Orientation

POSTING: The original speculative analyses were made in 2013-2014 and progressively posted. Following additional studies, a review was performed in early 2023 leading to some textual revision and improved formulations.

Background

The 7-level standard size of the key hierarchies has always been puzzling. It suggested some underlying unifying principle but its nature was unknown for many years. While the focus was on Primary Hierarchies, it was evident that the other architectural forms were derived from these and this derivation forced a similar number of levels. However, it was not clear why the Primary Hierarchies all had 7 levels, and whether there were other similar hierarchies as yet undiscovered.

Two important discoveries led to crucial conjectures.

  1. The Primary Hierarchies are connected through the Spiral of value-contexts derived from the Principal Typology within each of them. This led to identification of the Root Hierarchy. See the full explanation in the next Topic.
  2. During work on Politics for the TOP website, it became apparent that there was a close connection between the Root Hierarchy Levels and the 7 Groupings in the Structural Hierarchy, but not in the usual order. See the account.

Subsequent work to be posted in detail here in the Architecture Room suggested that the Root Hierarchy is «projected» into all the main architectural forms. This is probably why they possess 7 levels: but that simply pushes the question backwards, because it is still not clear why the Root Hierarchy itself has 7 levels and not more or fewer. This puzzle too will be resolved in due course.

Exploration and Presentation

The first projection to be explored is the projection on to the Primary Hierarchy, which is considered here.

Other projections to be examined in this Section include:

  • to the Principal Typology &/or Spiral: considered here.
  • to the Structural Hierarchy: considered here.

Projections to the Q-expansion Arenas are considered separately here (within the Naming section).

When the Root Levels are projected, the ordering stays the same for the Primary Hierarchies and Q-Arenas (i.e. RL1 projects to L1 or Q1, RL2 projects to L2 or Q2 etc), but the ordering is altered in the other structures.

Combinatorially, there are over 5000 possible orderings of 7 levels (i.e. 7! or factorial 7).

The present conjectured re-orderings are offered with more confidence now that time has passed. Differences and similarities between the orderings are immediately apparent. You are welcome to make suggestions of alternative orderings and conduct your own investigations.

The Key Finding

The finding, introduced as part of the investigation of Primary Hierarchies, is that what is projected from the Root, is an instinct-like psychosocial pressure.

The naming of these pressures has now been extensively trialled, and they have come to play a significant part in discovering and understanding new taxonomic entities.

This important addition to the taxonomic conceptualization provides a biological foundation and clarification of numerous findings. See details in several topics in the Review part of the Primary Hierarchies section.

Originally posted: 14-Jul-2013. Last updated: 8-Jan-2023