This article is about "Integral Theory" as an emerging area of discourse. See Integral (disambiguation)

Integral (disambiguation)

Integral is a mathematical conceptIntegral may also refer to:in mathematics* integer, a number* Integral symbol* Integral , or Lebesgue integration* Integral...

 for other uses.

Integral Theory is a philosophy posited by Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber

Kenneth Earl Wilber II is an American author who has written about mysticism, philosophy, ecology, and developmental psychology. His work formulates what he calls Integral Theory. In 1998, he founded the Integral Institute, for teaching and applications of Integral theory.-Biography:Ken Wilber was...

 that seeks a synthesis of the best of pre-modern, modern, and postmodern reality. It claims to be a "theory of everything," and offers an approach "to draw together an already existing number of separate paradigms into an interrelated network of approaches that are muturally enriching." It has been applied by scholar-practitioners in 35 distinct academic and professional domains as varied as organizational management, art, and feminism.

It initially started as a theoretical transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience....

 that attempted to synthesize Western and non-Western understandings of consciousness with notions of biological, mental, and divine evolution. Wilber has since distanced himself from transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience....

 and Integral Theory has turned into an emerging field of academic discourse and research focused on the complex interactions of ontology

Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...

, epistemology, and methodology

Methodology

Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...

. However, there is ongoing discussion surrounding its standing in academia.

Integral Theory has been applied in a variety of different domains: Integral Art

Integral art

Integral art can be variously defined as art that reaches across multiple quadrants and levels, that transcends and includes all limited forms, interpretations, or perspectives, as the belief that every human being is creative and that art is integral to all human endeavours, or simply as art that...

, Integral Ecology

Integral ecology

Integral ecology is an emerging field that applies Ken Wilber's integral theory to environmental studies and ecological research. The field was pioneered in the late 1990s by integral theorist Sean Esbjörn-Hargens and environmental philosopher Michael E. Zimmerman.-Teachings:Integral ecology...

, Integral Economics, Integral Politics

Integral politics

Integral politics is an endeavor to develop a balanced and comprehensive politics around the principles of integral studies. Theorists including Don Beck, Lawrence Chickering, Jack Crittenden, David Sprecher, and Ken Wilber have applied concepts such as the AQAL methodology of Integral Theory to...

, Integral Psychology

Integral psychology

Integral psychology is psychology that presents an all-encompassing holistic rather than an exclusivist or reductive approach. It includes both lower, ordinary, and spiritual or transcendent states of consciousness. Important writers in the field of integral psychology are Sri Aurobindo, Indra...

, Integral Spirituality, and many others. Researchers have also developed applications in areas such as leadership

Leadership

Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

, coaching, and organization development

Organization development

Organization development is a new term which means a conceptual, organization-wide effort to increase an organization's effectiveness and viability...

. The first interdisciplinary academic conference on Integral Theory took place in 2008. SUNY Press currently publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Integral Theory and Practice and has also published four books in the "SUNY series in Integral Theory."