Forms in the Primary Hierarchy
Willingness
refers to sustenance of a positive disposition towards the actualization of an endeavour. That means willingness comes into its own when processes related to an endeavour are problematic or likely to be avoided.
Willingness is driven by the psychosocial pressure of selflessness and it flows from taking 100% responsibility for your choices and your life.
We normally think of willingness as part of an endeavour, where it functions as an obvious and shareable state. We notice it in others and others notice it in us. Willingness can be contagious, off-putting or fail to generate any affect.
Unlike the other Levels of Will, exists on a continuum. We can be more or less willing, or more or less reluctant. This property should be noticeable in all emanated forms within the Willngness Domain and it is.
Whatever degree of positivity and energy is present, willingness retains intrinsic properties as a function of the self: it can be genuine, authentic, sincere, forthright and sometimes courageous. It can also be false, artificial, insincere, wishy-washy and lead to avoidance.
Seven Forms
What is Willingness at L1?
This form of willingness is driven by a performance pressure and involves the Action Domain.
Click for an Intuitive but Incorrect Form
Willingness must be applied in situations where, left to yourself, you would not take action and neither internal nor external pressures for performance would activate you. From a purely egotistic perspective, you view the situation calling for action as too difficult or too complicated. It is beyond what you believe that you can achieve, and the sensible thing is to retreat or give up.
While many challenges are best avoided, it is often a borderline call. You may misjudge what you are capable of and you may see difficulties that are unlikely to eventuate. Often others believe that you can do it, while every fibre in your body resists their urging.
All you can do in such borderline situations is . In many borderline situations, others expect you to make an attempt even if it doesn't work out. In Australian culture, "having a go" is a trait that wins admiration every time.
is the L1 manifestation of Willingness in the field of Action.
And you do not try just once, you can be expected to —persistence is important.
Function: refers to making a specific effort even though failure is evidently possible or even likely.
Alternate name: Attempting.
Colloquial: give it your best shot, have a crack at it, give it a go, make a stab, go for it, make an effort.
What is Willingness at L2?
This form of willingness is driven by a certainty pressure and involves the Inquiry Domain.
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Where certainty is given its due value, there is no need for willingness in regard to knowing.
Willingness must be applied when a particular view is affirmed strongly even if it is intrinsically uncertain or even metaphysical, or when knowing something is unpopular or vehemently rejected by peers. Views where everyone is certain and all evidence is supportive can also be affirmed in exactly the same way.
In 1896, William James wrote an essay, "The Will to Believe" in which he argues that in specific non-rational or undetermined situations (and he was thinking of religion), it can be permissible and even pragmatically necessary to adopt a belief as a willful choice.
is the L2 manifestation of Willingness in the field of Inquiry. It operates in reverse too. As well as that you choose to adopt, you also need willingness to , your own and those widely held by others. Scientific certainty is determined by consensus and may eventual be found to be incorrect. Many issues and situations do not lend themselves to certainty and yet a belief appears to be required to act confidently and effectively. A belief is not something to be adopted lightly, it must be if it is to be credible and used in practice.
Some hold firmly to the view that maintaining a sceptical stance in which nothing is believed is a way out of this dilemma—but this is a self-contradiction because it is evident that «not holding beliefs» is a willingly adopted belief.
Function: refers to adhering to a view and applying it even if doubtful, contested, unproven or untestable.
Alternate name: assuming.
What is Willingness at L3?
This form of willingness is driven by an acceptability pressure and involves the Change Domain. Where acceptability exists, there is no need for specific willingness in regard to making or accommodating changes.
However, willingness must be applied if change is appropriate but personally unacceptable. This becomes evident when the ego-driven reaction to a situation is to withdraw, to self-isolate, or to go along with a communal denial of some issue that needs handling.
Change is about seeing clearly how things actually are and what must be done to make the reality more acceptable personally and/or socially. A refusal to see, a form of psychic blindness, can descend if the remedy seems costly or unpleasant or if it seems safer to join with others who deny any need for change.
is the L3 manifestation of Willingness in regard to actualities. is about upholding . It means acknowledging something that is definitely present and where ignoring it will likely lead to some harm. Facing something is never a momentary awareness but an active process that must be maintained until the issue is dealt with or naturally resolves.
Function: refers to addressing a relevant reality directly irrespective of its uncongeniality or urges to conform to a common denial of its significance or existence.
Alternate name: Seeing.
What is Willingness at L4?
This form of willingness is driven by a well-being pressure and involves the Experience Domain. Where there is a state of well-being, there is no need for specific willingness to enable experiences and support individuality.
However, willingness must be applied if you are to remain in a situation where there are ongoing frustrations, unpleasantness, disagreements, forced conformity, and decisions you dislike. That sounds like the reality that characterizes much of social life.
While there is much about sociality that is enjoyable and comforting, no group revolves around any single individual with his or her unique needs and preferences. There is always a degree of social friction. As a result your self-interest often pushes you to withdraw, turn away, become isolated, drag-your-heels, and even sulk and disrupt the group.
While we cannot avoid membership of groups, we can avoid throwing ourselves into group life. Joining is often easy and it may be possible to free-ride so as to passively get benefits while never taking on responsibilities and never volunteering. A selfless willingness becomes necessary if you are to submit to group choices and contribute positively.
is the L4 manifestation of Willingness that emerges in relation to groups. Participation here means actively to social life and doing so in a good spirit. The requirement is to and that means submitting to the inevitable discomforts that any group generates without losing heart, and not just momentarily for show but in a way.
Function: refers to contributing to a social situation despite its intrinsic frustrations, demands and inconveniences.
Alternate names: Joining in, Partnering.
What is Willingness at L5?
This form of willingness is driven by an understanding pressure and involves the Communication Domain. Where sufficient understanding exists, there is no need for specific willingness to enable communication that powers cooperative activities.
However, willingness must be applied when associating and pursuing some social activity while sensing that an understanding of what is going on is lacking, weak or faulty. If the reality of the other person or the situation feels alien, wrong or incomprehensible, but you push on nevertheless, then you are taking a risk.
Without this willingness to risk, your self-interest would push you to draw back, hesitate, or opt out. You would claim ignorance, deplore the lack of a common ground and express an over-riding aversion to loss combined with a desire for safety and self-protection.
is the L5 manifestation of Willingness that emerges in relation to undertakings where a shared reality needs to be fully understood but where it is evident that many things remain unclear, uncertain and unpredictable. The requirement is to and then as the undertaking unfolds. Of course, daring to take this step only occurs because you assume or at least hope that some tangible benefit will result or some harm or greater risk will be avoided.
Function: refers to entering an undertaking for gain despite the potential for significant harm or loss.
Alternate name: Chancing.
What is Willingness at L6?
This form of willingness is driven by an autonomy pressure and involves the Purpose Domain. Where autonomy is operative and unproblematic, there is no need for specific additional willingness to enable the expression of values and goals.
Autonomy and self-interest go together. But the nature of willingness is that it operates selflessly and over-rides self-interest for some greater good. Over-riding autonomy generates a situation where you refuse to be an agent, where you allow or assume someone or something outside yourself should act on you or control your choices. That means a situation where you regard dependency and even helplessness as an appropriate psychosocial position.
Having a need to learn is just such a situation. Learning is not simply an acquisition of knowledge or a change in your internal state or observable behaviour. Learning is a profound and powerful process in which you use your autonomy to abandon your autonomy. You accept that you are facing a particular challenge and you do not have a necessary ability or knowledge to deal with it. Because you lack expertise, you will fail if left to yourself. You realize that to get the needed guidance, you must become dependent on a source outside yourself and beyond your control.
is the L6 manifestation of Willingness that emerges as an unforced elective choice to accept dependency as you . The alternative wilful or arrogant approach denies the need to learn by avoiding the challenge. Such a stultifying and self-limiting attitude is usually viewed as immature and irresponsible. An equally foolish alternative is to press on to a likely failure while projecting blame and denying any fault or limitation on your own part.
Learning is episodic. Its significance for personal growth means that willingness calls for all to , recognizing that learning episodes never cease. It is noteworthy that while "continuing education" had its roots in the 19thC, the notion only became popularized in the 1970's.
Function: refers to acquiring additional knowledge and skills despite the effort required, the uncertain relevance, and the likelihood of errors.
Alternate name: Schooling.
What is Willingness at L7?
This form of willingness is driven by a selflessness pressure and involves the Willingness Domain. Where selflessness is naturally applicable, there is no need for a specific willingness to enable submission and service for others.
Selflessness refers to action that takes no concern for your own self-interest, but responds to the needs and nature of the other or the whole. Willingness will be required in situations where you sense your own vulnerability and have a self-interested urge for self-protection when relating to the other or the whole.
In emerging situations like a new relationship, pure selflessness would lead you to deny your own self-boundaries and fuse with that person and situation in an almost fatalistic and possibly dangerous way. But what you require is that the situation with the persons involved should configure itself to serve you, to protect you, and to generate benefit for you. This is about entering a state of trust.
is the L7 manifestation of Willingness that emerges as a way to handle any new and unknown relationship or situation in a positive way. Willingness is not an issue where you have come to trust a person or situation through many interaction over a long period. The emphasis here is on a new situation where you need to .
It is evident that the notion of "believing in" is closer to (than to ) because there is no reason for the entity (e.g. God) or person (e.g. a new relationship) or theory (e.g. psychoanalysis) to configure itself for your benefit and you have no control. Even if the best policy on entering most situations is to trust (and adjust as events evolve), the requirement to can feel fraught and demands psychological effort.
Function: refers to opening up your self to a new unknown relationship without any guarantee of benefit or protection from harm.
Synonyms: Believe in.
Importance of Time
An intrinsic feature of forms of willingness are that they are potentially difficult to activate due to egotistic concerns. These egotistic forces don't just accept defeat but return quickly to encourage giving up.
Persistence is therefore important and is a criterion of meaningful functioning in this Domain.Details:
Tabulation
| L# | Level of Willingness | Function | Initiation | Persistence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Trust |
To open up your self to a new unknown relationship without any guarantee of benefit or protection from harm. | Develop trust | Extend trust |
| 6 | Learn |
To acquire additional knowledge and skills despite the effort required, the uncertain relevance, and the likelihood of errors. | Pursue learning | Value learning |
| 5 | Risk | To enter an undertaking for gain despite the potential for significant harm or loss. | Take the risk | Tolerate the risk |
| 4 | Participate |
To belong to a social situation despite its intrinsic frustrations, demands and inconveniences | Welcome participation |
Sustain participation |
| 3 | Face |
To address a relevant reality directly irrespective of its uncongeniality or urges to conform to a common denial of its significance or existence. | Start facing | Continue facing |
| 2 | Believe |
To adhere to and apply a view even if doubtful, contested, unproven or untestable | Adopt a belief | Maintain a belief |
| 1 | Try | To make a specific effort even though failure is evidently possible or even likely. | Start trying | Keep trying |
Completeness
The taxonomic postulate here is that this set of ways that willingness can manifest in psychosocial reality is complete.
In looking at the literature such as it is, we do often see "willingness to learn", "willingness to risk", "willingness to participate"—all appearing in the above set. The prevalent academic terminology of "willingness to X" can be explained in two ways:
(a) it treats learning, risking, or participating as part of an endeavour, and emphasizes the role of , focusing perhaps on channels to personal and . Click thumbnail to view.
(b) it is an abstract formulation disconnected from real life—because it is not possible in practice to learn or risk or participate without being willing.
What about other studies focusing on, for example, "willingness to pay", "willingness to suffer consequences", "willingness to accept responsibility"?
EITHER this use of willingness refers to specific endeavours as in (a) above;
OR these are examples of elemental forms or combinations of these forms.
• "Willingness to pay" could be an example of or perhaps ;
• "Willingness to accept responsibility" or "suffer consequences" could be examples of or perhaps .
Taxonomic thinking has enabled conjectures for the forms and functions that takes at each level of a presumed hierarchy. Now it is necessary to check that the nature and ordering of those forms fit formal features of THEE-type Primary Hierarchies.
As an initial step, it will be useful to flesh out some intrinsic properties to distinguish the forms/levels.
- Properties of the elements of Willingness.
Originally posted: 20-May-2026.
