Postformal Thinking
Discussion
Reviewing Postformal Thinking
Gary Hampson:
"Various modes of cognition or operations, types of thinking, qualities, features and/or characteristics have been identified in this discourse as, or pertaining to, postformal.
These include:
- complexity,
- dialectics,
- creativity, imagination,
$construct-awareness,
- problem-finding,
- reflexivity,
- dimensionality of systems thinking, contextualisation, holism,
- openness,
- unitary consciousness, dialogic consciousness, and wisdom.
(Arlin, 1975a, 1975b, 1976; Basseches, 1980, 1984a, 1984b, 1986, 2005; Benack, Basseches, & Swan, 1989; Benack & Basseches, 1989; Broughton, 1984; Commons & Richards, 1984, 2002; Cook-Greuter, 1990, 2000, 2002; Demetriou, 1985; Kegan, 1982, 1994; Kohlberg, 1984; Koplowitz, 1984, 1990; Kramer & Woodruff, 1986; Labouvie-Vief, 1990; Loevinger, 1976; Marchand, 2001; Pascual-Leone, 1984; Powell, 1980; Riegel, 1973, 1975, 1976; Sinnott, 1998, 2003; Sternberg, 1998; Wade, 1996).
The literature also demonstrates a wide variety of conceptualisations regarding the theoretic legitimacy, number, positioning and/or relationship among postformal developmental levels. The term postformal took on a somewhat different usage and meaning in 1993 within the field of education via Joe Kincheloe and Shirley Steinberg (1993) who posited a socio-cognitive theory regarding post-formal thinking, describing postformal thought as the socio-cognitive expression of postmodernism. In addition to features identified above with the developmental psychology discourse, they included: critical theory, genealogy, etymology, structuralism, metaphoric cognition, ecological thinking, deconstruction, nonlinearity, holistic causation, and power-awareness."
(https://www.integralworld.net/hampson.html)
Developing Postformal Thinking
Gary Hampson:
"To facilitate explicit enactments of thinking postformally, I posit that a deepening and a cohering of postformal qualities might be helpful. Both moves (deepening and cohering) can be seen to have affective (embodied) and mental (intellectual) aspects. In terms of deepening postformal thinking—from an affective perspective, a relationship between self-sense and postformal concept could be developed through trust: an opening up to the postformal quality in question via affective embodiment (such as via intuition). The mental correlate of this would be to open up the postformal concept via the intellect. …In terms of cohering postformal cognitive qualities—a similar framework could be helpful. Conceptual cohering could be facilitated through systematic consideration of the possible ecology of / dialogue among postformal features."