The week of December 5, 2007
THE EMERGENCE OF INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS with ALLAN COMBS
We all sense intuitively that
reality is not a jumbled assortment of unrelated parts, but a dynamic, unified
whole. Yet, as fields of knowledge become increasingly complex and specialized,
it’s often difficult to see how all the parts of this whole truly fit together.
In this dialogue with consciousness researcher Allan Combs, we explore the
emergence of what he calls “Integral
Consciousness”—a perspective which reveals the unity beneath all of our
diverse domains of understanding. How does the submicroscopic world of the
quantum physicist relate to the macroscopic world of biology? Is there a
connection between the concrete realities studied by “hard science” and the ethereal
domains of the psyche and the spirit? Is it possible to discern a pattern that
connects all of our diverse knowledge—of the outer and the inner—into a
single, unified, and meaningful whole? These
questions and more are explored in this engaging dialogue. (Hosted by
With a background in consciousness studies, neuropsychology, and systems science, Allan Combs has spent the past three decades exploring the spiritual and psychological implications of leading-edge scientific discoveries. He is Professor of Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He also holds appointments at the Saybrook Graduate School and the Assisi Conferences, and is Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. He is the author of over fifty articles, chapters, and books on consciousness and the brain, including The Radiance of Being: Understanding the Grand Integral Vision (Paragon House 2002); and Co-author of Mind in Time: The Dynamics of Thought, Reality, and Consciousness (Hampton Press 2003); Changing Visions: Human Cognitive Maps Past, Present, and Future (Praeger Publishers 1996); and Synchronicity: Through the Eyes of Science Myth, and the Trickster (Marlowe & Company 2000). Allan is also a Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the Integral University, co-founder of the Integral Foundation, a member of The General Evolution Research Group and the one-hundred member Club of Budapest. He is Co-Editor of the Journal of Conscious Evolution, Associate Editor of Dynamical Psychology, and serves on the Editorial Board of Science & Consciousness Review. To learn more about the work of Allan Combs go to www.sourceintegralis.org
Topics explored in this dialogue:
Where does consciousness come from
What does it mean to have an “integral” perspective
How the new science of “complexity” can inform our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe
How consciousness evolves over time
How “The Secret” fits in an historical context
Program #3216 59:00 Minutes