ABSTRACT
Integral theory is actually a metatheoretical framework that simultaneously honors the important contributions of a broad spectrum of epistemological outlooks while also acknowledging the parochial limits and misconceptions of those perspectives. Integral theory posits that comprehensive description of any phenomenon requires that one account for these four irreducible perspectives: experiential, behavioral, cultural, and social. AQAL refers to “all quadrants, all levels,” and also “all lines, all types, all states”. The four quadrants are a central component of the unifying model that Ken Wilber developed in response to the plethora of apparently contradictory assertions by diverse disciplines and theoretical approaches. The integral metaparadigm urges one not only to conceptualize differently but to practice and/or research differently, which brings us to integral methodological pluralism. “The self-system or self-sense”, as opposed to the quadrants, levels, lines, types, or states, is "where the action is"—the dynamic process holding together the various developmental lines, establishing something of a cohesive whole.
