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Newsletter Nr. 799
Amsterdam, September 27st, 2019


A SAD TALE OF THE PANDIT'S NEW CLOTHES - Celebrating Frank Visser's 150th Essay - DAVID LANE

DL: You have spent years studying the work of Ken Wilber. What do you find to be his greatest intellectual contributions?

FV: I would select the pre/trans fallacy, the four quadrants and the idea of a spiritual humanism.

1. The pre/trans fallacy only works within the discipline of transpersonal psychology of course. If there's no trans, there's no possible confusion of pre and trans. But assuming a trans dimension (trans-rational, trans-personal, trans-x) it makes sense to make a sharp distinction between the pre and the trans -- even if they look very much alike.

2. The four quadrants are a very accessible and appealing framework to apply to the various domains of science, mostly those sciences that involve human experience. Hence the many applications in medicine, law, management, art, etc. It is not without its own problems, as documented in the Reading Room, but it makes intuitive sense.

3. The idea of a "spiritual humanism" or "spiritual liberalism" is appealing too because you seem to get the best of both worlds, a science-based view of reality and at the same time room for interiority, personal growth and transcendental experiences. But I don't buy Wilber's metaphysical speculations about Spirit and Spirit-driven evolution.

Read more:
http://www.integralworld.net/visser150.html