AqalGlossary

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Note To The Reader: The following is a glossary of some of the most frequently used terms in Integral Theory. Given the extensiveness of Integral Theory, each definition is one of several other valid definitions. These are representative, not exhaustive. Also, it should be noted that while Ken Wilber has reviewed the following document and made many suggestions of improvement, this is not to be seen as a Ken Wilber-written glossary. In spite of the possible limitations of such a glossary, the AQAL Journal Review Team felt it was worthwhile to compile this document as a means of providing more clarity for the growing list of key terms used in Integral discussions. I want to thank the Review Team for their guidance in completing what we feel will be a helpful resource for the Integral community.

Agape

agency

Basic Moral Intuition (BMI)

basic structures of consciousness

cultural anthropology

endogenous states- See altered states

evolutionary given(s)

exogenous states- See altered states.

extrinsic value

first-person perspective

horizontal enlightenment

hyperagency

hypercommunion

I-I

injunction- See methodology.

Integral

Integral Life Practice (ILP)

Integral Mathematics (of Primordial Perspectives)

Integral Methodological Pluralism (IMP)

Integral Perspectivism

Integral Post-Metaphysics

Integral Semiotics

Integral Theory - See AQAL.

Integral Transformative Practice (ITP)

involutionary given(s)

level-line fallacy (LLF)

natural states of consciousness

nature mysticism

A peak experience of oneness with phenomena in the gross state.

nexus-agency

The regime or pattern that governs the intersections and communications between members of a social holon. Applicable to holons in the Lower-Left and Lower-Right quadrants. Also known as “regnant nexus.”

nexus-communion

Any nexus-agency in communion with other nexus-agencies. The communion aspect of a social holon’s agency-in-communion.

nondual

The ever-present union of subject and object, Form and Emptiness, Heaven and Earth. Nondual can refer to both the suchness or “isness” of Reality right now and also the very highest basic level or structure-stage of awareness, where it is a permanent realization. It is both the ever-present ground of evolution, as well as its ultimate goal.

nondual mysticism

A peak experience of oneness with phenomena arising in gross, subtle, and causal states.

objective

1. Pertaining to the exterior of an individual, or the Upper-Right quadrant. Examples of objective phenomena include molecules, cells, the triune brain, as well as the observable behavior of an individual.

2. Pertaining to the Right-Hand path, in general.

3. Pertaining to 3-p, in general.

ontology

Traditionally, the study of being, reality, existence, as well as the given structure of anything, often viewed as unchanging. In Integral Post-Metaphysics, ontology is not a separate discipline or activity but that aspect of the AQAL matrix of any occasion that is experienced as enduring structure; the study of that aspect is ontology. The term “ontology” is sometimes used in this sense given the lack of alternatives.

paradigm

From Thomas Kuhn, who used the term to refer to a social practice, injunction, or methodology. Many people, however, use paradigm more loosely to refer to a theory or worldview. Integral Theory uses the term in Kuhn’s original sense. See methodology.

past actuals

Anything that existed in the past. The totality of past facts-and-interpretations that are handed to the present occasion as a fact or a given. See present occasions and future potentials.

peak experience

A spontaneously occurring, heightened state of awareness.

phenomenal states

Immediate and temporal first-person experiences (e.g., a feeling, a thought, an impulse, an image, etc.).

phenomenology

The study of consciousness as it immediately appears. A first-person approach to first-person singular realities. Describing the inside view of the interior of an individual as it is (i.e., the inside view of a holon in the Upper-Left quadrant). Exemplary of a zone-#1 methodology in Integral Methodological Pluralism, along with other approaches like meditation, introspection, etc.

Phobos

The pathological version of Eros. Not transcendence of the lower, but repression of the lower.

planetcentric

The general level(s) where one is identified, not just with all humans, but with all sentient beings, including plants, animals, and natural processes. See egocentric, ethnocentric, worldcentric, and Kosmocentric.

pre/trans fallacy

In any recognized developmental sequence, the confusion of a pre-X stage and a trans-X stage simply because both are non-X. This fallacy has two major forms: the reduction of trans-X to pre-X and the elevation of pre-X to trans-X. For example, the confusion of pre-rational and trans-rational, pre-personal and trans-personal, or pre-conventional and post-conventional.

present occasions

This very moment’s set of facts-and-interpretations. Present occasions include the inheritance of past actuals (i.e., past facts-and-interpretations that appear now as given fact) plus this moment’s own interpretive freedom. See past actuals and future potentials.

proximate self

One of the three major aspects of the overall self, along with the distal and anterior self. The proximate self is the intimately subjective self, which is experienced as an “I” or “I/me.” It is also the equivalent of the self-identity stream. Wilber’s fulcrums of self-development refer to the stages of proximate self-sense development.

(Integral) psychograph

A representation of the unique constellation of levels and lines (as well as states and types) within an individual. The AQAL matrix as it appears in an individual, with particular reference to the Upper-Left quadrant.

quadrants

As in the four quadrants, which represent four basic dimensions of all individual holons: the interior and exterior of the individual and collective. These are designated as the Upper Left (interior-individual), Upper Right (exterior-individual), Lower Left (interior-collective), and Lower Right (exterior-collective). The quadrants correspond with “I,” “We,” “It,” and “Its,” which are often summarized as the Big Three: “I,” “We,” and “It/s.” These are correlated although not identical with the value spheres of Art, Morals, and Science and Plato’s value judgments of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. The 8 zones refer to the inside and outside of the four quadrants.

quadrivium

Literally “four ways.” The use of the quadrants as perspectives with which to look at any manifest occasion. The 8 perspectives of Integral Methodological Pluralism are derived by looking at a quadrivium from the inside and outside.

realm

A term that refers either to states of consciousness or the bodies that support them, or both (e.g., the gross realm, the subtle realm, the causal realm).

referent

The actual phenomenon signified by any sign or symbol. All referents exist within developmental worldspaces. See Integral Semiotics.

Right-Hand path

The approaches or methodologies that rely on the exterior of the individual and collective, or the Upper- and Lower-Right quadrants.

second-person perspective

In human conversation, the perspective of the person being spoken to: “you” or “thou.” More generally, a second person is any holon to whom agency is directed. Second person is also intimately related to first-person plural, since it takes a “We” for “you” and “I” to understand each other.

Second Tier

Used to summarize the Flex Flow and Global View stages of value systems development from the Spiral Dynamics model. These stages are defined by their capacity to see the relative importance of all previous value systems, as opposed to First-Tier value systems, which declare their values to be the only correct values. Integral Theory uses Second Tier to refer to the Teal and Turquoise levels of developmental “altitude.”

self-system

A third-person descriptor for the overall self. The self-system is the locus of identification, will, defenses, metabolism, and integration (i.e., balancing the various levels, lines, states, and types of consciousness).

semantics

The meaning of any sign or symbol. In Integral Theory, meaning refers to the collective signifieds of cultural intersubjectivity and is typically associated with the Lower-Left quadrant. More broadly, meaning is the means of redeeming a validity claim (i.e., truth, truthfulness, mutual understanding, or functional fit) and is inherently connected to the referent of that claim. See Integral Semiotics.

the shadow

The sum total of dynamically dissociated first-person impulses or disowned aspects of one’s self. The shadow can manifest in any number of ways, one of which is projection. When a person disowns and projects their own negative qualities onto other people, they end up “shadow boxing” with others. And when a person disowns and projects their own positive qualities onto other people, they end up “shadow hugging.”

sign

Any aspect of reality that stands for another, to another. See Integral Semiotics.

signified

The interior apprehension elicited by any sign or symbol. In Integral Theory, the signified is typically associated with the Upper-Left quadrant. See Integral Semiotics.

signifier

The material aspect of any sign or symbol. In Integral Theory, the signifier is typically associated with the Upper-Right quadrant. See Integral Semiotics.

social autopoiesis

The study of how networks of objective things, organisms, and processes self-organize and self-reproduce. A first-person approach to third-person plural realities. The inside view of the exterior of a collective (i.e., the inside view of a holon in the Lower-Right quadrant). Exemplary of a zone-#7 methodology in Integral Methodological Pluralism.

span

The number of holons on any given level. While “span” refers to the horizontal dimension of a holon, “depth” refers to its vertical dimension (i.e., the number of levels within a holon). See depth.

Spiral Dynamics

A theoretical model focusing on the development of value memes, or “vMemes,” from First Tier (Survival Sense, Kin Spirits, Power Gods, Truth Force, Strive Drive, and Human Bond) to Second Tier (Flex Flow and Global View). Conceived by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, and based on research by Clare Graves.

spiritual

The word “spiritual” has at least four major usages:

1. “Spiritual” refers to the highest levels in any developmental line (e.g., transrational cognition, transpersonal self-identity, etc.).

2. “Spiritual” is a separate developmental line itself (e.g., Fowler’s stages of faith).

3. “Spiritual” refers to a state or peak experience (e.g., nature mysticism).

4. “Spiritual” means a particular attitude or orientation, like openness, wisdom, or compassion, which can be present at virtually any state or stage.

stages

A term used to emphasize the sequential unfolding of levels of development. See levels.

state-stages

States that unfold in a sequence, usually as the result of training. State-stages generally move from gross experience, to subtle experience, to causal experience, to nondual.

states

States are fleeting, temporary aspects of phenomena found in all four quadrants. In the Upper Left, for example, there are the three great natural states of waking, dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep; meditative states; and peak experiences (all of which can be accessed by virtually any level of development). Other examples of states include brain states in the Upper Right; cultural states (e.g., mass hysteria) in the Lower Left; and weather states in the Lower Right.

streams

See lines.

structuralism

Traditionally refers to the study of the structures of the mind that underlie human behavior. In Integral Theory, structuralism typically refers to the objective study of interior realities over time in search of regularities and patterns. It is most often used as a third-person approach to first-person singular realities. The outside view of the interior of an individual (i.e., the outside view of a holon in the Upper-Left quadrant). Exemplary of a zone-#2 methodology in Integral Methodological Pluralism. Structuralism can also be applied to zone #4 (e.g., when analyzing the structure of the dominant mode of discourse). This is similar to cultural anthropology.

structure

The stable pattern of any occasion. In Integral Theory, structure most often refers to the unique, enduring pattern and actual structure of a level of development. See levels.

structure-stages

A term used to denote the sequential or stage-like unfolding of zone-#2 structures in the psyche.

subjective

1. Pertaining to the interior of an individual, or the Upper-Left quadrant. Examples of subjective phenomena include thoughts, feelings, visions, etc.

2. Pertaining to the Left-Hand path, in general.

3. Pertaining to 1-p, in general.

subtle body

The mass-energy support (or “body”) for such states of consciousness as meditation with form, savikalpa samadhi, the chonyid bardo, and the dreaming state. The term “subtle” technically refers only to this mass-energy but is sometimes broadly used to refer to states of consciousness supported by the subtle body.

subtle reductionism

One of the two major versions of reductionism, along with gross reductionism. Subtle reductionism reduces all quadrants to the Lower-Right quadrant, asserting, in effect, that there exists only interwoven, holistic patterns of “Its.” See gross reductionism and flatland.

surface structures

Typically a Chomskyan notion. In Integral Theory, however, it refers to the local, cultural, or individually specific features, patterns, or contents on a given level of consciousness or complexity.

syntax

The rules and codes that govern a system of signifiers. In Integral Theory, syntax is typically associated with the Lower-Right quadrant. See Integral Semiotics.

systems theory

The objective study of networks of organisms, things, and processes. A third-person approach to third-person plural realities. The outside view of the exterior of the collective (i.e., the outside view of a holon in the Lower-Right quadrant). Exemplary of a zone-#8 methodology in Integral Methodological Pluralism, along with other approaches such as functionalism and ecology.

tetra-enact

See tetra-mesh.

tetra-evolve

See tetra-mesh.

tetra-mesh

The act whereby a holon meshes or fits with the selection pressures (i.e., the validity claims) of all four quadrants. In order to tetra-mesh, each holon must, to some degree, be able to register its own exterior accurately enough (truth), its own interior accurately enough (truthfulness), understand its cultural milieu (mutual understanding), and fit within its social system (functional fit). Also referred to as tetra-enactment or tetra-evolution, meaning that all four selection pressures must adequately be dealt with in order for a holon to evolve.

Thanatos

The pathological version of Agape. Not the higher’s embrace of the lower, but the higher’s regression to the lower.

third-person perspective

In human conversation, the perspective of the person being spoken about: “he,” “she,” “it,” singular, or “they,” “them,” “its,” plural. More generally, a third person is any holon referred to or indicated.

Third Tier

Conventionally, a tier is just an arbitrary grouping of stages. Integral Theory often highlights three tiers: First Tier, which consists of the levels up to and including Green altitude; Second Tier, which consists of Teal and Turquoise altitude; and Third Tier, which includes all post-Turquoise levels of development (Indigo, Violet, Ultraviolet, and Clear Light).

transformation

A vertical change in deep structures. The emergence of deeper forms of agency and wider communions. A shift to any higher level in a holarchy. See Eros and Agape.

transitional structure

A structure that is replaced by subsequent structures (e.g., structures in moral development). The self-related lines are mostly transitional structures, contrasted with enduring structures or those that tend to remain in existence once they emerge (even though they might be subsumed by higher structures).

translation

A horizontal change in surface structures or patterns; the shuffling and stabilizing of those surface structures. See agency and communion.

truth

The validity claim of the Upper-Right quadrant. Refers to objective, observable truth. It determines whether a proposition or statement is observably true or not. Does the proposition correspond or fit with the facts? Does the map match the territory?

truthfulness

The validity claim of the Upper-Left quadrant. Truthfulness determines whether the person making a proposition is telling the truth or lying. Are they being truthful, honest, sincere?

turiya

Literally “the fourth,” as in the fourth natural state after waking, dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep. Turiya is the Witness or pure observing awareness of all the other states.

turiyatita

Literally “beyond the fourth.” A fifth natural state, where the Witness (turiya) dissolves into everything that is witnessed, leaving only a pure, nondual unity. Turiyatita can also be considered the ever-present ground or “stateless” condition of all the other states and the union of Emptiness and Form.

twenty tenets

Twenty of the most fundamental patterns of evolution across all domains. Applicable only to individual and social holons, not artifacts or heaps.

types

Horizontal styles available to any developmental level within the quadrants. Examples of types include Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, masculine and feminine in the Upper Left; body types in the Upper Right; cultural types in the Lower Left; and types of biomes in the Lower Right.

vMeme

Short for value meme, a term used in Spiral Dynamics to denote a level of value systems development.

validity claims

The major truth claims native to each of the four quadrants. See truthfulness, truth, mutual understanding, and functional fit.

vertical enlightenment

Becoming one with all available structure-stages at any given time in history.

vision-logic

The cognitive stage necessary to support integral consciousness. Typically subdivided into early, middle, and late vision-logic. Early vision-logic differentiates reality into relativistic systems, while middle and late vision-logic add up and integrate those perspectives into systems of systems. Vision-logic is often referred to as the first “postformal” stage of cognitive development since it is immediately beyond or “after” formal operational cognition. However, it is not yet “transrational,” but rather the end-limits of rational thought. Vision-logic is, in a sense, the bridge between the mental and the transmental.

waves

A synonym for stages emphasizing the fluid, overlapping nature of levels of development. See levels.

Wilber-Combs Lattice

The general idea (arrived at independently by Ken Wilber and Allan Combs) that a person at virtually any stage of awareness can experience any major state, but will interpret those state-experiences according to their respective stage. The result is a grid of developmental stages intersecting with and interpreting various states.

the Witness

The transcendental Self, anterior self, consciousness as such, consciousness as emptiness. The Witness itself is purely empty and devoid of content.

worldcentric

The general level(s) where one is identified with “all of us,” or all human beings, regardless of race, sex, or creed. See egocentric, ethnocentric, planetcentric, and Kosmocentric.

worldspace

The AQAL configuration at any given moment for a group of holons. Often used to emphasize the importance of intersubjectivity in bringing forth domains of distinctions. A clearing or opening tetra-enacted by the agency of a holon, where holons of similar depth can manifest to each other: agency-in-communion.

worldview

The way the world looks from a particular level of consciousness. Worldviews can be said to develop—to use one version—from archaic to magic to mythic to rational to pluralistic to holistic to transpersonal.

zone #1

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the inside view of a holon in the Upper-Left quadrant.

zone #2

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the outside view of a holon in the Upper-Left quadrant.

zone #3

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the inside view of a holon in the Lower-Left quadrant.

zone #4

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the outside view of a holon in the Lower-Left quadrant.

zone #5

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the inside view of a holon in the Upper-Right quadrant.

zone #6

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the outside view of a holon in the Upper-Right quadrant.

zone #7

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the inside view of a holon in the Lower-Right quadrant.

zone #8

The perspectives, injunctions, and phenomena associated with the outside view of a holon in the Lower-Right quadrant.

A notation in Integral Mathematics that represents an actual but nonspecific first person.

1-p

1. A notation in Integral Mathematics that represents a first-person mode or perspective.

2. The inside view of any holon.

A notation in Integral Mathematics that represents an actual but nonspecific second person.

2-p

A notation in Integral Mathematics that represents a second-person mode or perspective.

A notation in Integral Mathematics that represents an actual but nonspecific third person.

3-p

1. A notation in Integral Mathematics that represents a third-person mode or perspective.

2. The outside view of any holon.

MATT RENTSCHLER is a poet, scholar, vocalist, Co-Director of the Integral Art Center, and a member of the AQAL Review Team. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his mate, Channon.

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