In the 20th century, several theories appeared that described the evolution of human consciousness. Among them is Graves' spiral dynamics. This theory was able to most fully describe the steps of the evolution of people and society. The fundamental difference of this teaching is the holistic approach - a new stage of human development is presented as the next level of holarchy, which includes the previous one.
Claire Graves - who is he?
An American scientist and professor of psychology was a student of Abraham Maslow. In 1952, he began to conduct research to extract meaning from existing scientific concepts that explain human behavior. For over 15 years, Graves studied the process of changing values in society. The scientist did not ask the question: “Why is this happening?” He was interested in how everything happens.
The professor of psychology chose a field of human behavior in which there were disagreements and many scientific points of view. As a basis, he chose the "concept of a mentally healthy person." The scientist was interested not so much in the content of existing concepts as in the fact of their interaction with each other. Graves conducted his “experiments” on students. For 8 years, he collected scientific data, after which he processed them and linked them together. Graves' spiral dynamics soon became known in the scientific community. Later, this theory had followers: Chris Cowan, Ken Wilber, Don Beck.
Spiral dynamics
Many theories of the 20th century describe that a person in his development goes through certain stages. Many people successfully overcome the stages, moving to the next step of development. Others are stuck.
Graves' theory of spiral dynamics describes the levels of human development through value systems, including faith, moral principles, and cultural ideas that arise in the process of sociocultural evolution. Graves' theory argues that the higher levels of social and human development include the lower - the previous.
Test
The scientist conducted his experiment as follows. He formed groups of students, each of whom was invited to defend his concept. Students expressed all their thoughts on paper, describing in detail why they adhered to the chosen direction.
Graves then suggested repeating it all over again, but before that he introduced groups of students to various points of view of other people regarding given topics.
At the third stage, the scientist held personal conversations with the participants in the experiment, discussing under the influence of which their opinion changed. He showed students' notes to independent experts in order to "classify" the result of the work.
The results of the test were unpredictable. In the first studies, participants in the experiment fell into the category of “victims”. They rebuilt themselves, their behavior, adapting to the world around them. At the second stage, their attitude to what was happening changed. Students agreed to donate to get what they want right now. At the third stage, they tried to express themselves by any means (prudently - at the expense of others). And finally, the participants in the experiment tried to establish themselves with the help of their own forces - not at the expense of other people.
This was Graves' first spiral dynamics test. In the early 60s, the scientist conducted several more experiments with a wider range of participants. As a result, he managed to identify several more categories of the concept of behavior of a “healthy person”. Ultimately, 8 major levels of Graves were identified. The spiral dynamics of a scientist is the basis of the values of the earthly world. The legendary ideas of a professor of psychology continue to be developed by modern scientists.
Levels
The theory of spiral dynamics of Claire William Graves describes 8 levels of human development, which are arranged in a certain order: as a person has new questions in the process of his development.
On the top step are memes of the highest order - vMeme. Each meme represents a system of certain values, which is characterized by religious beliefs, organizational dynamics, social groups, goals. The model is hierarchical: memes are arranged in it in the order of increasing complexity. There are currently 8 levels of holarchy.
- Survival is a beige color.
- Tribal thinking is purple.
- The gods of power are red.
- The power of truth is blue.
- The thirst for success is orange.
- Circular - green.
- Intriguing - yellow.
- Modernizing - turquoise.
Beige
In Graves' spiral dynamics, this color represents instinctive thinking. The scientist called the entry-level “Survival.” Here, in man, instinctual desires come first. He seeks to satisfy his physical needs to the maximum. The social organization of this stage is represented by small tribal groups, in which there is practically no ethics. In the modern world, newborns and very elderly people are a vivid example of this. To move to a new level, a person needs to recognize his personality.
At the “Survival” stage, people with mental development problems and complete dissociation “get stuck”.
Purple
The second level of spiral dynamics of Claire Graves is called "Spirits of the Ancestors." Violet color corresponds to animistic, tribal, mundane thinking. The man here strives for social stability. He does not understand the many processes taking place around him, so he tries to protect himself from them. It seems to him that life in a tribe is the only correct and safe form of existence. A person at this level defends the interests of the group. Blood connections between people here are very strong. Leaders and shamans have strong power.
The prerequisites for the transition to a higher level are the emergence of a dominant ego and the allocation of personality, which is stronger than the group.
An example of people lingering on the second level are many African tribes.
Red and blue
The third level of existence is “colored” in red. In the spiral dynamics of Claire Graves, he is called the "Gods of Power." At this stage, individualism begins to manifest. And often this happens in a rude manner. Tough authoritarianism is observed here, slavery is developing. Power belongs to one leader who is convinced that almost all people are lazy, so they need to be forced to work. At the same time, the leader is trying to suppress human emotions. At this level, the truth is “for the strong.”
In the modern world, bandit groups and African kingdoms serve as striking examples.
To leave the "Red" level, a person must recognize the power of morality, begin to engage in the search for life goals and the meaning of his existence.
The fourth level of development of spiral dynamics of Graves has a blue tint. He is called the "power of truth." It is at this stage that a person begins to understand that life consists not only of pleasures; people live according to certain rules. To live peacefully for a long time, you must follow these rules. People at this level of development are dominated by patriotic thinking; they are ready to sacrifice for a higher purpose. This group is dominated by religious ethics.
Many people live safely at this level and do not try to move on to the next. Examples are Islamic states, Confucian families, Puritan American states.
To move to the next level, you need to look for happiness in life, choosing the best path from numerous alternatives.
Orange
The fifth level of existence is called "The Thirst for Success." It corresponds to an orange tint. At this stage, a person tries to comprehend the secrets of the world in order to master it. But this is not manifested in the rough form characteristic of the previous stages. A person believes that only those who truly deserve it reach the heights. Orange people can be called dogmatists. But at the same time they are pragmatic.
There are examples of the existence of such groups in the modern world - American and Western European capitalists.
The prerequisite for the transition to a new level is the discovery that material wealth does not bring happiness and inner satisfaction; feelings of dissatisfaction with competition and inequality arise.
Green and yellow
The sixth level of existence in Graves' spiral dynamics is called the Circular. It is “colored” in green. Here, the main values for a person are relations with other people, as well as with the inner "I". At this stage, people care less about material needs and power, wanting to experience love and feel the attention of other people. A person is ready to accept principles that others consider correct and useful.
Ethics of the sixth level of existence: laws are important and they should ensure the well-being of most people.
A transition to a new level is possible subject to competition with systems that carry fewer social obligations.
Yellow is the seventh level of being. Graves argues that it is at this stage that a person becomes a public individual and loses his competitiveness. He begins to understand and feel that many ongoing processes depend on the influence of the universe. A person begins to systematically build the world, using the knowledge accumulated in previous levels of development. At the yellow level, people recognize the value of chaos. In the first place, a person has the effectiveness of the system.
The prerequisites for moving to the last level of development are the search for order in chaos, the desire to combine the spiritual and the physical.
Turquoise
The last stage of Graves' theory corresponds to synergetic thinking. A person is able to see the shortcomings of previous levels and integrate them into a single whole. In the twentieth century, there were few representatives of the turquoise level. In the XXI century, they became much more. Man has become more interested in global survival issues. People began to explore their inner worlds.
According to most scientists, about 10% of the population is at the “violet” level; 20% are representatives of the “red” stage. 40% of the population "stuck" at the "blue" level. The remaining 30% - at the "orange", "green", "yellow" stages.
The Graves Spiral Dynamics Test proves that moving to a new level is not an inevitable process. Some groups may be stuck at some point. For example, a corporation always remains at the “blue” level. The transition to the “orange” stage may end in bankruptcy for her.
The theory of spiral dynamics can be applied in practice. For example, it can be used for a particular company to evaluate its performance.
Books
Graves' theory of spiral dynamics was developed by his followers, D. Beck and K. Cowan. They released a joint work, Spiral Dynamics: Managing Values, Leadership, and Change in the 21st Century. This book has been translated into several languages, including Russian. The spiral dynamics of Claire Graves is described in detail on the pages of a literary publication. It should be noted that Graves' theory is put on a par with theories of systems and chaos.