports relationships integrating towards unity. Santa Barbara, CA: Graduate Institute Publishing/iUniverse. Witt, K. (2008b). Waking up: Psychotherapy as art, spirituality, and science. Santa Barbara, CA: Graduate Institute Publishing/iUniverse. Witt, K. (2009). Developmental engagement field theory: A speculative framework for the practical application of integrally informed psychotherapy. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 4(2), 43-66. Witt, K. (2011). “A five-star practice for creating beautiful relationships.” Presentation at TEDx American Riviera. Witt, K. (2012). The School of Love lecture series: Love and conscious evolution. Retrieved August 20, 2012, from www.drkeithwitt.com.

KEITH WITT, Ph.D., has been teaching and practicing psychotherapy in Santa Barbara, California, for 39 years. In addition to conducting over 50,000 therapy sessions, Keith has published four books, Waking Up; Sessions (two of the first books on integrally informed psychotherapy); The Attuned Family; and The Gift of Shame, and is the author of two more forthcoming books: Mindful Manifestation and 100 Reasons to not Have a Secret Affair. He has previously contributed to the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice and Integral Life website, and has lectured widely around the United States on topics such as integrally informed psychotherapy, integral erotic polarity, intimacy and evolution, and shame. Visit Keith’s website at www.drkeithwitt.com.

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Vol. 7, No. 3

Journal of

INTEGRAL THEORY and PRACTICE

A Postdisciplinary Discourse for Global Action

Journal of Integral Theory and Practice

September 2012 Volume 7 Number 3

Editorial Executive Editor’s Introduction – Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Articles Toward an Integral Model of Addiction: By Means of Integral Methodological  Pluralism as a Metatheoretical and Integrative Conceptual Framework – Guy Pierre du Plessis

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1

Transcending First-tier Values in Achieving Binding, Democratic Global Governance – John M. Bunzl

25

Kosmopolis: Its Past, Present, and Integral Future – Kees Breed

43

Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development – Tomohiro Akiyama, Jia Li, and Motoharu Onuki

55

Strategic Improvement Options in Fishery Supply Chains – Ard Hordijk and Irene Jonkers

70

Holarchical Field Theory – Kevin J. Bowman

92

Surrendering into Witnessing: A Foundational Practice for Building Collective Intelligence Capacity in Groups – Olen Gunnlaugson and Mary Beth G. Moze

September 2012

Perspectives The Application of Integral Theory to Futures Schools of Thought – Dennis Morgan Making Headway During Impossible Times – Richard A. Slaughter

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www.integralinstitute.org www.integralinstitute.org

Book Review Integral Relationships: A Manual for Men, by Martin Ucik – Keith Witt www.metaintegral.org

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