Major Publications

Other Papers and Presentations:

Murray, T. (2015). Coordinating the Complexity of Tools, Tasks, and Users: On Theory-based Approaches to Authoring Tool Usability. Int. J. Artificial Intellogence and Education, 26:37–71. (pdf)

Usability. Int. J. Artificial Intellogence and Education, 26:37–71. (pdf) Murray, T. (2015). A Develpmental Rubric for Assessment and Support of Dialogue Skills in Online Deliberation. Interactivity Foundation project. Draft avilable here.

in Online Deliberation. Interactivity Foundation project. Draft avilable here. Murray, T. (2014). Authoring Tools, Complexity, Epistemic Forms, and Cognitive Development. Conference presentation: ITS 2014 Workshop: Intelligent Tutoring System Authoring Tools, June, 2014, Honolulu. (slideshare presentation)

Murray, T. & Shrikant, N. (2012). Online Facilitation Resources. Draft at http://bit.ly/onlinefacilitationres .

Resources. Draft at http://bit.ly/onlinefacilitationres Murray, T., Ross, S. & Inglis, J. (2008). Tools for Dealing with Uncertainty, Ambiguity, and Paradox : Reflective Methods for Group Development. Workshop Presentation given at National Conference on Dialog and Deliberation, Austin, TX, August 2008. Workshop Notes/Handouts(pdf, 25 pages).

: Reflective Methods for Group Development. Workshop Presentation given at National Conference on Dialog and Deliberation, Austin, TX, August 2008. Workshop Notes/Handouts(pdf, 25 pages). Murray et al. (2006). DRAFT: Online citizen deliberation: Forum design to support civic group process.

Murray, T. & Benander, L. (2005). Technology for collaborative decision making inpeople-centered multiple-bottom-line organizations (pdf). Shorter Summary.

Murray, T. (2015). An Ultimate injunction for fixing Integral's problem with Spirituality. Posted to the Facebook group Integral Postmetaphysical Spirituality July 212, 201. (html)

Murray, T. (2013). Meta-Sangha , Infra-Sangha: Who is this "We" Kimo Sabe? In Beams and Struts, March, 2013. (html version)

, Infra-Sangha: Who is this "We" Kimo Sabe? In Beams and Struts, March, 2013. (html version) Murray, T. (2010). Holding and Promoting Beliefs: A Develpmental View. Presented at Integral Education and Sustainability Seminar, Aug. 2010, Mt. Madonna, CA. (slides pdf, slideshare)

Murray, T. (2010). "Does Integral Reject New Age? Deciding what to believe in a post-metaphysical world." May 2010 presentation at the Samadhi Center, Newton, MA. (slides pdf)

Murray, T. & O'Fallon, T. (2010). A Perspective on Kesler's Integral Polarity Practice . Integral Review, Vol. 6 No. 1, June 2010, p. 50-55. (pdf)

. Integral Review, Vol. 6 No. 1, June 2010, p. 50-55. (pdf) Murray, T, Ake, J. & Peterson, M.J. (2009). Online Curriculum and Dialog Design for Ethics Skills for Science and Engineering Students. In Proceedings of E-Learn 2009, October, VanCouver. (extended version pdf)

for Science and Engineering Students. In Proceedings of E-Learn 2009, October, VanCouver. (extended version pdf) Murray, T. (2009)."Intuiting the Cognitive Line in Developmental Assessment: Do Heart and Ego Develop Through Hierarchical Integration?" Integral Review, Vol. 5 No. 2, December 2009, p. 343-354. (IR link)

Through Hierarchical Integration?" Integral Review, Vol. 5 No. 2, December 2009, p. 343-354. (IR link) Murray, T (2009). An Introduction to Principles of Ethics and Morality for Scientists and Engineers. (link)

and Morality for Scientists and Engineers. (link) Murray, T. (2008). On Joining The Integral Community: My Journey to the First Integral Theory Conference, August 2008. Article on Integral World, at http://www.integralworld.net/murray2.html.

Murray, T. & Ross, S. (2006). Toward integral dialog : Provisional guidelines for online forums. Integral Review, Vol. 3, pp. 4-13. (pdf)

: Provisional guidelines for online forums. Integral Review, Vol. 3, pp. 4-13. (pdf) Murray, T. (2006). "Technological Supports for Ethical Thinking Skills." Short article appearing in Kosmos Journal. Fall/Winter 2006: Volume VI Number 1.

Murray, T. (2003). Toward supporting information quality in rhetorical, dialogic, and collective on-line communication. In Proceedings of Workshop on "Metacognition and Self-regulation in Learning with Metacognitive Tools" R. Azevedo (Ed.).

Murray, T. (2003). A framework for developing cognitive tools that support critical, reflective, and multi-perspectival thinking. Poster presentation at the AACU Technology, Learning, and Intellectual Development Conference, October 2003, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Benander, L & Murray, T. (2005). Distributed Activism: Using the internet to foster decentralized efforts for economic justice. Presented at the Grassroots & Technology Conference, MIT, Cambridge, April, 2005

selected Abstracts:

Murray, T. (2015). On the development of beliefs vs. capacities. (link)

I argue for an increased focus on skills and capacities vs. beliefs and values in the dissemination and application of integral theory. I show how clarity in differentiating skill vs. belief aspects of developmental theory clarifies certain issues. For example, the "mean green meme" can be attributed to pre-green (pre-conventional or conventional) levels of consciousness or skill development being attracted to the surface features of post-conventional cultural belief systems. The article explores the benefits and drawbacks of integrally-informed approaches to promoting skills vs. beliefs outside of the integral community. I describe how the approach suggested exemplifies the wisdom skills implied within Integral, second tier, or post-metaphysical stages of development.

Murray, T. (2015). Contributions of Embodied Realism to Ontological Questions in Critical Realism and Integral Theory. Chapter in Metatheory for the 21st-Century: Critical Realism and Integral Theory in Dialogue. Edited by Roy Bhaskar, Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Nicholas Hedlund-de Witt. London: Routledge.

One could sum up the motivating orientations behind Integral Theory and Critical Realism by pointing to Ken Wilber's "everybody is right" and Roy Bhaskar's "everything is real." Both philosophers narrate our historical moment in terms of the failings of modernity and post- modernity and offer integrated and inclusive visions of what is possible to come. In this article I explore recent philosophical themes related to the embodiment of reason, including Lakoff & Johnson's Embodied Realism and extensions to this theory that describe "epistemic drives." Embodied approaches can deepen meta-theoretical endeavors by adding nuance to their primary categories and methods of inquiry toward a more construct aware approach. And importantly, embodied approaches allow for a layer of "immanent critique" that is self-reflective, appreciative, and self-emancipatory, allowing strong (meta) theoretical systems to account for more indeterminacy and unknowing, and to be more portable, porous, and forgiving as they interface with other theories that present opposing assumptions. The article uses embodied realism to discuss: the critique of integral theory committing the epistemic fallacy; Integral Pluralism; and esoteric and spiritual claims made by meta-theories.

Murray, T. (in press, 2015) "Embodied Realisms and Integral Ontologies—Toward Self-Critical Theories." Chapter in Dancing with Sophia: Integral Philosophy on the Verge. Edited by Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, & Micheal Schwartz. Albany, NY: SUNY.

In a post-post-modern (and post-metaphysical) milieu the philosophical projects of Ontology (making claims about being and/or nature) and Epistemology (understanding the nature and limits of knowing) are inextricably interwoven. Yet, even given contemporary sophisticated meta-theoretical approaches, fundamental ontological questions about the nature of reality and fundamental epistemological questions about the relationship between reality and ideas about reality remain controversial and problematic. Maintaining the tidiness of foundational categories and the meaning-generative power of grand teleological evolutionary narratives is important to the populist slant of Wilber's writings and the activist streak within the community, but this tidiness is difficult to maintain within the post-metaphysical framework that recent versions of Integral Theory embrace. In philosophical discourse definitive statements can easily lead to the pink elephants dodged in an extended argument, or the endless mazes of clarification and hedging that seem necessary to keep from contradicting oneself. In this chapter I will explore recent philosophical themes related to the embodiment of reason, including Lakoff & Johnson's Embodied Realism and extensions to this theory that describe "epistemic drives," in an effort to support the "negative capability" and construct awareness necessary to make integral approaches sustainable in a post-metaphysical world.

Murray, T. (2015). Contemplative Dialogue Practices: An inquiry into deep interiority, shadow work, and insight. Integral Leadership Review, August-November 2015.

Contemplative dialogue, or we-space, practices are group process structures that support participants moving into states of deep interiority (“causal awareness”) and deep authentic participation and inter-listening. These states (and related developmental stages) are said to support capacities for working beneath and beyond status quo belief systems, habitual thought patterns, and routine forms of interaction. In this article I first explore the goals and phenomena behind three related experiential territories: contemplative practices, dialogue and deliberation practices, and contemplative group somatic practices. I examine how we-space practices overlap with each of these, but go further. I next offer a synthetic overview of contemplative dialogue frameworks including Bohm Dialogue, U-Theory, and about a dozen integrally-informed dialogue projects. In the second half of the article I frame we-space practices in terms of shadow work and the insights that come from exposing the demi-real to the cleansing sunlight of individual or collective awareness, and offer a middle-out framework for incorporating evolutionary and involutionary developmental movements.

Murray, T. (2013). Mystical Claims and Embodied Knowledge in a Post-Metaphysical Age. To appear in proceedings of 2013 Integral Theory Conference.

My inquiry here is about the individual's struggle to open to mystical "truths" while keeping an appropriately critical and objective stance; and also about the collective project of knowledge building and sharing within a community that values self reflective and complex multi-perspectival reasoning (as the integral community does). In this article I will explore the nature of metaphysical, and especially mystical, ideas; describe why they are problematic in a post-metaphysical philosophical era; and suggest some heuristics for working productively, reflectively, and ethically with such beliefs.

Murray, T. (2013). Meta-Sangha, Infra-Sangha: Who is this "We" Kimo Sabe? In Beams and Struts, March, 2013.

Leaders in the Integral community have hosted a number of events featuring the theme of "The We" or "We Space"—exploring it, nurturing it, and envisioning it. Ken Wilber recently posted a video titled "The State of the We" in which he discussed the status and future of the integral movement. So, what's all the excitement about? Are (we) integralists exploring the leading edge of collective intelligence? If the Integral movement is more of a movement than a trend or a loosely knit tribe, what can or should be done to nurture it towards it full potential? What do we mean by We? I explore the many ways the we use "we;" the meaning-generative potential and the possible hazards of each; inquire about what common purpose might call integralists together; and explore the concept of Infra-Sangha (or Meta-Sangha).

Murray, T. (2012; to appear) "Embodied Realisms and Integral Ontologies Toward Self-Critical Theories." To appear as a chapter in Dancing with Sophia: Integral Philosophy on the Verge, Esbjor-Hargens & Schwartz (Eds).

In this chapter I will explore how embodied approaches impact inquiry into to ontological questions, and will explicitly relate this to integral and post-metaphysical studies. One aim is to support more fully "construct-aware" treatments of integral theories and models. At stake is what can be considered real (vs. epiphenomenal or derivative; merely subjective, imaginary or fictitious; or fallacious and groundless). How can scholars fully acknowledge yet successfully cope with indeterminacies inherent in category-conferring and reality-conferring ontological decisions? How can one make sturdy ontological commitments yet avoid degrees or styles of certainty or foundationalism that are outmoded by an emerging "post-metaphysical" understanding of the fallibility of knowledge? Integralists often note that "the map is not the territory" and then go on to explain how we need good maps to navigate our complex world. The admission of fallibility or indeterminacy is too often a closure to preempt common concerns, and not often enough an opening into deeper questions. Here I aim to use the notion of embodiment to explore more deeply and precisely exactly how (and why) maps and the abstract objects they are built up from differ from the territory, so that we can be more skillful makers and users of such maps. Various perspectives on embodied cognition will be explored, including Ontological Pluralism, Metaphorical Pluralism, Critical Realism, and Embodied Realism.

Murray, T. (2011). "Toward post-metaphysical enactments: On epistemic drives, negative capability, and indeterminacy analysis" Integral Review, Vol. 7 No. 2, October 2011, p. 92-125.

Various approaches and interpretations of post-metaphysics are described, followed by an exploration of methods and approaches to enacting a post-metaphysical attitude toward beliefs, and in particular beliefs commonly held within the community of integral theory and practice. Integral Post-metaphysics is described in context with the larger trend of post-metaphysical thought. Along the way several concepts and themes are introduced, including the epistemic turn in reasoning, misplaced concreteness, epistemic drives, and negative capability.

Murray, T. (2011; to appear). "Integralist mental models of adult development: Provisos from a Users Guide". [Segments of this longer paper appeared in Integral Leadership Review Vol. 11, No. 2 March 2011, and to appear as a chapter in Esbjörn-Hargens (Ed) book True But Partial: Essential Critiques of Integral Theory.]

In this article I apply this predilection for questioning the limits and certainty of knowledge to the topic of human developmental theories. I imagine, if only whimsically, a "Handbook for the Practical Use of Integrally-informed Developmental Theories" that contains provisos and other advice, toward which this article would be an initial step. I look at several aspects of the common integral interpretations, or "mental models," of human development, and in each case point to some limitations and suggest an alternative that, while not problem-free, points to some important limits of the original model. For example: I suggest that current interpretations don't sufficiently differentiate between the development of skills and the development of beliefs. I question whether the set of developmental lines referred to in psychograph models are comparable constructs. I discuss how the valorization of certain lines affects our interpretation of development. I suggest greater clarity in differentiating cultural vs. individual forms of knowledge in classifying developmental levels. I argue that context and emotional factors should have a larger role in how we interpret and apply developmental scorings. I suggest a more robust onion-layers model of developmental levels. I note some problems in how we interpret the general constructs of lines and tiers. And I discuss the general epistemic issues of the indeterminacy of the constructs we use in developmental theories.

Murray, T. (2010; to appear). On the development of beliefs vs. capacities: A post-metaphysical view of second tier skillfulness. Presented at the 2nd Biannual Integral Theory Conference, John F. Kennedy University. Pleasant Hill, CA, July, 2010. (To appear as a chapter in "Enacting an Integral Future: New Horizons for Integral Theory" Edited by S. Esbjörn-Hargens.)

In this chapter I explore two questions. The first is: "in furthering any integrally informed vision of human development or integral consciousness, is it more important to focus on changing what people believe or what they can skillfully do? I will argue that within the community of integral scholars and practitioners there is an overemphasis on the beliefs (including world views and models) that people hold and an under-emphasis on skills or capacities, at least within the narratives and mental models we employ as we discuss and disseminate our work. Addressing this overemphasis amounts to having a particular relationship to our beliefs about development. This relationship to belief involves the capacity to understand more deeply what beliefs (and knowledge) are, how they are formed and their fallibilities, as we decide how best to employ them. This leads to the second question addressed in the chapter: "What relationship to belief (and knowledge, truth, and certainty) might be characteristic of integral or second tier consciousness?"

Murray, T. (2009; 2010). What is the Integral in Integral Education? From progressive pedagogy to integral pedagogy Integral Review, Vol. 5 No. 1, June 2009, pp. 96-133. Also a chapter in Igniting Brilliance: Integral Education for the 21st Century, Edited by W. Dea; 2010, Integral Publishers.