Susanne Cook-Greuter - The Higher Altitudes of Human Development

In 1979, Harvard psychologist Suzanne Cook-Greuter, while conducting tests on individuals to measure their psychological development, noticed something peculiar: one participant seemed to be expressing a new, more highly evolved sense of self that didn’t fit into any of the existing categories she was testing for. This new self-sense was more fluid, intuitive, and adaptable to changing circumstances. Her discovery led to the identification of two higher, more integral stages of psychological development—now known as “magician” and “unitive”—which would become the focus of her life's work.

In this touching audio interview with EnlightenNext’s Elizabeth Debold, a Harvard-trained developmental psychologist herself, Cook-Greuter describes the subtle characteristics of these higher stages, which have helped shape the models of human development created by Ken Wilber and other integral minds. As their conversation deepens, these two leading integral thinkers also explore the mysterious curiosity that has driven their interest in higher development and reveal how their understanding of the furthest reaches of human potential has transformed each of their lives.

BIO

Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter, born in Switzerland, is the principal of the consulting firm Cook-Greuter & Associates. She holds a doctorate in education from Harvard University and is an internationally known authority on mature adult development. Her thesis, Postautonomous Ego Development (1999), is a landmark study in the characteristics and assessment of highly developed and influential individuals and leaders. Dr. Cook-Greuter is also a founding member of Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute, where she contributes to the Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Business Practice branches. In addition to publishing many papers, she has coauthored two books on adult development, creativity, and spirituality: Creativity, Spirituality, and Transcendence: Paths to Integrity and Wisdom in the Mature Self (1999), and Transcendence and Mature Thought in Adulthood (1994).