Forty-Fifth Annual International
Jean Gebser Society Conference
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE
PHILOSOPHY, COSMOLOGY, AND CONSCIOUSNESS PROGRAM,
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION DEPARTMENT,
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF INTEGRAL STUDIES
—San Francisco—
16–18 October 2015
Architects of the Integral World
Call for papers
In the winter of 1932, from a grammatical detail in the poetry of Rilke, Jean Gebser intuited an entire shift in the structure of western consciousness. Diaphanous, liberated from time, and free from the constraints of perspective, Gebser’s integral vision came to him in a “lightning-like flash of inspiration”. As he unfolded this seed, he later remarked that it bore “extensive similarities to the world-design of Sri Aurobindo”, whose work he was originally unaware of. Alongside Gebser and Aurobindo, thinkers such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (theology and palaeontology), Alfred North Whitehead (philosophy), and David Bohm (cosmology) would independently confirm the significance of Gebser’s integral vision. Such instances speak to the relevance of an integral reality beyond mere intellectual theory.
Spanning the sciences and humanities, this conference seeks to explore the work of leading and neglected figures in the emergence of integral philosophy, past and present. By charting the “morphic resonances” that appear to exist among the works of diverse evolutionary and holarchical theorists, we aim to further Gebser’s commitment to a genuinely interdisciplinary methodology, and the rendering transparent of the integral world.
Orienting questions:
How has Gebser’s intimation of an emerging integral structure of consciousness directly influenced or been independently confirmed by the work of congenial thinkers?
In what ways can his account of integral consciousness be further fleshed out by the work of those who follow in his wake?
In what ways does Gebser’s overarching account of the evolution of consciousness illumine and enhance the contributions of these thinkers?”
How have Gebser’s ideas been anticipated by currents within eastern and western philosophy of mind?
How do precepts and practices from the world’s esoteric lineages, ancient or modern, contribute to the realisation of integral consciousness?
In what ways might Gebser’s work be legitimately criticised, refined, or revised?
To what extent has Gebser’s work been appropriated or misread, constructively or otherwise, by integral theorists?
Key words:
Integral philosophy ∙ evolutionary theory ∙ holism/holarchy ∙ ontology ∙ phenomenology ∙ cosmology ∙ philosophy of organism ∙ philosophy of mind ∙ consciousness studies ∙ nondualism ∙ esotericism.
The Gebser Society invites presenters to engage the conference theme, or topics pertaining directly to the work of Jean Gebser, from a multiplicity of disciplines and approaches. Please send a 300-word proposal describing your presentation, and a 150-word biographical statement, to:
Dr Aaron Cheak
President, International Jean Gebser Society
ac@rubedo.press