Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion

by Frank Visser, Ken Wilber

The first comprehensive overview of the life and thought of the American philosopher Ken Wilber.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nonfiction, Spirituality

346 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Elizabeth Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm gobbling up Ken Wilber because his philosophy, which incorporates spirituality into an understanding of human and social development, is a much-needed antidote to the secular, static understanding of humanity we're swimming in with postmodernism. This biography surveys Wilber's early work, so it's a useful summary of a vast amount of material. I find Wilber's upward mobility orientation toward spirituality a bit too masculine and ambitious, but at least he acknowledges the path of descent and the ground of the body. And then he's spot on about what's ailing contemporary religion, Christianity especially, and the solution (see below). This is why I've had to extract myself from full participation in church and instead lurk on the mystical margins.

"It is only when religion emphasizes its heart and soul and essence—namely, direct mystical experience and transcendental consciousness, which is disclosed not by the eye of flesh (give that to science) nor by the eye of the mind (give that to philosophy) but rather by the eye of contemplation—that religion can both stand up to modernity and offer something for which modernity has a desperate need: a genuine, verifiable, repeatable injunction to bring forth the spiritual domain.
Religion in the modern and postmodern world will rest on its unique strength—namely contemplation—or it will serve merely to support a premodern, predifferentiated level of development in its own adherents: not an engine for growth and transformation, but a regressive, antiliberal, reactionary force of lesser engagements."
--Ken Wilber, in Frank Visser, Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion

[Willa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What ever happened to Frank Visser?? Now adays he is Ken Wilber's greatest pest, writing negatively about him wherever he can, but this book is brilliant and highly informative. It is a great overview of Wilber's long and complex journey in consciousness, and although it misses the last period (Wilber V) it is largely up to date. Visser has really cracked the code and although there are certain views you can agree or disagree with, every Wilber fan should read this book in order to get a more solid understanding of how Wilber's thought has developed over time.

[Twilight O. ☭ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Wilber is someone whose ideas have interested me for quite some time but whose work I've felt too intimidated to explore fully. His oeuvre is simply massive, but from having dipped my toe into the water with his 1998 book The Marriage of Sense and Soul, I knew I needed to take the plunge eventually. I suppose I still haven't done so, but reading this still felt like a step in that direction. Visser has over Wilber the not inconsiderable virtue of concision, as well as the ability to take a bird's-eye-view of the Wilberian project and see the throughlines that hold it all together. I feel I have a clear picture of what Wilber is doing and why, which makes me much more confident to approach one of Wilber's massive tomes in the future!

It's interesting that Visser's relationship with Wilber would take a turn for the worse not long after publishing this glowing appraisal of his work, and it feels like a missed opportunity that Visser's current criticism of Wilber is not represented in this book. But I suppose that's what Visser's website, www.integralworld.net, is for!

[Kacper A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read that book years ago, after Spectrum of Counciousness and some research that a teenager could do in the Web. I mailed Visser even, but my attitude/twistedness was too deep, so there was no 'intelectual interference' or anything else as i expected. I remember i admired the style of this book and it was surely something different from interviews published in form of a book i used to read then. I jumped quickly to Visser's page and tried to comprehend more and more and more.
I would say this book is good checkpoint to start the trip of understanding Integral Theory.
Once i had a conversation with a woman, who read memoir of Treya - 'Grace and Grit'? - and a love story. She was highly educated but i laughed scornfully in her face that she ended her trip with that. With all respect (to KW/Treya and that woman i speak about): she could just read some harlequin or watch a sensitive porn and the impact would be almost equal.
I mention to her that KW repeats his theory in a way of repeating himself, but that is not accurate ofc, and she told something like: 'Yeah, this is psychologically understandable and is a form of neurotic personality.' The unspoken remark was: guys tend to' overintelectualization'.
lol.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for a lay of the land. I had no idea where to start with Ken Wilber.

[Mario Bustamante Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran esfuerzo por resumir de manera clara la obra de Wilber -hasta 2003-. Creo que logra su cometido.
De lo más interesante el genial resumen en el capítulo 7 de la postura de Wilber sobre temas clave que tienen que ver con el punto de partida que debieran tener ciencia y religión, por ejemplo.
Tengo que encontrar la parte dos que debe revisar la continuación de la obra de Wilber del 2003 a la fecha.
Mientras, muy recomendabe consultar el sito www.worlofkenwilber.com

[Shaddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, although he repeats himself a lot of times, he through that makes it clear what his vision and statement is