Second-tier thinkers

[In part one of this series, I introduced the premise that the culture wars in America are not so much about values as they are about the definition of God. Americans are not split between believers and non-believers, but they certainly do not agree on how to define God. Part three in this series will be posted soon. Each section is also cross-posted at Integral Options Cafe]

Toward an Integral Politics, Part Two The God-Stream Along the Spiral

The descriptions for each Meme, as presented here, are taken from the original Beck and Cowan book, Spiral Dynamics©, and from Ken Wilber's Integral Psychology. Any attempt to discuss these complex worldviews in a few words is necessarily an approximation. Please also remember that no person can ever be reduced to a single Meme, even if they seem to be a perfect specimen of that Meme...

However, the gift of second-tier perception is an understanding of the entire Spiral and the ability to relate to people in the language of their own Meme, which makes second-tier people ideal leaders and unifiers. Don Beck, Ken Wilber, Sally Kempton, Gandhi, Teilhard de Chardin, Jean Gebser, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Sri Aurobindo, and Desmond Tutu are examples of second-tier thinkers.

In part three of this series, I will look more closely at how these versions of God manifest in American politics and the current culture wars. posted by WH @ 6:15 AM William Harryman Location: Tucson, Arizona