Originally posted April 21, 2007.

Whether we are talking about the vicissitudes of our emotional life, the history of our country, words in the Bible, sacraments at the altar, or any other thing, there are four fundamental perspectives we can take. They encompass everything we want to talk about.

Four Prime Perspectives

The Integral Christian embraces four perspectives, called the Four Quadrants, as primordial or foundational. As Christians, we can choose to symbolize the quadrants as the sections of a whole divided by the Cross. This way of looking gives our traditional religious symbol a new spin.

Of course, there are many more perspectives we could take–an infinite number! (Not to mention that taking a perspective is just part of recognizing what it means to be a human being. It is not a specifically Christian affair.) But the four perspectives that are called the upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, and lower-right describe human nature and destiny in a satisfyingly comprehensive quadratic embrace that resonates with our Christian symbolism.

The Integral Christian philosophy takes, at the very least, four fundamental perspectives on reality. These points of view do not need to always be consciously recognized in every act (that would be absurd). But over the course of time, we can’t afford to leave any of these vantage points out.

The upper-left quadrant: our physiological sensations, emotional states, the sense of who we are, our memories, and states of spiritual awareness. This is the perspective in which the person encounters the soul, and through the soul, our personal relationship with God.

We look inward and ask, “Who am I in body, mind, soul, and spirit?” The answer is found through the discoveries of our conscious awareness, the preconscious shadow, and that which is beyond any individual person’s awareness.

Introspection, meditation such as centering prayer, and individual prayer and shadow work is useful for exploring this territory. Freud’s dreamwork, Teresa of Avila’s mysticism, and Saint Augustine’s confessions do not share the same understanding of sex and spirituality! But each of these persons, and many more, have navigated the inner domains of knowing and being.

The upper-right quadrant: look at detached, objective data about yourself, the brain, and the entire organism. This is the perspective in which the person looks for objective information about the individual self or any other individual thing.

We look at the world and ask, “What facts do I know about the nature of a human being?” The answer is found through objectivity, especially the scientific method by means of the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Also included in the answer are data found by expanding the reach of the senses with microscopes, telescopes, and such.

Biology (including the neurosciences) is one useful methodology for exploring this territory about human beings. Cognitive science and neuropsychology take two different roads into researching consciousness. But their investigations into subjectivity each offer an approach to the territory of without.

The lower-left quadrant: look at the impact on others and how the boundaries of your decision are determined by interpersonal and cultural contexts beyond your control; cultural constructs; theologies, philosophies, and world views that we are not entirely aware of.

We look at the world and ask, “How do I know anything at all about myself, the world, and God? How shall I live?” The answer is encountered via intersubjective inquiries and responses (that is, relationships to others and our art, literature, and worldviews). Ultimately, the question is answered by our I-Thou relationship with God.

Hermeneutics (the science of interpretation), structuralism, poststructuralism, philosophy, and theology, are the major disciplines of knowledge used for investigating this domain. In Carl Jung’s psychology, for example, his understanding of mythic archetypes in the collective unconscious is probably best located in this area. Another view of the lower-left is Michel Foucault’s understanding that culture dictates power relationships through a complex system of controls for defining “normal” and “abnormal”.

The lower-right quadrant: look at your functioning as an agent in a wider system of concrete interlocking, social forces, economic structures, police and military institutions.

We look at the world and ask, “How do we all relate to each other objectively and to nature?” The answer is encountered via social scientific research into human societies, religions, and economic forces that attempts to be grounded in an objective science.

Anthropology and sociology are the major ways of investigating problems in this area. Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Talcott Parsons take widely divergent looks into religion and society, but each were making maps of this domain. More contemporary sociological researchers including Peter Berger and Robert Bellah have also looked at this part of life.

Within each quadrant, there are fascinating and sometimes radical and disturbing differences of opinion. But the main point remains unobscured: there are four fundamental perspectives for traversing the roads to everywhere, and integral philosophers seek to map the terrain.

Philosopher and psychological theorist Ken Wilber has made a profound contribution to the theoretical study of the four quadrants in his many books such as Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World (Integral Books/Shambhala, 2006).

Thinkers and researchers in a wide variety of disciplines have applied the four quadrants to their areas of expertise. Many of these thinkers (and their essays and books) can be found at Integral Institute, Integrative Spirituality, or ARINA.

The Integral Christian is committed to the outlook that all four quadrants offer important insights into human nature and destiny. We cannot understand ourselves adequately without taking, at least, these four basic perspectives. At the very least, our worldviews are enriched and made more comprehensive by including perspectives that we would otherwise ignore. And our view of God must also accomodate each of these domains.

Technorati Tags: Christianity, integral, quadrants, theology

So far we’ve talked about inquiry as a method of directing the focus of one’s attention during the process of a sitting Whole Write^Q/LR. Although the “Avoiding?” inquiry is the most important inquiry because it’s used in every standard Write, there are other valuable methods of inquiry too. These methods are used alongside standard inquiry to allow you to investigate your topic with a degree of thoroughness that would otherwise be more difficult. To distinguish these methods from standard inquiry, we will call them investigations.

The most common investigations consist in structuring a Write so that it completely tackles a list of several defined questions. These questions pertain to various aspects of the Integral map of human nature^Q/LL and demand answers based on the topic’s stations, levels, states, quadrants, lines, and types. Although these concepts will eventually be explored on the Whole Writing blog, you can begin to learn more about them anytime because these are fairly well documented and widely recognized concepts in developmental studies. Integral thought in general and Ken Wilber’s AQAL Framework are highly recommended starting points for learning more about these concepts. Reading Wilber’s A Theory of Everything is a good starting point for beginning students of Integral Theory; advanced students should be familiar with Wilber’s Integral Spirituality.

Investigate the Quadrants of Your Subject

The investigation into a topic’s quadrants requires that a Write address four questions. If you are doing a 20-minute Write, then it is recommended that you spend 5 minutes per question before moving on. You don’t want to run out of time without covering all the bases. On the other hand, if you are doing an open-ended Write that doesn’t have a close, you may want to structure your Write so that you don’t skip any questions. For example, you can do the Write on four sheets of paper, with one question at the top of each page.

Write for at least 5 minutes on each of these questions:

1. How does it feel when it looks into its own mind?^Q/UL
2. Describe its behavior.^Q/UR
3. How does art, culture, and religion^Q/LL see it?
4. Describe its role in society and nature.^Q/LR

For the time allocated, write your thoughts (unedited) in a flowing stream of consciousness, freely employing stories, images, and myth to enhance your understanding. Only pause to redirect your attention to the topic via the “Avoiding?” inquiry.

Taking 5 minutes per question isn’t much time to address such broad questions. Therefore you want to ensure that your topic is well-defined and that you stay focused during the meditation as much as possible (by using the “Avoiding?” inquiry to return to focus as often as necessary.)

Technorati Tags: quadrants, writing