Today we welcome Ken Wilber to the podcast. Ken is the developer of Integral Theory. He is also the founder of the Integral Institute, which was formed in collaboration with over 200 scholars and experts, specializing in education, politics, business, medicine, psychology, spirituality, law and criminal justice. His 25 books have been translated into 30 foreign languages, making Ken one of the most widely translated academic writers in America. At age 74, he is still very much active as a philosopher, author, and teacher, with all of his major publications still in print.In this episode, I talk to Ken Wilber about his Integral Theory. Instead of trying to tackle it in all its complexity, Ken hones in on the application of his theory to intelligence, consciousness and transcendence. He believes that development in these areas follows a predictable path, such as in the case of enlightenment. Borrowing from Zen Buddhism, Ken talks about what it’s like to awaken to the truth of reality. We also touch on the topics of psychological research, diversity, artificial intelligence, and social media. Website: https://integrallife.com/Twitter: @TheKenWilber Topics03:17 Integral Theory and its applications09:50 Components of spiritual intelligence17:41 Maslow’s influence on Ken21:41 Critique of stage theories 30:49 Spiritual narcissism44:12 The process of enlightenment48:42 Individual differences in unitive consciousness58:09 Integral Theory research1:03:44 Is society progressing?1:09:39 Diversity beyond physical attributes1:13:03 Improving modern-day psychology research1:18:06 Is life just a test run?1:22:22 What would an integral social media look like?1:26:36 Addressing Integral Theory critiques1:33:00 Does objective reality exist?1:38:52 Development of artificial intelligence1:43:08 Awakening to reality