Rationale for Principal Typologies

The «Best» Way

Primary Hierarchies provide everything required to operate within a particular Root Level. However, having available all the possible forms (levels) gives no indication as to how these should be used in practice.

People have naturally wondered about the what is «the best way» to handle:

  • Action-RL1
  • Inquiry-RL2
  • Change-RL3
  • Experience-RL4
  • Communication-RL5
  • Purpose-RL6
  • Willingness-RL7

As a phrase, «the best way» refers to endeavours in general, not any particular endeavour or situation. So it can only be meaningful in terms of the function of a particular Level: i.e. in the same endeavour, «the best way» to handle, say, action (RL1) will not be the best way to handle, say, communication (RL5). It is apparent that the focus and requirements of each Root Level are utterly different.

A Root Level function is referred to as a Primal Need, a universal and fundamental context of all human endeavours. Primal Needs are everyday currency and not strange, mysterious or unexpected. However they were only systematically identified, checked, listed and compared during the present investigation of Root Projections.

Root Levels have a 1:1 correspondence with Primary Hierarchies that they emanate. In addition, all Root Levels have a 1:1 correspondence with Levels within each Primary Hierarchy. As a result, it gets to look rather complicated. In a similar way, there is a 1:1 arrangement between Root Levels and Primal Needs; and yet all Root Levels do make a contribution to every Primal Need, because they are all involved (implicitly or explicitly) in any endeavour.

With this caveat, it is possible to tabulate current findings and conjectures. Although still provisional, none of Primal Needs here (or their replacement) should be particular surprising:

  • Action primarily serves Achievement.
  • Inquiry primarily serves Knowledge.
  • Change primarily serves Adjustment.
  • Experience primarily serves Individuality.
  • Communication primarily serves Association.
  • Purpose primarily serves Politics.
  • Willingness primarily serves Competence.

Put another way: the Root Levels are not only the means for Endeavour, they are also the means for addressing 7 contextual features of any endeavour: i.e. the Primal Needs.

Autonomy & Psychosocial Pressures

To do your best by using «the best way» to realize a Primal Need, it is necessary to possess and experience autonomy.

Level-6 in each Primary Hierarchy is developed and used under a psychosocial pressure of autonomy. So it is Level-6 alone that enables an individual to freely pursue the Primal Need as well as they can for themselves and in their own terms. The Level-6 element is relatively free from the distracting pressures of performance, certainty, acceptability, well-being, understanding, and selflessness—which dominate other Levels.

However, possession of autonomy does not necessarily mean that you will do your best. Autonomy, as a psychosocial condition, also allows you to be negligent, to make a mess, to produce chaos and believe nonsense. Under the primary influence of autonomy, you may do anything at all as long as it is feasible:

  • PH1L6: freely choosing
  • PH2L6: freely judging
  • PH3L6: freely representing
  • PH4L6: freely identifying
  • PH5L6: freely meaning
  • PH6L6: freely adhering to a value system
  • PH7L6: freely learning

However, it is readily observable that we often (but not always) experience an internal-psychological or an external-social pressure to consider quality and make a good choice (or even the best choice), a good judgement (or even the best judgement), a good representation (or even the best representation), etc.

This is does not appear to be a moral demand. So as to be precise about what «good» or «best» means in practice, it is proposed that the demand is based on responding to the Root psychosocial pressure:

PH1: «Good» choices-L6 provide performance when acting-RL1.
PH2: «Good» judgements-L6 provide certainty when inquiring-RL2.
PH3: «Good» representations-L6 provide acceptability when changing-RL3.
PH4: «Good» identifications-L6 provide well-being when experiencing-RL4.
PH5: «Good» meanings-L6 provide understanding when communicating-RL5.
PH6: «Good» value systems-L6 provide autonomy when being purposeful-RL6.
PH7: «Good» learning-L6 provides selflessness when being willing-RL7.

The relationship is possibly clearer when viewed as the context:

  • PH1: Pressures for performance when acting-RL1 lead to «the best» choices-L6.
  • PH2: Pressures for certainty when inquiring-RL2 lead to «the best» judgements-L6
  • PH3: Pressures for acceptability when changing-RL3 lead to «the best» representations-L6.
  • PH4: Pressures for well-being when experiencing-RL4 lead to «the best» identification-L6.
  • PH5: Pressures for understanding when communicating-RL5 leads to «the best» meaning-L6.
  • PH6: Pressures for autonomy when being purposeful-RL6 lead to «the best» value system-L6.
  • PH7: Pressures for selflessness when being willing-RL7 lead to «the best» participation-L6.

As explained in the state of knowledge review, the search for "the best way" led to discovery of the Principal Typologies.

Now that the existence and rationale of Principal Typologies is understood (or at least understandable), it is time to look for a Root correspondence.

  • Initially, I want to try simple observation without applying any principles or new conjectures. Doing so does seem to reveal an obvious pattern.

Initially posted: 30-Nov-2013. Amended 2-Jan-2015. Last updated: 6-Jan-2023.