Rating: 
Summary: Mission Accomplished
Review: Some reviewers have criticized "A Theory of Everything" because it only had a page and a half on the implications of such a theory on business. I am a college professor and am very interested in the implications for education (which got even less space than business) but Egad! The book is only 189 pages and covers everything, how much could business or education realistically get? Once again the criticism of Wilber's work seems to be from those who think their favorite area hasn't been given enough importance. As Wilber says in the introduction to the book, "The first four chapters introduce a Theory of Everything, and the last three outline its relevance in the 'real world' where we will discuss integral politics, integral business, integral education, integral medicine, and integral spirituality-as they are already finding widespread and enthusiastic application." The inside jacket of the book says that the book is "a concise comprehensive overview of Ken Wilber's revolutionary thought and its application in today's world." I think the book delivers exactly what it promises, and beautifully. For those who want to pursue the theory's applications in business and other areas further, Wilber includes numerous leads and links to pioneers in the field, many of whom are members of the Integral Institute, an exciting new venture started by Wilber and some of his associates. This is proverbial "cutting edge" stuff, and this book is a brief report on the state of the art at the cutting edge. I for one am grateful to be kept up to date, even if, as Wilber says, "all such attempts, of course, are marked by the many ways in which they fail. The many ways in which they fall short, make unwarranted generalizations, drive specialists insane, and generally fail to achieve their stated aim of holistic embrace." I am thankful that Ken Wilber has the kahunas to put himself on the firing line by presenting this critically important information as it comes "hot off the press" as it were. I have read all his books and look forward to the next with great anticipation.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book by Wilber
Review: There are some people that suggest that Wilber has been too repetitive in his last few books. That he's simply been repeating the same basic refrain over and over again. I can understand that criticism, but I disagree with it. A Theory of Everything does repeat his basic integral theory which he has explained in other books, but it is a complex theory, and I find it incredibly useful to have new books in which he expands the examples of his theory. My own feeling is that the integral theory is a very important theory to understand, so the more in depth Wilber goes, the happier I am, as I feel like I have a greater grasp of what he's speaking about. As an aside, there is a wondeful novel called We All Fall Down by Brian Caldwell which seems to take quite a bit of Wilber's theory, and even mentions him several times in the book. The novel is a great example of a man caught trying to transform his life into something better, but who is able only to translate. It's about the frustration and difficulties in trying to move up to the next level of consciousness. Techinically, it's set in a Christian framework, but it elevates past that small structure and uses it to really bring home quite a few of Wilber's theories. It's a wonderful novel and I'd highly recomend it to any fan of Wilber.
Rating:
Summary: Benefits Of A Worthy Frame
Review: There was a time [I believe the Renaissance]when the common practice for an artist was not to first ready a canvas, assemble the paints, or find a clean place in the studio to work. The first order of business was to carefully select a frame. In other words, find a worthy frame...and then, lo and beyold, see what the frame inspires. Well, that is Ken Wilber's gift to general readers everywhere in his remarkable work - A Theory Of Everything. A glorious and elegant frame![and graciously kind in delevering us his context in less than 200 pages]. Maybe your experience will be different than mine, but I just watched my 25 years of professional study in psychology and philosophy re-configure itself in the length it took to go from cover-to-cover. [twice actually...loved that second reading...including the endnotes] What can a person say having had an experience like that? Bravo, kw! And thank you. I look forward to meeting you one day.
Rating:
Summary: WOW, WOW, WOW! Nicely done, KW!!!
Review: This book wonderfully delivers what it is titled, a THEORY! of everything. It is solidly backed and, for me, puts many questions and debates to bed! I truly felt a big weight lifted off my sholders. I felt as though I may understand better why things are the way they are. At times a bit brief but non-the-less very helpful. A few reviewers have written negatively and I'm not sure why. Possibly they haven't been able to grasp the true nature of Wilber's message because they presume too much. Not saying I have grasped it all but at least I can see the "integral" relationship that Wilber offers to everything and yes, as one reviewer complained was totally missing, even to Jesus. This book is not a simple read especially for those new to Wilber. I felt at times it was too brief and I wanted more. I read the first 100 pages before I finally started to clue in so I stopped and started over. Much, much clearer. I recommend the same for all new to KW, integralism, psycho dynamic theory, etc. Others have listed a few books as intros which I'm sure are great. Ken Wilber himself says this book may be the best introduction to his work. Read it then reread it and hopefully you'll enjoy it and get as much out of it as I did. I am now a huge fan of Ken Wilber and can't wait for more. For those interested check out his web site and the many other sites that "piggy-back" on his views. Very helpful indeed. Thanks to Ken Wilber one of the greatest thinkers of our time or anytime. Best to you all. -Stratos
Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to Wilber
Review: This intelligent and wide-ranging introduction, provides a comprehensive, fully-integrated view of existence and conscoisness according to one of the most exciting contemporary intellectuals living today. With style, wisdom, and grace, Wilber covers an extenvsive array of topics to yield "an integral vision for business, politics, science and spirituality." This book is in many ways a nice compliment to another recently publshed book, Michael Learner's Spirit Matters, as both books provide a map of reality that is in stark contrast to the individualism and cosumerism that shapes much of American culture today. The fact that books like these are being published and widely read makes me more hopeful for the future: A future that emphasizes enlightened consciousness, wisdom, and kindness.
Rating:
Summary: Superb, as usual!
Review: This is a terrific book that gives you a general overview of how integral theories can be applied to various aspects of life like politics and business. Since the integral field is only in it's infancy, the book contains only overviews. So I have no clue why the ignorant idiot in the other review called the book "blah blah blah". The book is superb as are all Ken Wilber books. If you want a good background to his works, read "Brief History of Everything", if you want to know about practicing it in your personal life, read "One Taste", if you want to know how to approach problems in relation to science and religion, read "Marriage of Sense and Soul". TOE gives you a good idea, a vision of what Integral business, integral politics etc. will look like, so it's a very visionary book. If you are seriously interested in applying integral theory, checkout the Integral Institute, (http://www.integralinstitute.org) In short, I believe, Ken Wilber is a genius and like Deepak Chopra says, we must read all his books, because he is a tremendous gift to the world. Most critics of his work seem to be ignorant, so they post reviews like one of them in this list. I believe we all need a heavy dose of Ken Wilber, and only people passionately committed to the Path of Ignorance will ignore his work!
Rating: 
Summary: Meditating under a Bodhi tree In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Review: Though I have not sought refuge with Sidhartha I do like to sit and listen under a tree from time to time, especially if it is in a Garden of Eden like place. No doubt Ken being the good Buddhist he is likes to sit under a tree from time to time himself. I have no doubt that Ken means well. Over the years Ken has made an institution out of his own evolving brand of Americanized Buddhism. A bit of an irony but no big deal in and of itself.
Ken has a Theory of Everything, a Big TOE. Personally, I have a little arthritis in mine, but I'm not complaining. Humor may be the only thing Ken lack's in his integral vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality. His range of knowledge and thought is most impressive. Whether one agrees with him or not one must respect his effort. That he was once the darling of Transpersonal Psychology and now is the mastermind of Integral Psychology is evidence of a flexible nature and a strong will. We are either growing or dying, Ken keeps growing. The son-of-a-gun won't sit still. In TOE he walks us through his integrated view concerning our body, mind, soul, and spirit. There is a lot to take in here. Put on your walking shoes and thinking cap.
In TOE Ken discusses such things as Spiral Dynamics, a leading model of human evolution. He discusses his All Quadrant, All Level approach to integrating Science and Religion. Talk about biting one off. Ken is Kant on steroids. Ken maps the Kosmos for us so that we can find our way to the promised land of greater understanding. Ken then helps us develop our own integral vision with a combination of meditation and other pyschological techniques. Ken has all his bases covered. Ken is a regular smartypants.
I have decided that Ken is must reading. I am going back and re-reading "Up From Eden". The first time I read it I was a wannabe Christian Fundamentalist and had a hard time with a lot of what he had to say. I am more open minded now. No one, no religion, no philosophy, has a patent on God. I think. At least it seems to me that there will always be an unknown aspect to transcendental reality. Though God can be experienced, I doubt God will ever be fully known, the perennial philosophy. But Ken keeps trying. I hope there are those around him that keep him away from the common fate of those that aspire to absolute knowledge, the vanity of hubris and/or the cage of solipsism. Ken seems to have his head on straight so far. After I have re-read "Up From Eden" I intend to then read his book "Integral Psychology", Ken's synthesis of Behavioristic, Humanistic, Analytic, and Transpersonal Psychologies. Ken believes that everyone is at least partly right and so does not want to leave out anything that might add to his integrated vision of totality. Ken is committed to unity in diversity. Though I am not the personality cult type I realize that I cannot consider myself a well-rounded reader where leading-edge philosophy is concerned without reading Ken's major works. Though I consider myself a Taoist I am open to truth wherever I can find it, in moderation. Whether I end up agreeing with Ken or not about his fundamental concepts I am certain I will learn a thing or two along the way. It will not be time wasted. If I find I disagree with him he will know about it and probably find some way of integrating my criticism within his vision before I can find anything to disagree with. I told you he was a smartypants.
As I understand it Ken is currently in the 5th iteration of his integral approach to understanding. What Brad Reynolds calls "Wilber/Phase-5", the post-metaphysical AQAL approach. AQAL; the all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all states, all types, approach to integral studies. Whew. Slow down Ken some of us have a life to live. Part of enlightenment is to lighten up. To quote G.K. Chesterton, "Angels have wings because they can take themselves lightly". I think I am just going to go out and sit under a tree for a while. At the end of the day, the "Book of Nature" is my favorite read.
Rating:
Summary: Meditating under a Bodhi tree In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Review: Though I have not sought refuge with Sidhartha I do like to sit and listen under the trees from time to time, especially if they are in a Garden of Eden like place. No doubt Ken, being the good Buddhist that he is, likes to sit under a tree from time to time himself. Over the years Ken has made an institution out of his own personal brand of Americanized Buddhism he calls Transpersonal Psychology. A bit of an irony but no big deal in and of itself. Ken tries to take an integrative approach to everything he writes about. For the most part his is the wholistic perspective of the Perrenial Philosophy. Additionally, in typical American style, he borrows what is useful and disregards what is not. He is trying his best to not only make sense of the world but to save it as well. His Theory of Everything may sound a bit presumptuous but I assure you his opinion is worth considering. He is not a saint. He is an academic. His voice is worth listening to without kneeling. Nor do I think he would want anyone to. He is a fine reporter of the things that concern him most. He is sincere and consistent. In TOE he does not so much offer a new theory of everything as publish a guideline for each of us, himself included, to keep in mind on our quest for wholeness. A kind of map and checklist for seekers on their way to Shambhala if you will. A guide.
Rating:
Summary: A Theory of Everything
Review: To appreaciate Wilber, you have to read what he writes; not necessarily with a fine tooth comb - but almost... A Theory of Everything is a book that is about a vision- an integral vision. I've read everything Wilber has written so far and highly recommend A Theory of Everything. Having been a Wilber fan for almost ten years I can say that this book is one of his most important. It is certainly not his biggest or most technical undertaking, but don't be turned off or mislead as to it's significance by this fact. Read what he writes; this book has no intention of precisely detailing the necessary steps for an integral future. It is an attempt at reaching out to a wider audience - an audience that might not even dive into such massive texts as Sex, Ecology, Sprituality (which by the way is only number one of a three volume series). This book is more about beginning a dialogue than stating how things really should or could be per se. While some have said that there is almost nothing about business in this book, it might be worth considering what place that should occupy in a book with the premise of A Theory of Everything... Perhaps it's that business, while all the rage in our booming hometown USA, holds an excessively influential role in our world and is therefore less significant than say politics or science in the future, even though it appears otherwise, if in fact that future is to be a truly integral one. Read this book with an eye towards a future that isn't already determined, because it's not. Read this book and any Wilber, for that matter, carefully; I have found that Ken can be surprisingly subtle in his approach. Don't let the size or his pithyness in A Theory of Everything throw you - this is a remarkable man with a remarkable vision. Read this book as a primer for reflecting on the world we live in and what the future of us could be like. Let your imagination run wild; Wilber is not predicting anything, but rather sketching a loose map of the road ahead if that is the path we choose to follow. How we drive down that road is up to all of us and this book should make that abundantly clear.
Rating:
Summary: On the brink
Review: Wilber promotes a model of human evolution called "spiral dynamics". The evolutionary stages of this model are correlates of the stages of most other evolutionary theories like those of Freud, Piaget, Eriksson etc (Something Wilber himself makes a point of). Spiral dynamics differ from these models in that the evolutionary stages are not labeling age-groups of childhood and adolescence, but rather typifying general human outlooks. Even if the lower stages typify childrens outlooks in being more egocentric, childhood & youth essentially speaking has nothing to do with the stages' characteristics. Furthermore, Wilber proposes that there are more stages beyond the point where other theories call a complete evolution. These are transpersonal stages reflecting this model's spiritual outlook with a base in eastern philosophy. That is, with "transpersonal" is meant that with further evolution the ego-sphere increasingly loosen to allow identification with the spiritual essence of human being rather than its present manifestation. Human evolution is seen as the dominance of progressively higher stages on the evolutionary ladder in the societies of our worlds history. The transpersonal stages, or second tier stages, have yet to become norm of human evolution, but Wilber proposes that we stand on the brink of a possible transformation. The postmodern notion of value-relativism giving rise to an indifferentiated sphere of plural value systems can be seen as the stepping point for a new, integral, conciousness where value systems once more are ranked, yet not in the historic sense of dominance ranking, but in the sense of ranking values by stage specifity and degree of health at that stage. Alternatively however, the postmodern relativism, because it calls every value "separate but equal", may in fact trigger a degeneration. This is because unhealthy developmental tendencies may find shelter under the wings of the philosophy of value relativism. Relativism however, is seen as essential to break up earlier value-hierarchies based on dominance. Without it, we wouldn't have gotten to where we're at in the first place. This book is a good introduction to Wilbers work. Anyone who aspire to be into philosophy today needs to be familiar with Wilber. He's becoming increasingly mandatory,...and relevant.
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