Jamshyd, I've gathered all of the relevant criticisms of Wilber that I've noticed you've written.
What has Wilber & Co. brought to us that has not been out there already? The fact that they gained riches and fame out of it makes it even less interesting.
Well, I'm not going to deal with anyone other than Wilber here, but what he has done is create a broad orientation of perspective, a map of collective human understanding. It's not full because he's obviously just one man, but it is a backbone upon which knowledge/perspective/understanding can be organized as a singular whole. Others have done similar things, but his is unique for we're in a unique place in human history.
I don’t think Wilber is exactly rich if you compare him to popular authors. And fame? Sure, many people who know of him love him, but such a small portion of people have even heard of him.
When I read Wilber, I feel that what he's saying is not worth my time or money because I have already seen it all in texts that surpass him by thousands of years, restated in a neo-arcane tongue.
This is because he is in many ways over-viewing other people's work. Not because he's isn't generating new thought and new perspective but because the perspective he's elucidating is an attempt at including and understanding all perspectives not as disconnected parts but as elements of one whole. So if you're gonna fit a puzzle together you got to examine the parts and the parts are largely the work of others. In a lot of ways you could say that what he is doing is simply honoring the shoulders upon which he stands.
Not too much, but then again that's not an issue as you'd expect a verbose ego like wilber to simply repeat himself over and over again in more and more arcane language.
I will admit he can be quite repetitive and his work has a particular vocabulary, but this is because he is thorough and he’s writing in an emerging field, so vocabulary is going to be generated.
Note that I am not judging wilber against myself, I am judging him against other writings, most of which are, interestingly enough, anonymously written.
Oh my god, Wilber isn’t a completely selfless saint, oh no… He would dare put his name on his books. Selfish prick.
... So, why is Wilber a celebrity, but Manifespo isn't, even though they are both practically doing the same thing using differing vocabularies and arrangements (and frankly, Manifespo's is slightly more interesting)?
No offence to Manifespo, but I doubt he is nearly as studious or as rigorous as Wilber. Nor has he (to my knowledge) written so many books or pushed the realm of knowledge while still incorporating and honoring a cornucopia of diverse truths as Wilber has.
It is SO easy for you guys to dismiss me as "jealous" by using one weak (and misquoted) line from my initial post. This is very convenient, instead of trying to understand where I'm coming from.
Quite frankly you haven't said "where you're coming from." All I’ve gathered of it is that you think it’s shit and you just want us to accept that, while reserving your right to call it shit. The bulk of your critique are of Wilber's character and not his work, and frankly all you're critiques have shown is that, no he's not perfect and is in some part in it for himself. Pretty high standard don't you think? Can you do better?
If you don’t want us to dismiss you, you should actually critique the subject we’re discussing. Saying ‘it’s not worth the paper it’s written on’ is pretty weak.
I am not comparing anyone to myself, as I have not the authority to do that.
Sorry for the digression but who needs permission to do that? Or better question, who has the authority to grant you that permission? I really doubt that you don't compare yourself to anyone.
Now, I am going to thoroughly read this thread, and I will give a critique (as fairly as I can) of what is written here in the morning, to appease those who found my initial post offencive.
I'd much rather hear you try and critique Wilber. Since he's so clearly worthless, you should be quite able to tear him down, no? But go ahead, try and pick us apart. I'll enjoy it, I hope you do too.
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