Systems thinking, spirituality and Ken Wilber: beyond New Age
Jakonen, JP; Kamppinen, Matti (2015)
Jakonen, JP
Kamppinen, Matti
The Donner Institute, Åbo Akademi
2015
Kuvaus
Matti Kamppinen, University of Turku
Matti Kamppinen is Professor of Comparative Religion at the Department of History, Cultural Research and Arts Studies at the University of Turku. He has studied Amazonian folk religion, mental models of environmental risks, and philosophical issues in comparative religion. His latest book (together with Pekka Hakamies) The Theory of Culture of Folklorist Lauri Honko was published by The Edwin Mellen Press in 2013. He has published articles in various journal like Forest Policy and Economics, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Technology in Society, Temenos and Futures.
JP Jakonen, University of Turku
MA, free scholar JP Jakonen is specialized in the practical applications of Integral Theory in leadership development. He is particularly interested in the relationship between the integral model and the good life. Jakonen is a certified Integral Associate Coach™ and has written three popular books on the Integral Theory as it relates to leadership development and change.
Matti Kamppinen is Professor of Comparative Religion at the Department of History, Cultural Research and Arts Studies at the University of Turku. He has studied Amazonian folk religion, mental models of environmental risks, and philosophical issues in comparative religion. His latest book (together with Pekka Hakamies) The Theory of Culture of Folklorist Lauri Honko was published by The Edwin Mellen Press in 2013. He has published articles in various journal like Forest Policy and Economics, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Technology in Society, Temenos and Futures.
JP Jakonen, University of Turku
MA, free scholar JP Jakonen is specialized in the practical applications of Integral Theory in leadership development. He is particularly interested in the relationship between the integral model and the good life. Jakonen is a certified Integral Associate Coach™ and has written three popular books on the Integral Theory as it relates to leadership development and change.
Tiivistelmä
Systems thinking is a general worldview concerning the nature of reality. It sees the world as composed of systems, and all particular entities populating reality as linked with other entities – the emergence of new properties denies the flatland of plain materiality, and generates entities of a higher order. Spirituality in historical and modern traditions has minimally amounted to relating oneself to a larger or higher systemic whole, which confers meaning to particular cases of existence. In some religious traditions this larger systemic whole has been understood as a transcendental sphere of existence, whereas in other religious and spiritual traditions it has been seen as an immanent thatness. The search for spirituality and wisdom has never been confined to religious traditions, but has inspired other systems thinkers as well, for example in philosophy, the New Age movement, in developmental psychology, biology, or futures research. The American philosopher and theoretical psychologist Ken Wilber (b. 1949) has discussed, re-interpreted and synthesized various views on spiritual development as well as systems thinking and has provided input for the New Age movement, comparative religion, developmental psychology, and world philosophy. In this article we will discuss the relationship between systems thinking and spirituality and will assess Ken Wilber’s contribution to their conceptualization.