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Finally, integral spirituality - as the very name 'integral' implies - transcends and includes science, it does not exclude, repress, or deny science. To say that the spiritual currents of the cosmos cannot be captured by empirical science is not to say that they deny science, only that they show their face to other methods of seeking knowledge, of which the world has an abundance.

Ken Wilber#31

SpiritualityScienceTruthIntegrationKnowledge

About this quote

What does it mean?
Integral spirituality includes science rather than rejecting it, acknowledging different methods for different kinds of knowledge.
In plain terms
Integral spirituality uses science instead of fighting it, since different ways work for different knowledge.
What can you take from it?
Integrate scientific methods rather than rejecting them in spiritual frameworks.

Where it applies

  • academic research
  • spiritual practice
  • philosophy of science

Putting it to work

  • use multiple methods of inquiry
  • respect scientific findings
  • integrate disciplines

Questions to consider

  • Can science and spirituality coexist?
  • Are there truths science cannot capture?

Another view

Science may still dismiss spiritual claims that lack empirical testability.

More from Ken Wilber

  1. Attunement could occur through any of the great religions, but would be tied exclusively to none of them. A person could be attuned to an 'integral spiritualit…

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  2. Let me start with a short and simple list. This is not the last word on the topic, but the first word, a simple list of suggestions to get the conversation goi…

    Permalink to quote #32
  3. The human organism itself seems to be hardwired for these deep spiritual patterns, although not necessarily for the specific ways that they show up in a partic…

    Permalink to quote #29

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