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Integral World: Exploring Theories of Everything
An independent forum for a critical discussion of the integral philosophy of Ken Wilber

Joint Statement

Ken Wilber and Alan Combs

Ken Wilber

Allan Combs Having read each others responses we both wish to finish our exchange on a positive note, recognizing our shared commitments to a broadly evolutionary orientation and to multi-dimensional explorations of the nature of consciousness (what Wilber calls the Upper Left quadrant). Thus we have more commonalities than disagreements.

We believe that these commonalities represent the most fruitful approach to the development of a complete psychology of consciousness, and we look forward to future cooperation in this important area. Furthermore, Allan concedes that his "apples and oranges" criticism of Ken's use of Gebserian structures and Vedanta levels was grounded principally in Ken's earlier work, as depicted in "Up from Eden" (and in the future will give him some rest on this point!).

We also recognize that, within our general similarities, we have important and significant differences. Wilber tends to emphasize "all-level, all-quadrant," and Combs, while not denying that scheme, focuses on a dynamical systems approach. We hope the result of these spirited disagreements will be mutually beneficial, to each other and to the field.

Allan Combs and Ken Wilber

26 May 1999









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