Recently I went to my schools disseration department and discovered a document they put together with suggestions on support software for the dissertation.
It was through this that I discovered Personal Brain at thebrain.com.
I must say, I am finding this incredibly useful. It visually displays my thoughts in a semi-3D way. It is very intuitive, easy to use, and the Pro version (read: expensive version) comes with some cool options.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
The Philosophy of Qualitative Scientific Methodology in (Transpersonal) Psychology
or
Towards the Articulation of and/or a Unified (Emergent/Participatory) Philosophy of Science in Transpersonal Psychology: The Integration of Intersubjectivity
The above title(s) are a reflection of the current state of my dissertation topics. I have narrowed my list down to but a mere few (as opposed to the many that I started with) and this is at the top of my list.
There is simply way too much to say here about this but here are few tidbits that I’ve been mulling-over and chewing on:Description of key ideas and inspirations:
Key inspirations are Wilber, Ferrer, Gebser, and Rothberg. The Western philosophical tradition that my thinking comes out of is Hegelian (Heidegger & Husserl) or the Continental Philosophy of Science. Constructivist, Postmodern, Integral, Feminist, Empirical, quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and other such ideas are central topics. Here I am asking questions such as: What do the great thinkers in TP have to say about the philosophy of science in TP? Where do they think it needs to go? How can we develop a research methodology that takes into account beyond-ego in community for the sake of social transformation? It assumes that the construction of an internal reality is no longer enough. 1st person (phenomenology/qualitiative) , 3rd person (quantitative/empirical), and inter/intrasubjective accounts are explored and integrated.
Here, one of the topics I am concerned with how transpersonal psychologists in particular, and psychologists in general go about translating good/sound theory into good/sound practice or application. I am peripherally interested in methodology as the place where the two intersect. Meta-theory, meta-shemas, and meta-science are all different ways of approaching the subject. One particular chapter would be the inclusion of my discussion of these issues critiquing Wilber’s Integral Methodological Pluralism. I am asking: What is the next step in TP and how do we get there? Where should we be placing our efforts? My understanding is that TP lack a coherent scientific injunction. Articulating a philosophy of science in TP has yet to be done. My hypothesis is that this is a crucial step in the right direction for the future of the field as a whole.
• Financial Support:
• Interest to Me: I find this topic incredibly interesting.
• Extendability After Completion: Infinite
• Controversy: Slightly controversial in the sense that qualitative and mixed methods are still gaining acceptance and visibility.
• Time to Completion:
• “Hotness”: As far as I can tell this is a very hot area in the field. Wilber, Ferrer, Hartelius, Braud and Anderson, and others have all pointed toward a complete philosophy of science in the field
• Advisor’s Enthusiasm for Topic:
• Closeness to Advisors Research:
• Duplication or Uniqueness: Preliminary investigation has only lead to Ferrer’s work, which is theoretical.
• Narrow Focus: The focus is very broad/needs to narrowed to a point of manageability
• Tractability:
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged dissertation, philosophy, science | 1 Comment »
A month ago today, Barbara Marx Hubbard, the futurist thinker (and doer), contacted me. Yes, out of the blue. I arose one day to find an email from this amazing person telling me how much she appreciated my work. I immediately thought “what work?” The connection is not unpredictable since she is the person who coined the term “conscious evolution” and wrote the book on the subject (A few years ago me and Allan Combs started an online journal called The Journal of Conscious Evolution in an attempt to provide an outlet for this emerging view).
Naturally, I continue to be inspired by Barbara and her tireless hope for the future of the planet.
I want to share an excerpt from here book Conscious Evolution that I find particularly wonderful:
Is the convergence of our higher consciousness and expanded creativity enough to tip the scales in favor or a positive future, given the rapid escalation of problems that threaten our survival? I believe the answer is yes, because it is the nature of nature to repattern itself quickly when in conditions of extreme instability, such as we are experiencing through our environmental crisis. Although there are no certainties–we are potentialists, not optimists or pessimists–we can find a logical basis for pragmatic hope in the fabulous, unimaginable 15-billion-year journey of transformation.
Ahhh. What a wonderful thing to read. It is refreshing to know that the world has people like Barbara.
Posted in integral | Tagged conscious evolution, futurist, journal, potentialist | No Comments »
Two months ago I decided to submit my paper Universal Integralism to The Humanistic Psychologist. There are several reasons why I did this. The main one is that I have always felt the need for transpersonal psychologists to publish outside of their circle of friends, so to speak. That is, I am aware that the THP is not all that far removed, it is just that the journal is not only in on the cause but it is an official APA publication. Also, there are several transpersonalists on the review board and the journal also recently published a wonderful article (Hartelius, 2007) supporting the history and future of the field.
However, I have yet to hear from them and still have two more months to go before I can expect to hear anything, if at all. If nothing arises then I will do the next foolish thing and submit it to yet another journal.
Posted in academic, article, integral, scholarship | Tagged academic, article, humanistic, integral, journal, paper, transpersonal, universal | No Comments »
Well, I’ve finished work on my doctoral qualifying paper. It’s rather long but accurate title is: Universal Integralism: Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology in a Social Change Context: A Critical Analysis of Ken Wilber’s Integral Method.
I think it came out rather nice, but, then again, I guess the committee at ITP will be the judge of that.
Provided everything goes smoothly and there are no glaring errors content-wise, I will submit the paper to ReVision, Integral Review, AQAL Journal, The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, OR The Journal of Organizational Change Management.
I think the first two would be the best venues, ideally. We’ll see.
Posted in academic, article, article graduate postgraduate student education, integral, methodology, scholarship, student | No Comments »
The goalposts are constantly shifting.
The postmodern contribution to the human race is the understanding that the universe, as we know it, is not static. In fact, if there is one thing that seems to be consistent it is the lack of consistency and thus, the return of the philosophical paradox of sorts. Yet, this is not a true paradox because now, thorough the lens of the postmodern we can see the larger overall picture which is one of complexity and dynamic interconnected systems. It is impossible for most people in their current way of seeing and grasping the world to truly get this in it’s entirety and when it happens it is often described as an “Ah-ha!” experience and even mystical in nature (whatever your level or definition for mysticism).
The goalposts are constantly shifting. This means, simply, that the laws we come to rely on today might not be true tomorrow. If the universe does truly evolve and is dynamic, creative, and novelty generating then how can we assume that the laws of physics, for example, are static? How is it that we can make this exception when all else is evolving in complexity? This is what it means to exist on a level of understanding that rides the current of emergence in reality as we know it. Postmodernism and it’s children, such as complexity theory and chaos theory teach us that we can’t take our assumptions and our current rules for granted for all times, all places, and all universes. In fact, this is the central tenant, as I understand it, of the new physics since the birth of quantum mechanics. Even in modern consciousness research there is an understanding that what we are dealing with are so many constantly changing variables that to take a “snap-shot” if you will through our scientific methods is, in the final instance, doomed to temporary truth status as surely things will change. Socially speaking, if we do make the categorical error of taking our models too seriously we are in for a rude awakening. So far, there hasn’t been a worldview that hasn’t been challenged and improved upon and I certainly don’t see it changing in the future. So, it is from this that I can go ahead and make the assumption that there will never be any truly Grand Unified Theory or THE. Only relatively speaking is this possible. This, of course, is a very postmodern statement that is not without it’s own difficulties but I see no other alternative than to go down this path and to follow my contemporaries in the belief in an integration of worldviews and methods in an ever-evolving, continuously changing universe of realities and possibilities beyond anything we could ever imagine.
So, as I see it, the future of science is one of integration, dynamism, and the recognition of the observer effect and the reality of ever shifting goalposts. The pathological alternative is already in existence today and will likely continue for a significant number of people and that is one of scientism, or scientific dogmatism, which is, strictly speaking, not science at all. Beyond this, it is a matter of hermeneutics and linguistic swordsmanship. Nonetheless, this all seems to be the case but there are many traps along the way, the most obvious being taking it all (any model such as this one) too seriously. We can be persistent in our pursuit for truth, knowledge, insight, and wisdom but we needn’t take it all so seriously that we lose sight of what I call the “dynamic absurdity” or the great play of Lila as the Hindus put it.
It is important to maintain a sense of play and beginner’s mind at every turn, no matter how experienced others might tell us we are. Humility and awe is what keeps the true scientist, at least the best ones, in check for as the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction.
Posted in article, integral | No Comments »
What follows is my list of the top 20 most (currently) relevant links for my DQP on Integral Methodological Pluralism:
Top 3 articles:
Top 3 Organizations:
Top 3 Bibliographies:
Top 3 Books:
Top 3 Resource Pages:
5 Other Websites:
Posted in research, scholarship, top 20 hall of fame | No Comments »
I found this article a few days ago and bookmarked it. After looking over it again I’ve realized that it is a good example of the kind of information that I’ve been looking for as I venture in the depths of development of an integral methodology. It’s based upon Wilber’s work, is being applied to a real-world situation, HIV/AIDS, and comes from Canada (Drishti Center for Integral Action)which I find to be useful if not for anything else but the fact that so much “integral” stuff seems to be limited to the US. Lately, I’ve been finding connections in Australia, Canada, and the UK more often. If only I could understand more languages I’m sure there would be much more to work with. Unfortunately, I don’t speak any other languages fluently, which is an annoying side-effect of being American. I’m working on it though.
Regardless, this article is gold for me and my research.
Posted in consulting, integral, leadership, methodology | No Comments »
I found this today. It is extremely interesting to me since I’m trying to get a better sense of what consulting and coaching means to me and how I can integrate it into my life and profession. It’s encouraging for me to be aware of this review because it seems to be a small but growing example of how “integral” approaches are making waves in the world.
Again, I share it here because I’m going to be exploring the refinement of Integral Methodological Pluralism a la Ken Wilber’s work as a new methodology to be applied to a varied of settings and purposes:
Integral Leadership Review
The Integral Leadership Review is the premier publication of integrally informed approaches to leadership. We serve academics and practitioners engaged in the theory, development and practice of leadership. Now in its sixth year, the Integral Leadership Review provides a link and a bridge among leaders, theorists, educators, consultants, coaches and trainers in over thirty countries.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
It would seem that I am monopolizing my presence here. Oh well. There’s just so much to share! Regardless, here is an article I found that relates to life in graduate school. (Australia)
Abstract (reprinted):
” This paper attempts to raise some issues that are important for postgraduate students to be successful and to get as much out of the process as possible, and for supervisors who wish to help their students be successful. The intent is not to provide prescriptive advice — no formulas for finishing a thesis or twelve-step programs for becoming a better supervisor are given — but to raise awareness on both sides of the supervisor-student relationship as to what the expectations are and should be for this relationship, what a postgraduate student should expect to accomplish, common problems, and where to go if the supervisor is not forthcoming.”
Posted in article graduate postgraduate student education | No Comments »
