on the development of beliefs vs. capacities: a post-metaphysical view of second tier skillfulness

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…?


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…


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.


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?)


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


Second tier transcends & includes magical, mythical, conventional, modern modes of justification

Q is when and how to we use these modes?


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


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


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


Integral/Second Tier thinking?

…more exploration later…


Theories/narratives of human development

As shared and promoted within the integral community…

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A heuristic spectrumof developmental narratives


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)


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


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


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"


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.


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"


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


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


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


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)


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


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)


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


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?


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??


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…


…some useful distinctions…


Further deconstructing my argument


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


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


Model/Theory indeterminacy/fallibility

Kuhn… Lakatos… Latour… Meta-theorists…

(Rob Smith: “integral is the mother of all escapes”)


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?


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)


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)


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]


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)


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?


— 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


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 …


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


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


- 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…?


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


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


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)


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)


Statements:A 4th Validity Type

TrueGood/Right/Just

Beautiful (sincerity/authenticity)&

Meaning-generative


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”


Certainty & Commitment in Belief & Action


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


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”


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

on the development of beliefs vs. capacities: a post-metaphysical view of second tier skillfulness

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