Article accepted by The Humanistic Psychologist

My god. Well, after waiting over two years, my article Universal Integralism: Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology in a Social Change Context: A Critical Analysis of Wilber’s Integral Method has been accepted for publication due out this summer.

Yes, this was a very long wait but seeing how I’m a young scholar who is still finishing his doctoral work as well as this being my first peer-reviewed publication, I decided to commit to however long it would take to get it published in this journal, one of the main outlets for my field.

I cannot say that I will be so patient next time (I mean, to wait two years is a bit extreme considering the number of good journals out there) but I am glad it finally worked out considering the amount of work that I put into getting into print. Now, I can only hope that the article is worth something to those who read it.

Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference, Hong Kong, Summer 2009

Alrighty then . . . So, Hong Kong. Hong Kong is very far away. My advisor/chair has highly recommended that I go to either the next APA convention in Toronto or the Science of Consciousness Conference (usually in Tucson) but in Hong Kong this year. Toronto is out of the picture because I’ve already made plans to be in Kauai at that time. Hong Kong is, frankly, a longshot in terms of funding but I registered and submitted an abstract anyway. I’m still working on opening energetic doorways if it turns out that I’m meant to be there. We’ll see. If I do go I will be presenting on whatever work I have completed on my dissertation by that time. Here’s the latest evolution of my abstract, which I just submitted yesterday:

PHENOMENOLOGY OF COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS: HUSSERL’S TRANSCENDENTAL INTERSUBJECTIVITY AND COLLECTIVE EMERGENT INTENTIONALITY

Abstract

What is the relationship between Husserl’s transcendental intersubjectivity and transpersonal theories of the collective, that is, collective trans-subjective experience “beyond the mask”? What are the ways in which transcendental phenomenology and social constructionism find congruence in theories of human transcendence inspired by the world’s wisdom traditions? Based upon these and other questions, I suggest ways that we can illuminate the complex relationship between self, other, and world in the context of the writings of Edmund Husserl and collective consciousness as emergent intentionality. My aim is to propose a preliminary framework for a more comprehensive and useful understanding of the relationship between Husserl’s transcendental intersubjectivity and the intersubjective aspects of transpersonal theory within the context of philosophical phenomenology, Habermas’ understanding of postmetaphysics, and consciousness studies, broadly construed. Such efforts aspire to clarify the tension between Husserl’s phenomenology and social constructionism (after Schütz) through theories of transcendence of the subjective self, e.g., the transpersonal. I pay particular attention to the exploration of the ways in which Husserl’s transcendental intersubjectivity can contribute to a greater understanding of how the collective interior evolves between human beings. From this, new avenues for consciousness research are explored.

copyright ©, Sean Saiter, 2009

EUROTAS Conference, Barcelona

It’s a curious thing how my mind works: an entirely appropriate thing to say considering I’m a psychologist. I just realized that I hadn’t posted anything related to the last major conference I went to: the European Transpersonal Associations (EUROTAS) latest conference which was held in Barcelona this last October.

I must say, I really had my doubts about making out to Spain at all in light of the economy and my status as a graduate student on a budget. Let’s just say that I certainly don’t get any stipends or institutional funding or support to go to conferences.

Having spent the majority of my childhood (military brat) in Madrid, I jumped at the opportunity to make it back to Spain. Not only that but I consider EUROTAS conferences to be the only place in the world where being a student at ITP is considered prestigious. Sad but true. Most of the time I have answer to puzzled looks and expressions of bewilderment when I mention the word “transpersonal.” It is a cross that took me a long time to come to terms with bearing. That is, I have my “moments” when it comes to sharing my enthusiasm and vision for the field, which is generally omnipresent and quite strong.

Barcelona is a world-class, cosmopolitan city teeming with riches. The fact that the conference was held here attests to the uniquely Catalonian character of the whole event. Wine was served with nearly every meal and people were generally very informal and “relaxed.” Need I mention that everyone I met was incredibly friendly?

I presented a simple talk on my observations as a member of the next generation for the future of the field. I think it went very well, considering the usual technical difficulties. Most of the time I was met with several nods in agreement as I slowed-down the pace of my talk considerably to accommodate my translator to turn my American English into Catalan.

I love conferences like this and I certainly feel blessed to be able to make it to Europe when money and funds are so rare in this field, especially as a student footing the bill out-of-pocket. Now, if I can just figure out a way to get someone to sponsor me in the future . . .

Update on my Dissertation Topic

Okay, so, basically I am doing extremely well and am a bit ahead of the game, which feels very good. I have successfully passed my “mini-proposal” (where I write a draft version of the first three chapters of my dissertation: a major hoop to jump through at ITP) and can now begin forming my committee.

However, my advisor, Olga, suggests that I still need to refine and simplify my topic as it is still too much to handle if I want to graduate anytime in the next decade. This means that I have to make some difficult choices (same old story).

As it stands, she has convinced me of the wisdom of switching my method from thematic analysis to Giorgi’s phenomenological method. She has also convinced me that it is okay to just focus on Husserl and Merleau-Ponty and drop Levinas, as much as I’m interested in his work. Husserl and Merleau-Ponty are certainly enough to work with–this I know.

Yet, beyond this I’m coming up against some reluctance to drop any of the three core topics: direct perception, intersubjectivity, and collective emergent consciousness. Intersubjectivity is where the juice is for me but she has proposed that I focus on comparing Husserl and Merleau-Ponty’s versions of phenomenology based upon their own lived experience or direct perception. That is, she thinks I can drop intersubjectivity and collective consciousness and just focus on the direct perception of these two using phenomenological psychology to examine their life and work.

Yes, well, this may very well be very dry and nit-picky to many but it is crucial to my career path and any academic choices I make within the next few years.

I am hoping to work this out very soon. In the meantime, I will continue to procrastinate on my other duties by updating all of my online profiles and blogs.

My topic so far

So, I’ve made a great deal of progress on my topic so far. I’ve spent the last nine months actively and intensely trying to refine what the hell it is that I’m REALLY interested in. I have been told just how difficult refining one’s topic is but I had no idea it would take this long. A big part of the problem is that I’m a synthetic, high-level thinker, which means that I start big and then have to move into more manageable, practical spaces, which I find excruciatingly difficult. I mean, there are just so many connections and they all seem to be important in some way.

That being said, at the beginning of the summer, I started of with the incredibly ambitious question of “How is it that we know anything?” I mean, I want to investigate what it means to “know” something. Well, as it turns out, there are many ways to investigate this. I found myself delving into a vast array of broad texts on epistemology, the history of scientific psychology, consciousness studies, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, history of philosophy, history of psychology, and so on. My advisor, Olga Louchakova, suggested I try taking on the topic of “cognitive styles” and looking into the philosophy behind the construct (which is used in cognitive science). I discovered that I just couldn’t own it, as much as I learned a great deal about it in the process. I now feel that I have a better grasp of the cognitive and philosophy of mind literature.

Through this, I’ve discovered just how much I love phenomenology. I mean, c’mon, this stuff if amazing. Phenomenology, as a philosophical school of thought and practice, is at the crossroads of so many disciplines and helps to give depth and context to the humanistic/transpersonal/integral schools of thought of recent decades. It really has brought so much together for me in these last few months and I now feel that I have a vocabulary that lends itself to pretty much any area within philosophy or psychology. Many articles, books, and topics that have made little sense to me in the past seem to have opened themselves up to me since I started to get deeper into the philosophical and historical contexts around phenomenology and the  Continental/Analytic divide since the European Enlightenment and the triumph of Reason (modernism).

Here’s a snapshot of what I’ve got so far. This is my title and abstract:

DIRECT PERCEPTION, INTERSUBJECTIVITY, AND COLLECTIVE EMERGENT CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE WORKS OF HUSSERL, MERLEAU-PONTY, AND LEVINAS: A THEORETICAL THEMATIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

What is the relationship between direct perception (unmediated, preconscious experience) and intersubjectivity (self and other in relation)? What is the “essence,” or underlying core of this relationship? In other words, what can the relationship between direct perception and intersubjectivity tell us about how we “know” the world? Furthermore, how is this relationship analogous to the concept of emergence (autopoiesis) and notions of collective consciousness? Based upon these and other questions, this study seeks to analyze and illuminate the complex relationship between self, other, and world through a middle-ground (moderate) social constructionist lens in the context of the writings of Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Levinas.

1st Biennial Integral Theory Conference

I just recently came back from the 1st biennial Integral Theory Conference held at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA. What I found unusual about the conference, in my experience, was just how many people I knew there. I reconnected with people I haven’t seen in years and many that I’ve recently met but not seen in a while. Old friends and new alike, I can say it was a great conference. It was, I must say, definitely focused on the intellect and theory. No surprise there, but I heard a few folks complaining about how it wasn’t “integral” enough. I find this so amusing considering how difficult it truly is to remain “integral” all the time in all possible ways. Personally, I think it’s absurd to think one can be conscious (i.e. perfect) all of the time. It’s just way too stressful if you ask me. Nonetheless, I gotta say, I thought it was a great first event that was very professional and seemed to be well-organized.

I presented a poster version of the work I did on my doctoral qualifying paper. After working on the poster and attending a few of the first talks, I realized just how many gaps there were in my thinking. The fact of the matter is, that any piece of work is always just a snapshot of where an individual is at that given moment in their understanding and development. There is always more to know or to understand.

I lament that I did not get to present at this conference but I think I made enough new friends and contacts to make up for this fact.

Here’s a copy of my poster for your convenience (please note, this material has been copyrighted):

integral_presentation (ppt)

PersonalBrain: The Wonders of Mind Mapping

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.

Towards a Philosophy of Science in Transpersonal Psychology

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:

Barbara Marx Hubbard

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.

http://www.barbaramarxhubbard.com

http://www.evolve.org

The Humanistic Psychologist

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.