The Process of Integration
When everything is in its proper place and functioning as it should
Metamodernism is a cultural code that is based on the process of integration. Gregg Henriques, one of the leaders in this movement, describes it this way:
At its broadest contours, the metamodern view can be considered a kind of higher-order synthesis that includes and transcends both the modernist thesis about rationality and science and the postmodern antithetical critique. In addition, metamodernists tend to view the current state of our knowledge to be overly chaotic and fragmented and advocate for a more integrated pluralism that allows for positive, constructive work on what some have called a "post-postmodern grand meta-narrative."
The process of integration is difficult to understand and certainly not easy to do. In the following article, I attempt to illustrate how integration occurs at the individual level in order to facilitate an understanding of how it is incorporated collectively, through meaningful dialogue, to bring about a this new cultural code.
If you take a step back from yourself, you will notice that you favor some aspects of reality, while rejecting others. For example, you may believe that attending to others is better than attending to yourself. You may go so far as to firmly believe that attending to oneself is selfish and feel slightly disdainful towards those people who are oriented primarily towards themselves. This psychological phenomenon is called splitting - when we favor one side of a polarity at the expense of the other. It is important to note that our self-protection strategy, or our defensiveness, is often aimed at keeping an internal split in place which is why the work of integrating is so challenging - our ego is dependent on things remaining the same, while psychological integration is aimed at shifting our perspective to assimilate the other half of the particular pole that we are rejecting.
Going back to the example, the initial process of integrating may mean that you begin to attend to yourself too. At first you may resistant because your identity has formed around the deep-seated notion that other people are more important than you are. You may even notice a core conviction that focussing on others is what the world needs more of now because you may believe that it is selfishness that has led us into the mess we are in.
However, upon further reflection, you will probably also locate some resentment in yourself and begin to recall family, friends and maybe even close associates attempting to point this out to you. As you realize that your resentment has, to some extent, strained your relationships, you may feel some guilt or even shame. As you continue to bring your attention within, you may realize that your resentment actually points to something really important - that you have needs too and that your needs have gone unattended to quite some time. At this point seeking the guidance of a trained mental health specialist is probably necessary. With proper psychological support you begin to explore what experiences, narratives, and beliefs get in the way of attending to yourself at least as much as focussing on others. Now you are fully engaging in the process of integration.
We all carry internal splits which color our perspectives. The less we are integrated, the more likely these splits extend into the interpersonal field and thus, projected out into the world. This is why I believe dialogue is so important. Through sincere, constructive conversation, we illuminate each other's blind spots. We then have an opportunity to begin to incorporate what we do not see into a perspective that is wider and deeper than the one we had before. In other words, our new perspective both includes the previous one we had and transcends it to create a larger, more comprehensive view of reality. In this way, meaningful conversations are a precursor for growth and necessary for the cultural shift that metamodernism suggests.
I have found that meaningful conversations, especially difficult ones, make wisdom more common. And I believe it is common wisdom that we need more of in order to live through the meta crisis and bring about an integrated pluralism necessary for the possibly new, grand narrative to come.