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The integral vision, I believe, is more than happy to welcome empirical science as a part - a very important part - of the endeavor to befriend the Kosmos, to be attuned to its many moods and flavors and facets and forms. But a more integral psychology goes beyond that . . . With science we touch the True, the 'It' of Spirit. With morals we touch the Good, the 'We' of Spirit. What, then, would an integral approach have to say about the Beautiful, the 'I' of Spirit itself? What is the Beauty that is in the eye of the Beholder? When we are in the eye of Spirit, the I of Spirit, what do we finally see?

Ken Wilber#19

ScienceTruthSpiritAestheticsBeautyEthicsMorals

About this quote

What does it mean?
Science finds truth, morals find good, and art finds beauty; together they complete the integral view of reality.
In plain terms
Truth, good, and beauty come from science, morals, and art respectively.
What can you take from it?
Seek truth, good, and beauty equally for a full life.

Where it applies

  • education
  • philosophy
  • cultural critique

Putting it to work

  • study aesthetics
  • balance values
  • explore art

Questions to consider

  • Where do you see beauty in truth?
  • How does art affect your morals?

Another view

The division may oversimplify how these values overlap.

More from Ken Wilber

  1. An acknowledgment of the full spectrum of consciousness would profoundly alter the course of every one of the modern disciplines it touches - and that, of cour…

    Permalink to quote #18
  2. Anybody can they say they are being 'spiritual' - and they are, because everybody has some type and level of concern. Let us therefore see their actual concept…

    Permalink to quote #20
  3. The integral approach is committed to the full spectrum of consciousness as it manifests in all its extraordinary diversity. This allows the integral approach …

    Permalink to quote #17

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