ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF BELIEFS VS. CAPACITIES:
A POST-METAPHYSICAL VIEW OF SECOND TIER SKILLFULNESS
Tom MurrayIntegral Theory ConferenceAugust 2010, JFK University
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Integral as EpistemicsMethodolgcl. Pluralism | Perspectives | Post-metaphysics
Integral theory (esp. “Wilber-5”) is fundamentally about Epistemology and Method How do we know? What can we know is
true/real? How do we discover and justify what we
think is true or good?
Epistemics: knowledge, belief, method, certainty, theories, concepts… Includes emotional, social, ethical:
uncertainty, unknowing, assumptions & worldviews, communication, decision making…
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 2
An inquiry into belief-holding
Exploring what an integral or second tier approach to belief and knowledge could mean
…what integralists believe (and don’t believe)
What do we think it is important for others to believe/know/do based on integral theories?
Our relationship to what we believe: How certain can we be? How do we explain, promote, critique, justify?
How do we respond to other belief systems? Epistemological and ethical implications…?
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 3
Portability of integral ideas
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US (integralists)
beliefs, knowledge, values…
THEM
Beliefs, values??
Skills??
Overview
1. Development described in terms ofbeliefs and world views vs. skills and capacitates
2. Post-metaphysicsas part of second-tier enacting & skill
3. Positive & Negative Capability(and ethical implications)
…Audience deliberation…
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 5
In groups of 3 or 4 (10 min.)
Reflect on an idea or “truth” from integral theory/practice or evolutionary spirituality that you have tried to explain to friends/colleagues (with limited success!).
How do you know/explain it is true or valid?
How certain were/are you? Why did you want them to understand it?
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Some New Age vs. Integral Beliefs
New Age/Cultrl Creative
UFOs and lost ancient advanced civilizations; the healing power of crystals; the earth is a living conscious being (Gaia); we can manifest our wishes through intention alone; astrology, and other prognostication systems; various schools of mystical and occult beliefs; "all you need is love" (and peace); everything is perfect as it is.
New Age & Integral
Channeling and the existence of non-physical beings; ESP and psychic phenomena; intuitions can offer sturdy truths and directives; existence of a soul/spirit (and constructs such as Over-soul, Authentic Self), reincarnation and past lives; synchronicities are real; psychic energy and the chakra system; the reality of collective consciousness and parts of the self such as ego and shadow; all is one.
Integral
The universe is evolving – through us; Eros, Agape, involution, morphogenetic fields, Omega Point; objects/events fit into 4 ontological quadrants (or 8 zones); cultures and people can be categorized in terms of “memes”; there is a non-dual ground of being beyond space, time, energy, matter, and mind.
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 7
mythical, magical or metaphysical thinking??
Integral/Evolutionary Beliefs and Concepts
How do we know/prove what is true/”real”? How sure can we be?
Eros & Agape influence (or cause) evolution The universe is evolving – through us All objects/events/perspectives fit in 4 quadrants
The True, the Good, the Beautiful.. Gross, Subtle, Causal, Non-dual states Subtle energies and chakras. Synchronicities Over-soul; Spirit; Authentic Self; Omega Point Collective consciousness? Intuition? Flow? Morphogenetic
field? Ground of Being? Involution? Higher meditative states/truths (oneness, wholeness, light,
love, emptiness…)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 8
Belief and certainty/commitment
We take integral ideas seriously — believe they are useful to us and to others
What exists (metaphysics) vs. what is true
Habermas: to believe an idea is to be prepared to justify it
But belief has a spectrum of certainty/commitment
What is most important to commit to? Vs. be laissez-faire or hypothetical about? (why?)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 9
Interdependent modes of justification/critique
— which did you use/observe? —
First hand experience Deep intuition (or gut feeling) Reasonable assumptions/bases/premises Logical inference (supporting truth) It is ethically right It is pragmatically useful (it works) Consistent with other knowledge Support of experts/authorities Trusted sources (journal, NPR, etc.) Someone I know and trust believes it Most people (peers in my group) believe it I used a trusted method
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 10
Second tier transcends & includes magical, mythical, conventional, modern modes of justification
Q is when and how to we use these modes?
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 11
Magical thinking
All is one; there are no boundaries; we are all connected
Nonliving things have an animate life force; intentions, can hurt & bless
Powerful beings (gods, spirits…) can punish or reward; we are vulnerable
I have the psychic power to effect the world; bless or curse; pray, manifest; (omnipotency)
I hear inner messages; I use special objects and rituals to access divinations
Impulses and emotions and power dynamics determine my actions (not abstract ideas or plans)
Wishful thinking (the unwanted is unreal)Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 12
Magical/mythical thinking
How do we know: What to believe or do?-- same criteria for the true and the good: -- Authority figures and charismatics Magical or sacred books and objects Social norms, habit, they way it has been Peer pressure; what everyone else does My own experience
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 13
Magical/mythical thinking (2)
Little differentiation between: Inner vs. outer (ideas & imaginings vs.
reality) The true and the good/right Thoughts and feelings Self and group Past, present, future
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 14
Then comes Blue/Amber, Orange…
Blue meme: ideals, rules, principles, predictable patterns
Orange meme: systematic, possibilities/probabilities, logic; rigor, efficiency & perfection drives
Differentiating/discriminating: Feelings vs. thoughts Interiors vs. exteriors (self reflection) True / Good / Beautiful (scientific method) (what is
vs. what should be) Self vs. group/culture Belief vs. truth
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 15
Integral/Second Tier thinking?
…more exploration later…
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 16
Theories/narratives of human development
As shared and promoted within the integral community…
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A heuristic spectrumof developmental narratives
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 18
Beliefs &World Views
Skills &Capacities
WHAT one believes HOW one believes/thinks
What on does/can DO
(Values, Identity,) (Virtues, Habits)
“Skill” =
Higher order skills, capacities, capabilities, "skillful means"
Cognitive, social/ethical/emotional skills E.g. systemic thinking, ego awareness,
construct awareness, leadership, communication, empathy
The beliefs in focus are meaning-generative:cultural, metaphysical, spiritual, philosophical… (not concrete facts)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 19
Tentative Assumptions
Value of stage-based theories of development for (is and ought): Descriptive models of human development Prescriptive:
“Health of the spiral”; “Greatest depth for greatest span”
More “second tier” capacity in general
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 20
E.G. belief & world-view basedNarratives of human
development
1. Cohen & Hamilton’s Evolutionary Enlightenment
2. Kosmos Journal3. McIntosh’s Integral Consciousness4. Beck & Cohen’s Spiral Dynamics
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 21
Belief & World-view basedNarratives of human develpment
Cohen & Hamilton’s Evolutionary Enlightenment:
An "evolutionary context" in which "who and what God is can no longer be taken as fixed—that from a developmental perspective, God is also evolving, just as we are"
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 22
Kosmos Journal(Nancy Roof, Ed.)
"The ever-multiplying sighs suggesting that the modern world [is] at the end of its tether."
[A] "new era of conscious co-evolution" that could harness an "appreciative approach to global inquiry and accelerated world learning.”
"Today we can say that we have a world political crisis…the world is even more dangerous than the world of the mid-1980's."
[We] "are witnessing the formation of a global civil society” a focus on common human interests, and mechanisms of coordinated decentralized power structures.
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 23
McIntosh’s Integral Consciousness
Promotes an "integral worldview" and “Integral consciousness [that is] a new
perspective on the world that expands our perception of reality and provides fresh motivation…arises from and enlarged set of values framed by an expanded understanding of cultural evolution"
"[if] you read and consider the ideas in this book, they will literally raise your consciousness"
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 24
Beck & Cohen’s Spiral Dynamics (text)
A sequence of core intelligences or memes, that each "reflects a worldview, a valuing system…a belief structure, an organizing principle, a way of thinking or mode of adjustment"
But: talks about and around skills without getting sufficiently specific about exactly what they are, and focus more on human drives, needs, motivation, and values
Skills implied but not fleshed out in a teachable or measurable way
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 25
Skill & Capacity approaches to development
Action Logics (Cook-Greuter & Torbert) Kegan’s Subject/Object Theory Skill Theory & Hierarchical Complexity
Theory (Fischer, Commons, Dawson, Stein)
Many “developmentalists” past and present
(Wilber – covers both ‘sides of the fence’)
Psychologists/sociologists focusing on describing, understanding, measuring, supporting human capacity
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 26
Second Tier Skills/Capacities(integral, post-formal, post-post-modern) What does it look and feel like to be in a second
tier collaboration, inquiry, deliberation, or organization?
Thinking skills & social/emotional skills: Communication & Collaboration Leadership & Conflict resolution & Parenting Knowledge building & Systems design Self-awareness & self-directed learning
Epistemology—one’s relationship to belief Wisdom skills — relates belief to action
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 27
Wisdom Skills
Ego awareness (self/ego/will and being/spirit/essence; "I" dimension)
Relational awareness (emotional/social/ethical/interpersonal intelligence; "We" dimension)
Construct awareness (cognitive; "It" dimension)
Systems awareness ("Its" dimension; also a cognitive capacity, but reflecting on dynamic systems and networks of relationships as opposed to
mental constructs)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 28
Memes as Beliefs vs. Skills
Critical mass to establish a meme Then people from any level can be
attracted to it “Mean Green Meme” is actually a
cultural identity grouping that does not reflect green skill development
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 29
Some Problems with Development
as a Worldview or Belief System Beliefs: perspectival, culturally bound,
fallible Attached to identity and support in/out
group Beliefs can “clash” in struggles of power
and identity; skills are “cognitive tools” Beliefs-systems can be
ideologies/dogmas (manipulation/misconception/misuse)
Charismatic propaganda, peer pressure (inculcation/adoption vs. teaching/learning)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 30
Supporting Belief vs. Skill
Design of skill/capacity support is more difficult Persuasion/argumentation are ancient arts Articulating & supporting skills is new Requires special knowledge; more precision
Skill acquisition: Instruct, model, practice (practice!), feedback Support and challenge
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 31
The value of belief systems
Motivation, intention, vision! …when and why to USE skills/capacities Power of story, myth, narrative Shared world-view
Synergetic action, solidarity, meaning-generation
Stable base for new levels of cultural evolution Need shared beliefs (community) to
create skills? “Beliefs” can be stable useable
knowledge of “how things work”Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 32
A post-metaphysical approach to
belief – holding?
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 33
Integral & post-metaphysical injunctions
Don’t confuse map with territory Avoid the Myth of the Given Take a post-metaphysical perspective
Good goals – but can we enact them??
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 34
Post-metaphysics
How we hold or beliefs Level/type of certainty & importance
(emotional) How we explain or promote beliefs
(cognitive) Who should believe them and to what ends?
(ethical)
Involves second tier skills/knowledge of “how the mind/ideas work” concepts, models, communication, ego…
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 35
…some useful distinctions…
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 36
Further deconstructing my argument
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 37
Beliefs &World Views
Skills &Capacities
(Values, Identity, Virtues, Habits)
Models & Theories
Facts &Knowledge
Belief/knowledge structuresa useful framework
Non/pre-Linguistic:Experience (phenomena; what happens)
Linguistic / symbolic Concepts (categories; what exists; is real)
(concrete … > … abstract) Statements (propositions; what is
true/right) Model/Theory (system of related
beliefs) [World-view]Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 38
Belief/knowledge structures (2)
Linguistic / symbolic Concepts
ExamplesTaste of chocolate; gut
certainty;meditative state; being a
parent; a baseball game;
(intuitions…)
Tree, democracy, interior, consciousness…
Trees are…; We should…; the cognitive line leads…
AQAL, SD, Einstein’s, ….Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 39
Non/pre-Linguistic:Experience
Model/Theory
Statements
Concept Indeterminacy(Lakoff)
Abstract Concepts:Graded (fuzzy)Metaphorical (limited by
embodiment)Have “metaphorical pluralism”Generate polarities, paradoxes
A fragile house of cards used to build up (abstract) statements
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 40
Interdependent modes of statement justification/critique
— (revisited) —
First hand experience Deep intuition (or gut feeling) Reasonable assumptions/bases/premises Logical inference (supporting truth) It is ethically right It is pragmatically useful (it works) Consistent with other knowledge Support of experts/authorities Trusted sources (journal, NPR, etc.) Someone I know and trust believes it Most people (peers in my group) believe it
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 41
Model/Theory indeterminacy/fallibility
Kuhn… Lakatos… Latour… Meta-theorists…
(Rob Smith: “integral is the mother of all escapes”)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 42
Group reflections onthings said to Exist (concepts)
OBJECTS / CONCEPTS QUESTIONS
o Eroso Involutiono UR, LL, …quadrantso The green (any) memeo Non-duality or ND
stateso Spirit/soul/
reincarnationo (Collective)
consciousnesso Holon
Does it exist? In what way?
How sure are you? (sure enough to commit to…)
How would I explain/argue for (against) it?
Who should believe me?
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 43
Perspectives on “Post-metaphysics”
When something exists metaphysically, it claims freedom from rational justification and dialog.
(it is beyond both physical and neural/psycho/social laws)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 44
Post-metaphysics (1)
Is not anti-metaphysics (there are non-physical ‘things’)
No view from nowhere (privileged perspective), beyond myth of the given; map is not territory;
Perspectival: all truths/experiences come from a perspective and are partial
There are no fixed eternal forms, structures, or archetypes, because everything is evolving
Phenomena are enacted/co-constructed (makes no sense to say things exists(ed) unless (until) perceived)
(there is no ideal, transcendental, essential, or primordial in the metaphysical sense)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 45
Post-metaphysics (2)Habermas
Procedural/formal/method conceptions of rationality (“a rational person thinks this” to "…thinks like this")
Replaced foundationalism with fallibilism with regard to valid knowledge
Contextualized or situated reason in actual practices, historical contexts, & world views
Sees knowledge and truth as strongly related to ethics (affected by notions of rightness, sincerity, and authenticity) [and emotion]
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 46
Post-metaphysics (3)Integral PM
Kosmic address: altitude + perspective (of S,O)
Who x How x What Who: adequatio (developmental level(s) of
perceiver) How: method / tool; relationship of S,O; zone What: quadrant (I,we,it,its)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 47
the dog, Santa Claus, √-1, Emptiness, ecosystem,…- where/how do the referents to these signifiers exists?- “ecosystems exist only in a worldspace of turquoise or higher”
Post-metaphysical Validation(Wilber’s “three strands” of knowledge, plus)
1. Injunction — If you want to know this, do this.
2. Experience —Beyond concepts/words.
2.5 Conceptualize, Infer, & Communicate —A “truth” from the experience & everything else you know.
3. Dialog (with a community of the adequate) — What do others who followed the injunction think?
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | May 2010 48
— and Indeterminacy Analysis —
What are my/our biases, assumptions, capacities? Describe alternatives; limitations; fallibilities… What is the knowledge for and what level of
certainty is needed/called for? Other perspectives to invite? New Qs? — Iterate!
Positive (epistemic) capability vs.Negative (epistemic) capability
Negative not as in destructive/deconstructive, but as awareness of limitation and fallibility
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 49
Post-metaphysics (4)as an ‘epistemic turn’
What we now know (bio-psycho-social) about ideas, knowledge, language :
Knowledge is socially constructed All abstract concepts are “graded”
(fuzzy) and metaphorical Rationality is “bounded” & embodied Concepts and language are
indeterminate …
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 50
Misplaced Concreteness(Whitehead)
Abstractions (ideas) treated like concrete/physical realities
Fixed, external (objective) Solid conceptual boundaries
Psychology: MP is not just an avoidable error: its
hard-wired in embodied cognition Subject / “Object” development
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 51
Misplaced Concretenessthrough developmental levels
Magical thinking imagination/dreams seem “real” and concrete
Mythical (and conventional) thinking We believe the “stories” we hear/tell ourselves Myth of the given
Rational thinking Abstractions treated as realities Map/territory confusion
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 52
- Freedom- The economy- Green meme- Eros- UR quadrant
“Epistemic Drives”(in beliefs, ideas, knowledge)
Concreteness/reification (of abstractions) Seeing connections, patterns (over-) Generalize & abstract Attribute sharp boundaries to concepts
(ignore the grey areas) Foundationalism, essentialism,
universality Unity/oneness, totality/wholeness,
integration
…proto-fascism, grandiosity, hegemony, elitism…?
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 53
Belief and Emotion(embodiment, ethics, enaction) Certainty / importance / emotional
intensity Fear, risk, urgency, ecstasy… (states)
Risk of misplaced concreteness Magnification of epistemic (and other)
drives Regression to
black & white (us/them; either/or) Reliance on authority, peers & norms
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 54
Positivism/certainty vs. fallibilism/indeterminacy
Positivist attitude: clarity, certainty, action knowledge/meaning-generative; problem
solving, theorizing Negative capability: awe, humility,
curiosity Limits of language & knowledge & method Tolerance for ambiguity, uncertainty,
unknowing Dealing with the above
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 55
Espoused fallibility vs.Stylistic (or illocutionary/enacted) fallibility
Palliatives:from “ontological humility”
to “epistemic wisdom”
How do we hold beliefs post-metaphysically (with second tier epistemics)? “I believe in reincarnation” “Non-dual states are beyond mind, matter,
time, space” “the universe is constructed of holons” (or
consists of perspectives)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 56
Experience (phenomena)
Continuously ground abstractions in phenomena (experience) and shared intuitions
Face it: reality and phenomena are:(infinitely?) messy, complex, codependent, deeply detailed… ideas like to be pristine, singular…. Indeterminacy => vulnerability => ethical
implicationsTom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 57
Concepts:Epistemic language games
Positivist epistemics: It IS… (foundational, essential, ultimate) It always is/was (eternal, given, primordial,..)
Negative (epistemic) capability It is as if ; (what if; suspension..) “Chances are”…“as far as we can tell,” To the extent that… (in this context) In this sense/way… (from this perspective)
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 58
Statements:A 4th Validity Type
TrueGood/Right/Just
Beautiful (sincerity/authenticity)&
Meaning-generative
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 59
Models
“Indeterminacy analysis” – deliver models with a “wrapper” showing assumptions and limitations of concepts (what falls in the grey area)
Not just “Caution: this map is not the territory”
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 60
Certainty & Commitment in Belief & Action
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Ecstatic urgency!
Action (to do)
Stable base for growth
Commitment
Faith: Choose to
believe
Epistemic wisdom
to know / not know
Deconstruct for growth
Vulnerability
Suspend belief
In sum Understand the mind and limits of
thought/language (Epistemic-turn) Re-integrating all developmental
levels, including magical & mythical thinking
Ontological humility => epistemic wisdom
Compensate for fallibility Expect and forgive fallibilityTom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 62
END
Tom Murray – [email protected]
Extra slides
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 64
Second Tier - going “meta”
(from ITC-2008) Meta-cognition (thinking about thinking) Meta-knowledge (knowledge about the nature
and limitations of knowledge); META-BELIEF! Meta-learning (learning how to learn, also
called triple-loop learning) Meta-dialog (dialog about how we engage in
dialog) Meta-decision making (making decisions
about how we will go about making decisions) Meta-affect (investigating the feeling of our
feelings; somatic awareness of feeling states) Meta-leadership (supporting leadership in
others)Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010
Calls for higher level thought
David Bohm: "underneath [humanity's dilemmas] there's something we don't understand about how thought works" and that what is needed is a "very deep [and] very subtle" awareness of thought itself.
Albert Einstein: "the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
Cultural development as skill of understanding mind, thought, language, knowledge, belief…=> the “post-metaphysical turn”
Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 66
Some Polarities in Epistemic Drives
Abstract (ideas) vs. concrete (tangible, sensory, real) General (generalization) vs. specific (specialization) Integration vs. differentiation Universal vs. relative (or contextual) Fundamental (essential, central, root) vs. consequential
(peripheral or subordinate) Permanent (unchanging, fixed, predictable) vs. changing
(transient, unpredictable, chaotic) Simple vs. complex Oneness/singularity/unity vs. multiplicity (the many) Whole (holism; integration) vs. part (differentiation) Completeness (comprehensiveness; totality; systemic) vs.
partiality (details, deconstruction) Similarity vs. difference (diversity) Transcendence vs. immanence Perfection and purity vs. imperfection Tom Murray | www.perspegrity.com | August 2010 67