Survival & Evolution

Origin of the Taxonomy

The significance of evolution cannot be ignored. Any property or function that we have as human beings must exist because it was and perhaps still is required for our survival. It may well be that what exists had a different function in a less evolved creature, but it must have been present in some form.

Step 1: Biology

We have emerged as part of biological evolution. We can therefore start our analysis of the origins of THEE as follows:

Evolutionary Driver
 SURVIVAL

All living creatures must actively handle their environment in order to survive. Each comes to adapt to a specific niche in accord with the competitive exclusion principle. Human beings are no different in principle, but we are vastly different in our capacity to adapt and, especially, to master environmental challenges.

It is conjectured that humans use endeavours (via personal functioning) as their distinctive competitive advantage. It is therefore necessary to identify what drives any endeavour.

Step 2: Evolutionary Function

Based on taxonomic findings, it is proposed that humans have developed a set of objectively-recognizable psycho-social states and goals—called here Primal Needs—which were and are crucial to endeavour success.

The development and persistence of these Primal Needs must have neuro-biological foundations, whose origins should be traceable back through lesser mammals, and in some aspects to birds and reptiles, and possibly even to invertebrates.

However, the first step is to identify the Primal Needs from observation and experiment, and to propose the evolutionary function of each Primal Need
in simple terms:

Evolutionary

Driver		     Primal Needs

   Evolutionary Function
      Competence   Provides the potential to properly handle matters for oneself and others.
      Governance   Handles power, your own and others, in pursuit of goals of all sorts.
 SURVIVAL

in the

Human Condition		     Association   Enables spontaneous mutual aid and cooperation in living and in ventures.
    Individuality   Ensures use of self, others, situations & things in a personally appropriate way.
    Fitness   Drives adjustment to suit situations and win acceptance by others.
      Knowledge   Permits effective responses to challenging or fear-engendering situations.
      Achievement   Produces timely relevant alterations in actual situations.

Step 3: The Human Condition

Evolution is intrinsically competitive, and this seems to apply to humanity. Those who achieve more, know more, associate better with others &c are likely to win out in their own terms. In evolution, «more» or «better» are not meant quantitatively, but rather in relation to the fit with a socio-physical environment.

For millennia, winning meant fighting over resources. Inequality amongst people was therefore a concern:

  • Achievement & Knowledge cause inequality.
  • Fitness & Individuality sustain inequality.
  • Association & Governance manage inequality.
  • Competence transcends inequality in diverse social dimensions
    (because it is task-focused).

Investigation has revealed details of the taxonomic control mechanisms in endeavours lying within Level-6 of the Primary Hierarchies. The most important control is the Primal Means for meeting the Primal Need. These Means are ever-present in a simple spontaneous way, but they can be developed and strengthened by effort until they become sophisticated and powerful.

Evolutionary

Driver		     Primal Need

   Primal Means
      Competence is enabled and controlled by Effectiveness
      Governance is enabled and controlled by Politics
 SURVIVAL

in the

Human Condition		     Association is enabled and controlled by A Shared Reality
    Individuality is enabled and controlled by A Sense of Self
    Fitness is enabled and controlled by Clarity
      Knowledge is enabled and controlled by Conjecture
      Achievement is enabled and controlled by Management

Step 4: Hierarchy

The ordering of the Primal Needs in the above tables accords with what is known from taxonomic studies. However, if it were not known, various perspectives broadly support the proposed hierarchy.  For example, there is a move from impersonal, through personal to social, and finally a combination of all three called 'universal'.

Evolutionary

Driver		     Primal Need

 Primary Environment Primal Means
      Competence Universal Effectiveness
      Governance   Social Politics
 SURVIVAL

in the

Human Condition		     Association A Shared Reality
    Individuality Personal A Sense of Self
    Fitness Clarity
      Knowledge Impersonal Conjecture
      Achievement Management

ClosedExplanation

Knowledge and achievement are impersonal because what any person thinks or what any group believes is irrelevant. Either something is achieved or it is not; either something is known or it is not. These apply within and outside one's own group.

Fitness and individuality are personal because they are under the control of each person. Social pressures and impersonal realities affecting these needs may be either taken for granted or over-ridden.

Association and governance are social because group formation and group sustenance are the primary requirements. Impersonal factors are peripheral, and personal factors are secondary or may need to be subjugated.

Competence is universal in that it is simultaneously personal (i.e. developed and exercised by oneself), social (i.e. useful for the group), and impersonal (i.e. may be applied regardless of personal or group wishes or preferences). Competence is also universal in that it may be applied outside one's own group.

ClosedSimple inspection suggests cyclicity:

  1. Competence depends on Governance i.e.Closed an orderly social context.
  2. Governance depends on Association i.e.Closed social similarity & compatibility.
  3. Association depends on Individuality i.e.Closed personal choice about suitability.
  4. Individuality depends on Fitness i.e.Closed provides unique perspectives.
  5. Fitness depends on Knowledge i.e.Closed relevant information helps.
  6. Knowledge depends on Achievement e.g.Closed results of inquiry projects.
  7. Achievement depends on Competence i.e.Closed the ability to do whatever is required.

or the reverse:

  1. Achievement benefits from Knowledge i.e.Closed to guide choices and check progress.
  2. Knowledge benefits from Fitness toClosed reduce confusion.
  3. Fitness benefits from IndividualitybecauseClosed different people notice different things.
  4. Individuality benefits from Association becauseClosed this provides validation and emotional support.
  5. Association benefits from Governance i.e.Closed members need some regulation.
  6. Governance benefits from Competence i.e.Closed officials should be capable of serving the public.
  7. Competence benefits from Achievement i.e.Closed as proof of value and ability.

ClosedCyclic pattern on closer inspection:

A more specific argument for this ordering of a hierarchy is apparent as follows:

     
1. Management is the Primal Means for Achievement, the Primal Need,
  and then Achievement contributes to Conjecture.
2. Conjecture is the Primal Means for Knowledge, the Primal Need,
  and then Knowledge contributes to Discrimination.
3. Clarity is the Primal Meansfor Fitness, the Primal Need,
  and then Fitness contributes to A Sense of Self.
4. A Sense of Self is the Primal Means for Individuality, the Primal Need,
  and then Individuality contributes to A Shared Reality.
5. A Reality is the Primal Means for Association, the Primal Need,
  and then Adjustment contributes to Politics.
6. Politics is the Primal Meansfor Governance, the Primal Need,
  and then Governance contributes to Effectiveness.
7. Effectiveness is the Primal Means for Competence, the Primal Need,
  and then Competence contributes to Management....returning back to 1.

Note: No reference to THEE exists at this point.

Step 5: Basis in the Brain

To enable this universally present complex hierarchical structure that supports complicated endeavours, it is conjectured that humankind must possess a brain that has evolved to support what might be termed «advanced instincts». It is presumed that these will be derived from affective neural systems that control whole animal functioning. Such systems are known to originate in the midbrain.

Personal functioning differs for every member of a species. While many details of the neural systems may be speculative, it is a reasonable conjecture that affective neural systems in human beings lead to inner drives called here by our experience of them: psychosocial pressures.

Psychosocial pressures are the remorseless biological underpinning activators and sustainers of Primal Needs.

Evolutionary
Driver		       Primal Need

   Pursued via a

Primal Means:		 Based on a
Pressure for:
        Competence   Effectiveness Selflessness
        Governance   Politics Autonomy
 SURVIVAL

in the

Human Condition		       Association   A Shared Reality Understanding
      Individuality   A Sense of Self Well-being
      Fitness   Clarity Acceptability
        Knowledge   Conjecture Certainty
        Achievement   Management Performance

While the Primal Needs are fundamental for species and personal survival, the Primal Means emerge within endeavours. So the relation between SURVIVAL and ENDEAVOURS can be understood as follows:

Evolutionary Driver       Primal Need   Primal Means       Evolutionary

Tool
        Competence   Effectiveness        
        Governance   Politics        
        Association   A Shared Reality        
SURVIVAL       Individuality   A Sense of Self       ENDEAVOURS
        Fitness   Clarity        
        Knowledge   Conjecture        
        Achievement   Management        

Here is the same Table including the psychosocial pressures:

Evolutionary Driver       Primal Needs   Primal Means       Evolutionary Tool
        Competence   Effectiveness driven by selflessness        
        Governance   Politics
driven by autonomy		        
        Association   A Shared Reality
driven by understanding		        
SURVIVAL       Individuality   A Sense of Self
driven by well‑being		       ENDEAVOURS
        Fitness   Clarity
 driven by
acceptability		        
        Knowledge   Conjecture
driven by certainty		        
        Achievement   Management driven by performance        

Step 6: The Need for Taxonomic Analysis

The endeavours that ensure the human condition have become rather complicated. Our survival ceased to simply be about kill or be killed, find a cave or die of exposure. It entailed dealing with social factors as well as physical factors, dealing with groups upon which we depend as well as handling oneself with its inner states.

To handle the social world well, a scientific approach is likely to be beneficial. It is the only way to test the conjectures so that knowledge will ensure achievement. However, any scientific investigation is affected by the depiction method (PH'3)used to identity relevant entities for study.

When those in positions of power within society seek to exploit inequalities for their own ends, and do not want this to be easily noticed, then the light of science will be suppressed.

While physical reality has not changed much, its handling has become dramatically eased by modern science and engineering. So achievement here is phenomenal.

Social life on the other hand has become more complex while scientific inroads have been minimal. This is because while the world does not answer back or have a will of its own (except to reveal mistakes), people do. If a discovery is unacceptable for cultural reasons, or interferes with well-being, then it will not make much headway.

As a result, humanity has felt its way forward often through seemingly unnecessary horrors. While there has been progress, it has not been scientific in nature.

Initially the group that needed to be sustained was the family or small band, much later it became large communities, industrial societies, nations, and formal organizations. Development has been haphazard and shaped by tradition and accident.

Most positive developments can be attributed to an uncontrolled unplanned increase in self-awareness and the ethical sense. Where pure reason has been applied, results have often been dismal (e.g. early AI), stupid (e.g. modern economics), or horrendous (e.g. French Revolution's Reign of Terror).

Social science, as currently practised, is fragmented and disconnected from human creative functioning. It seeks findings that are independent of the exercise of autonomy, responsibility and awareness.

Analysis of endeavour in the present taxonomic study suggests that all endeavours are dependent on Will which manifests as a 7-Level hierarchical structure (Root Hierarchy).

Human Response     Functional Hierarchy

     Human Potential
      RL7: Willingness      
      RL6: Purpose      
      RL5: Communication     WILL
ENDEAVOUR     RL4: Experience    
      RL3: Change    
      RL2: Inquiry      
      RL1: Action      

Here is a fuller picture:

Evolutionary Driver     Primal Need

     Evolutionary Tool     Primal Means           Root Hierarchy
      Competence           Effectiveness driven by selflessness           RL7: Willingness
      Governance           Politics
driven by autonomy		           RL6: Purpose
      Association           A Shared Reality
driven by understanding		           RL5: Communic'n
SURVIVAL     Individuality     ENDEAVOURS     A Sense of Self
driven by well-being

     WILL-R     RL4: Experience
      Fitness           Clarity
driven by
acceptability		           RL3: Change
      Knowledge           Conjecture
driven by
certainty		           RL2: Inquiry
      Achievement           Management driven by performance           RL1: Action

Step 7: Returning to the Taxonomy

We have now come full circle:

WILL → Root Hierarchy → Primary Hierarchy → Optimizing Methods via PH•L6 → Principal Typologies → Primal Means via Spirals Primal Need of a Root Level
    Endeavour condition   Element of endeavour   Teachable expertise       For maximum feasible outcome. Survival condition
                       
Psychosocial
Pressures 		1 for each RH Level   1 for each PH Level   1 for Each PH   Autonomybecause PH•L6   1 for each Mode If pressures are met.

The Root Levels generate the elements identified in the taxonomy whose structure in regard to the Principal Typology and its Spiral exists in order to provide the Primal Means identified above. That Spiral contains the strange two Cycle pattern which integrates Root Levels and led to discovery of the Root Hierarchy.

Initially posted: 30-Nov-2013; Amended: 3-Jun-2015. Last updated: 9-Jan2023.