Anthropology, Consciousness, and Spirituality: A Conversation with Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber, a highly influential author on consciousness whose work blends Eastern and Western approaches, discusses the scope of the consciousness problem and suggests anthropologists are well suited to contribute to the field. His work has shaped psychology, philosophy, religion, and anthropology, particularly through transpersonal psychology and his first book, The Spectrum of Consciousness, which is considered a starting point for transpersonal studies. Scholars such as Frances Vaughan and Daniel Goleman have praised his contributions.

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Abstract

This is an interview with author Ken Wilber, whose work on consciousness over the last twenty‐five years has been tremendously influential. His work blends "Eastern" and "Western" approaches and has influenced scholars in psychology, philosophy, and religion, as well as in anthropology. His work on transpersonal psychology is especially well‐known, and his first book, The Spectrum of Consciousness, arguably marks the beginning of transpersonal studies. Frances Vaughan has referred to Wilber's work as the "work of genius." Daniel Goleman once listed Wilber among the "ranks of the grand theorists of human consciousness" including "Ernst Cassirer, Mircea Eliade, and Gregory Bateson." Wilber discusses the scope of the consciousness problem as well as contributions to the field that anthropologists might be well suited to make.