Arenas & Other Social Groups

What is «Associating» About?

Associating, the human urge to be with others, is one of the 7 primal needs of human beings. Each primal need is served by one of the Primary Domains, and the Communication Domain (RL5/PH5) serves associating. Any enduring social group satisfies this need and, if it is to become strong, leads to the formation of a shared reality.

Any willingly constituted group is an association. So a crowd or a set of people in a lift would not be a group in this sense because they have not chosen to associate. The taxonomy has identified a natural social group labeled «Association» which is defined by a set of people who willingly share an identity-defining aim for their group (i.e. the PH6L4 Principal Object).

Arenas of Associating define categories of groups that are more substantial and significant. These Arenas contain groups that have been constituted to meet a second primal need in addition to the primal need to associate. These Arenas are defined by the Q-expansion of the use of language methods (PH'5). Societal institution is the name assigned to the 4th Arena (PH'5Q4).

Natural Social Groups

The Taxonomy has previously identified our foundational Natural Social Groups. These spontaneously emerge around Levels of Value in the Purpose Domain as listed in the Table below. See a detailed account in Ch.5 Working with Values.

L7 Ultimate Values Humanity
L6 Value Systems Tribes
L5 Social Values Communities
L4 Principal Objects Associations
L3 Internal Priorities Factions

Most groups formal and informal are associations, in that they are created with a particular defining (i.e. PH6L4) purpose in mind. The L4-aim of an informal group of friends might be to meet over coffee or take a holiday together. Formalized groups, like firms, clubs and other social bodies, have a written constitution which spells out the L4 "aims and objects" whose acceptance becomes a condition of membership.

The Arenas of associating (PH'5Q) fit into this framework. They lead to groups that are specialized in that they require work (in the sense of essential deliberate sustained effort) above and beyond merely turning up and participating. As indicated above, each Arena primarily serves one of the 7 primal needs as well as the primal need to associate.

What about Society?

Society is not a formal name for any «natural social group». It refers here to a coalescence of communities, ideally sharing a culture and for the purposes of defence i.e. to members of an extra large L5-territorial community which develops a sovereign government.

Members of such societies require societal institutions to flourish. However, these depend on political maturation as explained later.

The term has been used within the Taxonomy as «wider society», which referred to... Closed the social context of a natural group: undifferentiated people who are not participating in a group, but who may affect or be affected by the group. I am inclined to think now that this context is the relevant societal institution.

Associating Arenas & their Primal Need Focus

It may be helpful to put the present study of societal institutions-Q4 into the context of related Arenas.

• For a taxonomic explanation of Arenas, visit the Architecture Room here;
• For more on the set of Associating Arenas visit here.
• For a graphic providing a taxonomic overview, click on the thumbnail at right.

Click the Q-name below for a brief reminder note.

The L4-aim is to provide for the mental and physical well-being of the members. As marriage often is the origin of a new family-household, these aims are provided in the vows, which in some traditions are quite extensive.

Families provide the foundation for togetherness i.e. association, the Communication-RL5/PH5 primal need. That means family members operate under a pressure for understanding.

These are created using written statements of the L4 aims and objects, which are typically required by law. This type of association is the most concerned to generate tangible achievements and meet economic goals. Its internal levels of work turn out to be mostly L1-tactical objectives. Organisations are governed by laws of their society.

Organisations control the production of tangible achievements, the Action-RL1/PH1 primal need; and are used for this by groups in all higher level Arenas. Put more abstractly: organisations are the final common pathway for deliberately altering socio-physical reality. That means their members operate under a pressure for performance.

The L4-aim is to foster the rigorous study of a particular field (i.e. a chunk of reality) to produce knowledge. Membership links here can be rather loose: occurring indirectly via publications or directly via visits or international congresses.  So disciplines are typically buttressed by Q2-organisations like academic departments, specialized institutes, interest groups and membership bodies.

Disciplines strive to control what counts in society as valid knowledge, the Inquiry-RL2/PH2 primal need. That means their members operate under a pressure for certainty.

The L4-aim here is to provide services that ensure the meeting of L5-needs and other social values shared within a given society. Membership is defined by residency and certified by a legal document. Inhabitants who lack that document find difficulty in accessing institutional services. Institutions contain very large numbers of Q2-organisations of diverse types to promote, develop, regulate and deliver services of all sorts.

Institutions assume liberal values and citizens with human rights that enable responsible governance, the Purpose-RL6/PH6 primal need. That means their members operate under a pressure for autonomy.

The L4-aim is develop, promote and apply a particular system of thought leading to the betterment of humanity. The school commences informally but when the doctrine has spread to a sufficient number of adherents within a society, a membership association (Q2) is created. There may also be a global membership body that coordinates societal membership bodies.

Schools search for truth to enable a state of mastery, the Willingness RL7/PH7 primal need. That means their members operate under a pressure for selflessness.

The L4-aim is about engaging directly with a sacred or divine realm. Q6-spiritualities mostly depend on Q5-doctrinal schools. Membership is fully voluntary and like all Arenas above, the tradition spawns Q2-organisations, that potentially spread globally.

Spiritualities recognize the importance of individuality, the Experience RL4/PH4 primal need. That means the members operate under a pressure for well-being.

The L4-aim is to provide people with access to a reality beyond everyday appearances by creating something shareable. The association requires formation of a temporary Q2-organisation to deliver the product.

Artistic events generate some form of depiction, the Change-RL3/PH3 primal need. That means the members operate under a pressure for acceptability.

Terminology Confusions

In speaking about societal institutions-Q4, it is necessary to use terms like "problems", "solutions", "inquiry", "debate", whose meaning is reasonably clear when there is an example. However, in the abstract, it is very easy to interpret these terms as if they apply to an organisation-Q2 or an individual's project.

For example, as part of management in a business there is often a need to "debate" options with the aim of reaching a compromise or perhaps a leader decides the preferred choice. By contrast, "debate" in an institution is about understanding and challenging the values and perspectives of different camps. It is accepted that all perspectives have some validity and it is understood that there is no superior authority or immediate definitive resolution.

Similarly, a "problem" at work is an interference to achievement about which it is possible to get the facts, determine a cause and then introduce a practical solution. But a "problem" in an institution can never be addressed so directly. It is typically a form of persistent failing related to conflicting values and beliefs, involving numerous factors and with a historical basis. Further, there will be some who benefit from it and actively or passively interfere with attempts at remediation.

To mitigate this problem, I will seek terms that should act as a reminder. In the examples above, I use "challenge" rather than "debate", and I refer to "failings" rather than "problems". Rather than refer to "data" or "information", I will refer to "statistics"; and rather than refer to "solutions", I will refer to a "remedies", and so on.

Originally posted: 14-Nov-2022. Last amended: 30-Apr-2023.