The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad

by Ken Wilber

One of the most influential American philosophers of our time presents his vision for a fully integrated world—a world that includes body, mind, soul, and spirit In this groundbreaking book, Ken Wilber uses his widely acknowledged “spectrum of consciousness” model to completely rewrite our approach to such important fields as psychology, spirituality, anthropology, cultural studies, art and literary theory, ecology, feminism, and planetary transformation. What would each of those fields look like if we wholeheartedly accepted the existence of not just body and mind but also soul and spirit?In a stunning display of integrative embrace, Wilber weaves these various fragments together into a coherent and compelling vision for the modern and postmodern world.

Genres: Philosophy, Spirituality, Psychology, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Mysticism, Metaphysics

640 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Kenneth Earl Wilber II is an American philosopher and writer on transpersonal psychology and his own integral theory, a systematic philosophy which suggests the synthesis of all human knowledge and experience.

Reviews

[David Teachout · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books that enter your life and have an isolated shifting of your world, then others are complete paradigm shifters. This is most assuredly the latter. The depth of Wilber's thinking and his ability to string together disparate disciplines while keeping to critical speculation is exemplary. While at times Wilber will repeat himself and get very nearly lost in the minutiae of his theory, even there can be seen the complete joy and wonder of a man who has suffered and still loves life. This is not something to read, get the point and walk away from. This is a worldview that must be pondered, considered and let seep into the depths of your vision.

[Michael Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woa! Difficult, dense,... mind blowing. If only I had the intellect to grasp this properly. A century ago, Ken Wilber would surely have been a "celebrity", hailed as one of our greatest intellectuals, like Jung or Freud or Neitzche but nowadays we worship a different kind of celebrity and you have to dig deeper for the ones who really matter. Other than online, I don't think I've ever heard him mentioned here in the UK. Worth effort though. A voice of common sense and unifying calm amid the polar opposites of religion and scientism. Do read this book. Even if you understand only one word in ten, it will surely be to your benefit. The World is mad, possibly it always has been, but lately we've seen how it's probably also completely screwed as well. Don't know how or why? Ken Wilber will help to make sense of it for you.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe a blog would have been a more honest approach to this sort of preaching.

[Kimberly Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really great, so great I cannot seem to finish it. This book comes in and out of my life as if on an orbit of concentric rings with my own spiritual path. I swear I will pick it back up again and open to the bookmark, start in on a paragraph and almost immediately exclaim 'aha, yes exactly!'

If I had not put it down for a bit, or longer, those words would hang familiar and yet meaningless in the background of my heart. Got to live it to know it, if you know what I mean.

In fact, the next time I pick it up I will be sure and share whatever newly experienced discoveries it is mirroring below...

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite of Ken Wilber's books. In some ways it's not his most current work (it's solid "Wilber IV"--in particular, it still uses the Great Chain of Being instead of the Wilber/Combs Lattice), but it's the only place I know where Ken tackles so many mainstream academic and cultural topics. There are chapters giving the Integral take on anthropology, art/literary criticism, feminism, and so on. It's probably not the ideal place to start with Ken's work, but The Eye of Spirit seems is one of his most relevant books to the non-Wilber world.

[Moon Captain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like the author had a ton of fun writing this book. Good info, and mostly entertaining to read, but none of it was really news to me. Mixed in with the essays, he often references his other books and critiques he has received. I haven't read any other Wilber and probably won't.

The introductory chapter, wherein Wilber lays out all the concepts he will cover, is worth a look if you are on the fence about it.

[Willa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of Wilber's essays, period Wilber 3/4. The fact that he treats many different subjects makes it easy reading, and there are very interesting cultural critiques as well as helpful explanations of his core theory.

[Nate Fetterolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to Ken Wilber’s thought. doesn’t go into a ton of detail in the chapters, seemed to be mainly essays with summary’s of each topic and feedback on critisicisms. But I still learned a lot and enjoyed his take on spirit and God and describing the experiential aspect of actively living with this. So this describes his Integral Theory, which is a profound way of looking at the things of life and organizing them. Specifically focuses on the development of the self in holarchical way. Cool stuff but for me i felt the noticeable even if slight difference between someone who specifically attentive to one thing or path or way or whatever and someone who’s life work involves put all of the parts together, knowing the parts but knowing them less deeply and intimately. This may or may not be the case with Wilber but it’s sometimes felt reading him. good stuff though, i’ll come back to him again.

[Jomairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book I put away in my closet. I feel I read this before I feel I have experienced the paraphrases visually somehow. Its all text formatted. Advanced English that is wiser than typical classics. Speaks up about cultures and politics and psychology. Am I reading a lecture or encouraging information from beyond? Mysterious and brings me to my intuition.
Wonderful reading. Strong leading character development and realistic suspense in brief paragraphs content chapters.

[Augustine Okpara · Rating 4 out of 5]

He writes well [the author]. Just started the book though, hope to finish it soon. And I also pray it's illuminating and informative.

[Neelesh Marik]

Captures the quadrant/ level/ line/ type/ state descriptions in minute detail again. A very thought-provoking chapter on Integral Art - which is the author claims is his favourite chapter - can understand why.

A direct analysis of the psychic/ subtle/ causal/ non-dual holarchy again.

And of course the blissful last chapter - 'Always Already'.

I happened to be reading Adam Leonard's essay on Integral Communication while reading this book, and found a very interesting re-inforcement process working, for some of the more abstract areas.

http://www.adambleonard.com/Integral%...

[Andrea Guggenheim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made so much sense, yet it goes beyond all sense. Reading this is an experiment on perspective. The framework presented by Ken Wilber seems to be the ideal container for all the theory, all the bits and pieces of knowledge found within and without. Everyone stands to benefit from the richness of The Eye of Spirit, especially those involved in the study or practice of social science. His voice is loud, and it is clear, and it is beautiful!

[Eugene Pustoshkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Эту книгу в приятном переводе можно читать и перечитывать по много раз. Меня она неизменно оставляла в недвойственном состоянии сознания. Невероятно важная работа, которая может передать целостное ощущение от интегральной парадигмы Кена Уилбера, нашего блестящего современника. Знание, почёрпнутые из этой книги, потом разворачиваются в течение многих лет в целостные многослойные гештальты и действительно помогают разобраться в довольно серьёзно свихнувшемся мире.

[Emily]

this one is taking me a long time, really dense. the author is brilliant and mixes some of my favorite philosophies to create a very inclusive, plural theory of the world and its systems. that sounds vague...lets hope i have a better summary by the end

[Jfish938 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilber's application of his ideas to different fields (philosophy, anthropology, art, psychology, spirituality).

[Janie]

I've heard of his book 'A Brief History of Everything' but I don't really know anything about his writing. Still, the title grabbed me.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a complex book, far more complex than me. A friend educated me about spiral dynamics and consciousness, which led to Ken Wilber and this book.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Wilber uses what he calls "the great chain of being" (most simply stated as matter, body, mind, soul, and Spirit) to help our interpretation of the Kosmos to evolve.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Wilber is an incredible intellectual and author. He is a great source for those of us who enjoy exploring the crossroads between philosophy, science, and spirituality.

[Grant]

This is a combination of loosely related essays by Ken Wilber. I am going to read it as a referense book.

[Stefanie Ki]

Good

[Sterling S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains my favorite essay of Wilber's - on art, of course.

[Savitri Mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como todo lo que escribe Ken Wilber: iluminador, esclarecedor, definitivo.