Reawakening

Regardless of challenges in traditional academics, Maslow's ideas seem to be reemerging as his Fourth Force psychology gains momentum. Philosopher Ken Wilber (2000) lists Maslow as a key visionary force guiding Integral Psychology, and declares that Maslow continues to be a heavy influence behind both Third Force and Fourth Force psychologies, as follows:

Maslow's work fell into temporary disrepute… when extreme postmodernism, dominating both academia and the counterculture, which made all forms of holarchy subservient to what certainly seemed to be a form of flatland dogmatism. But as the world awakens from that reductionism, Maslow's pioneering works are there to greet all who would genuinely embrace a more integral and holarchical view (p. 84).

Offering a philosophy that attempts to integrate religion, mysticism, science, and psychology to present an integral model of human development and consciousness, Wilber is speaking outside of mainstream academia using a script usually followed by religious visionaries, but his approach is gaining degrees of mainstream acceptance. For example, Fielding Graduate Institute now offers graduate degrees in Integral Psychology, using Wilber's philosophy as its foundation. The Transpersonal Psychology Institute, partially founded by Maslow, also attempts to address questions of academic credibility by putting a scientific and academic wrapping on spirituality and wisdom (ITP, 2007).