Source: Integral Institute – Scholars

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, PhD,  is an Associate Professor and Program Director of both the Integral Psychology and Integral Theory programs at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. He is Co-Director of the Integral Ecology Center at Integral Institute and the Executive Editor of Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in Integral Studies.

Source: Integral+Life Contributors

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Ph.D. is an associate professor and founding Chair of the Integral Theory Program at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. He is founding Director of the Integral Research Center, which supports graduate and post-graduate mixed methods research. In addition, he is the founding Executive Editor of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Recently, he co-founded and co-organized the biennial Integral Theory Conference.

Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in integral theory. He has worked cloesly with Ken Wilber for a decade operationalizing the integral (AQAL) model in multiple contexts. He is a founding member of Integral Institute and currently serves as their Vice President of Applications and Research. He is currently the most published author applying the integral model to a variety of topics: education, sustainable development, ecology, research, intersubjectivity, science and religion, consciousness studies, and play. He has just completed writing a 800-page book with environmental philosopher Michael Zimmerman: Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World. Currently, he is co-editing an anthology on integral education and editing an anthology on integral theory.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Ph.D. emerged out of the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest and harbors a deep and committed passion to the articulation of an Integral Ecology. Having grown up in the crossfire of lumber and salmon industries battling environmental regulation, Sean is acquainted with the many nuances that surround controversial environmental issues that involve the clash of divergent worldviews and perspectives. In particular, Sean is concerned with promoting environmental awareness and exploring the intersection of ecological sustainability, cultural preservation, and spiritual transformation. He has spent much of his adult life as a backpack and sea kayaking guide for an outdoor program serving young adults. Having lived and worked overseas in Asia and Africa for many years Sean brings an important global perspective to his Integral work.

Sean is Co-director and a founding member of the Integral Ecology Center at Integral Institute and has been doing research in environmental philosophy and sustainable development for over a decade. He is currently collaborating on a book with Michael Zimmerman about Integral Ecology. In addition, Sean wears a number of other Integral hats at Integral Institute. He is a Lead Seminar Trainer for Nature as Transformative Path, which presents an Integral approach to nature mysticism through a variety of Integrally designed personal practices. He is Executive Editor of the newly established academic journal AQAL: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, which began Spring 2006 (www.aqaljournal.org). Sean has served as a consultant to I-I helping to establish partnerships with John F. Kennedy University and Fielding Graduate University who offer accredited certificate and MA programs based on the Integral model.

Sean is also an Associate Professor in the Integral Studies Department and Program Director of Integral Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. At JFKU, Sean teaches courses in consciousness, culture, and ecology. JFKU is the only place in the world where an individual can get a residential MA degree from an accredited university that is explicitly based on Ken Wilber’s Integral Model.

Sean lives at Sea Frog Haven—five-acres of redwoods just north of San Francisco with his wife Vipassana and their three cats and dog. Both he and his wife are Tibetan Buddhist (Shangpa Kagyu linage) practitioners and work with A. H. Almaas in the Diamond Approach. In addition, Sean engages an Integral Ecological Practice for personal transformation.

Written work:

Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in Integral Studies. He is currently the most published author applying the Integral model to a variety of topics. He has published integral explorations on the topics of education, sustainable development, ecology, intersubjectivity, science and religion, consciousness studies, and play. His articles have appeared in academic journals such as the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Journal of Bhutan Studies, World Futures, ReVision, Constructivism in the Human Sciences Journal of Humanistic Psychology, and AQAL. He co-edited Ken Wilber’s recent book The Simple Feeling of Being and has just completed writing a 600 page book with environmental philosopher Michael Zimmerman: Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Article at Wikipedia

Media Presentations at Integral+Life

Integral Ecology Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens and Ken Wilber

 John F. Kennedy University Transforming Lives. Changing the World.

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens

 A Comprehensive Approach to Today’s Planetary Issues An Overview of Integral Ecology

 Sean Esbjorn-Hargens and Michael Zimmerman

 An All-Inclusive Framework for the 21st Century An Overview of Integral Theory

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens

Today there is a bewildering diversity of views on ecology and the natural environment. With more than a hundred ecological schools of thought and methodologies—and scientists, economists, religious leaders, activists, and others often taking completely different stances on the issues—how can we come to agreement to solve our toughest environmental problems? In response to this pressing need, Integral Ecology unites the valuable insights from multiple perspectives into a comprehensive theoretical framework—one that can be put to use right now. Real-life applications of integral ecology are examined, including work with marine fisheries in Hawaii, strategies of eco-activists to protect Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, and a study of community development in El Salvador.

Publications coming:

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (Ed.) (in press). Integral Theory in Action: Applied, Theoretical, and Critical Perspectives on the AQAL Model. Albany, NY: SUNY.

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (in process). Living Integral: Cultivating Multi-dimensional Awareness in Daily Life. New York: Random House/Integral Books.

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (in process). Integral Theory: An Approach to Everything. New York: Random House/Integral Books.

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (Ed.) (in process). Humanity’s First Planetary Crisis: Why We Need an Integral Approach to Climate Change.

Find more resources at: