Participation, Metaphysics, and Enlightenment: Reflections on Ken Wilber’S Recent Work
Transpersonal Psychology Review, 14(2), 3-24, 2011 Participation, Metaphysics, and Enlightenment: Reflections on Ken Wilber’s Recent Work Jorge N. Ferrer In memory of David Fontana (1934–2010), pioneer of British transpersonalism This paper discusses a number of key issues raised in the recent dialogue on the work of Ken Wilber between John Rowan and Michael Daniels, mediated by David Fontana and chaired by Malcolm Walley (Rowan, Daniels, Fontana, & Walley, 2009). First, it responds to Rowan’s defense of Wilber’s work in the wake of the participatory critique. Second, it addresses the question of the cultural versus universal nature of Wilber’s Kosmic habits in dialogue with Daniels’s contribution. Third, it offers a critique of Wilber’s integral post-metaphysics and contrasts this with participatory spirituality. Fourth, it discusses the nature of enlightenment, as well as meditation, integral practice, and spiritual individuation. The paper concludes with some concrete directions in which to move the dialogue forward. I am grateful to the editors of Transpersonal Psychology Review for the opportunity to clarify and develop aspects of my participatory perspective in view of the recently published dialogue on Ken Wilber’s latest contributions to transpersonal psychology (Rowan, Daniels, Fontana, & Walley, 2009). For the sake of focus, I limit my discussion to four key issues raised in the dialogue: (a) the participatory critique of Wilber’s work, (b) the cultural versus universal nature of Wilber’s Kosmic habits, (c) the question of (post-)metaphysics in spiritual discourse, and (d) the nature of enlightenment. The participatory critique of Wilber’s work: Response to Rowan After an account of his spiritual journey, Rowan defends Wilber’s model against critics who detect an Eastern bias in its allegedly universal spiritual map.
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