Integral Scholars: Let's Bring Scholarship To The Web

A few days ago I discovered an article in the New York Times about "Open Science" that strongly resonated with me. It covers a topic that I have been chewing on for some time: the potential for scholars and specialists of all sorts to leverage the power of the Internet to revolutionize the way knowledge is created, accessed and legitimized. Then a question came with it: why isn't the integral community more active on the open web⁽¹⁾?

Corey DeVos from Integral Life says to Integral Chicks that before Integral Naked (2006), the Integral community had trouble finding itself and interacting with each other, whereas today the problem has changed: dialogue happens mostly within the community and we need more dialogue with the exterior. We can find Integral content online—mostly "pop integral" I would say—but in many ways the Integral discourse is de facto closed due to obstacles like monthly fees and premium memberships. Technically it's on the web, but not openly so. As to the scholarly discourse⁽²⁾ in particular, it seems almost absent⁽³⁾. And this is the discourse I'm interested in for this post.

This situation is not specific to the integral discourse. It illustrates a deeper current in the academic world and there are reasons for it. Such a closed system makes sense given the (outdated) technological structure it was designed for, and the conventional business model deriving from it. But it carries serious drawbacks too. Think compartmentalization of disciplines, lack of innovation, or the ivory tower effect dissociating the scholar from the "real world". For the integral movement, which prides itself  for being leading edge, trans-disciplinary by nature, and open to meeting people "where they are", it is a disappointing state of affairs.

I would love to see that change, and I think it's becoming more and more possible. The technology supporting a more open scholarly discourse is developing and science is likely heading in that direction anyway. Jason Priem has an interesting blog about the growing scholarly use of social media and a manifesto for new scholarship metrics—both of which shed some light on this trend. I would really like to see the Integral community a bit more open to—if not invested in—this evolution. Would it not only be consistent with its overall purpose?

Why We Need More Spiritual Discrimination

Borrowed and adapted from Campus Ministry

Today, I could have benefited from a so-called "Integral Awakening Skype Session" to foster my "transformational process"... But I chose not to, just like I choose not to attend to the plethora of spiritual events available in the Bay Area, and here is why.

You would think that the Bay Area is the best place to nurture your spiritual side given the vivid subculture and the diversity of practices available. And yet I find myself rather closed to the spiritual market here, as if too much exposure to it had made me dull. Is it a personal disposition? Maybe, after all I grew up in a quite secular environment. But really, the red flag to me is the lack of discernment by spiritual teachers about spirituality itself.

Spirituality is an intimate relationship with reality, it requires observing and experiencing this relationship directly, exploring the territory by yourself before relying on maps others have drawn before you. So it produces an interesting paradox when you live in a culture imbued with spiritual concepts. You are called to encounter them in discussions and readings, and even though you're talking about existential and ultimate concerns, you end up sometimes using them more or less casually.

I don't know you, but I find it difficult to keep giving a special meaning to a spiritual concept like "awakening" or "epiphany" when I read about it in promotional emails.

The Latest Developments of Integral Theory - Video of Nick's Presentation

I recently attended a talk by my friend Nick Hedlund-de Witt (video below) at the PCC forum (a student group at the California Institute of Integral Studies) in San Francisco.

UPDATE 01/07/12: The video permissions have changed and it is not publicly available anymore. I'll try to find out why.
UPDATE 01/09/12: It turns out the folks at the PCC Forum are waiting for Nick's authorization to re-publish it and he's on vacation at the moment. Stay put!
UPDATE 05/07/12: Well well... it seems that Nick doesn't want to keep that video up - shame on him. He said he might do another one, a better one. Hah! Be sure I will share it when it comes along.

I'm hungry for such presentations for two reasons:

1. First, Nick is an Integral scholar deeply immersed in Integral Theory (IT), in other words he knows his stuff, so whether we like or agree with what he says, we can trust him to tell us when he is describing IT and when he's building upon it.
2. Most importantly, he is distinguishing between the different phases of Integral Theory (IT) and presenting its latest development. Finally an in-depth presentation of IT and of its place in the overall philosophical discourse.

Nick's target audience are the philosophy students of CIIS, so even though he's trying to keep it simple, you got to like the topic! But if like me you've been looking for a middle ground between the Pop-Integral culture and academic articles, this video might be just what you need.

Oh did I mention it's 2 hours long? Here are some time cues:
You can skip Nick's presentation  ->  jump to 0:03:00.
'Internal' critiques of Integral Theory -> jump to 1:01:55.
'External' critiques of Integral Theory -> jump to 1:11:10.