Nick Hedlund

Metatheory Team & Encyclopedia Initiative Leader Nick Hedlund, Ph.D., is founding director of the Eudaimonia Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy & Social Science from University College London and was an Exchange Scholar at Yale University. Nick's work explores the intersection of metatheory and the cultural and psychological dimensions of global transformation. As a Ph.D. researcher, Nick studied under Arthur Petersen (formerly under Roy Bhaskar) to develop a new metatheoretical framework for emancipatory social research known as visionary realism, applying it to address global climate change. He served as Executive Director of the Integral Research Center at the MetaIntegral Foundation and has served as adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University, associate director of the Integral Ecology Center, associate organizer of the biennial Integral Theory Conference, and organizer of four International Critical Realism & Integral Theory Symposia. His articles have appeared in journals such as the Environment and Public Policy and the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. He edited a book with Roy Bhaskar, Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, and Mervyn Hartwig entitled "Metatheory for the 21st-Century: Critical Realism and Integral Theory in Dialogue" (Routledge, 2016). Its companion volumes, "Big-Picture Perspectives on Planetary Flourishing: Metatheory for the Anthropocene, Volume I" and "Integrative Responses to the Global Metacrisis: Metatheory for the Anthropocene, Volume II" (Routledge), are due out in 2022. Nick holds a Bachelor’s degree (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in Culture, Ecology, and Consciousness from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master’s in Integral Psychology from John F. Kennedy University, and a (second) Master’s in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Through the course of his studies, he has received several academic awards and honors including the Jacob Van Ek Scholar Award, the Honors Graduating Senior Scholarship Award for his undergraduate thesis, and the Yale UCL Collaborative Bursary.