Integral theory (Ken Wilber)

Integral theory is a synthetic metatheory developed by Ken Wilber. It attempts to place a wide diversity of theories and models into one single framework. The basis is a "spectrum of consciousness," from archaic consciousness to ultimate spirit, presented as a developmental model. This model is based on development stages as described in structural developmental stage theories; various psychic and supernatural experiences; and models of spiritual development. In Wilber's later framework, the AQAL (All Quadrants All Levels) model, it is extended with a grid with four quadrants (interior-exterior, individual-collective), synthesizing various theories and models of individual psychological and spiritual development, of collective mutations of consciousness, and of levels or holons of neurological functioning and societal organisation, in a metatheory in which all academic disciplines and every form of knowledge and experience are supposed to fit together.Wilber's integral theory has been applied in a number of domains. The Integral Institute publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, and SUNY Press has published twelve books in the "SUNY series in Integral Theory." Nevertheless, Wilber's ideas have mainly attracted attention in specific subcultures, and have been mostly ignored in academia.