Clare W. Graves (December 21, 1914–January 3, 1986) was a professor of psychology and originator of the Level Theory of Personality. He was born in New Richmond, Indiana. The Integral Institute is a think-tank founded in 1998 by American philosopher, psychologist, and mystic Ken Wilber. ... Integral University is the worlds first truly integral learning community, where the AQAL approach (all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all states, all types) is brought to bear on a variety of disciplines for personal, academic, and professional development. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. ... New Richmond is a town located in Montgomery County, Indiana. ...

Education

Graves graduated from Union College in New York in 1940 and received his master's degree and a Ph.D in psychology from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The architectural centerpiece of the Union campus, the Nott Memorial, is named after the colleges president from 1804-1866, Eliphalet Nott. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Nickname: The Forest City Motto: Progress and Prosperity Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio County Cuyahoga Founded 1796 Incorporated 1836 Mayor Frank G. Jackson (D) Area    - City 82. ...

In the mid-twentieth century, Clare W. Graves taught psychology at Union College in Schenectady, New York. There he developed an epistemological model of human psychology. Graves claimed that the inspiration for so doing came from undergraduate students in his introductory psychology course. He acknowledged that he was unable to answer the frequently asked question as to who from among many competing psychology theorists was ultimately "right" or "correct" with their model since there were elements of truth and error in all of them. Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Knowledge. ... Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. ...

Development of theories

In an attempt to answer the students’ question and find a way to bridge the many apparently conflicting and contraditory viewpoints in psychology, Graves created an epistemological theory that he hoped would help to reconcile the various approaches to human nature and questions about psychological maturity. To obtain the data he needed to develop his hypothesis and test his theory, Graves collected pertinent data from his psychology students (who were a diverse group of people from all over the world) and others in the seven years from 1952 to 1959. He gathered conceptions of the mature personality and conducted batteries of psychological tests using recognized instruments. His analysis of this data became the basis for a theory that he called, among other titles, "The Emergent Cyclical Levels of Existence Theory" (ECLET). 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Graves theorized that in response to the interaction of external conditions with internal neuronal systems, humans develop new bio-psycho-social coping systems to solve existential problems and cope with their worlds. These coping systems are dependent on evolving human culture and individual development, and they are manifested at the individual, societal, and species levels. Graves believed that tangible, emergent, self-assembling dynamic neuronal systems evolved in the human brain in response to evolving existential and social problems. He theorized "man's nature is not a set thing, that it is ever emergent, that it is an open system, not a closed system." This open-endedness set his approach apart from many of his contemporaries who sought a final state, a nirvana, or perfectability in human nature. His inclusion of the bio-, psycho-, social, and systems theory as vital co-elements also described an inclusive point of view that continues developing today. Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning to cultivate, generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... ... The human brain. ... An open system may refer to more than one thing: In computing, an open system (computing) is a computer operating system that provides interoperability, portability or both, particularly Unix systems. ... In thermodynamics, a closed system, as contrasted with an isolated system, can exchange heat and work, but not matter, with its surroundings. ...

Graves's work observes that the emergence within humans of new bio-psycho-social systems in response to the interplay of external conditions with neurology follows a hierarchy in several dimensions, though without guarantees as to time lines or even direction: both progression and regression are possibilities in his model. Furthermore, each level in the hierarchy alternates as the human is either trying to make the environment adapt to the self, or the human is adapting the self to the existential conditions. He called these 'express self' and 'deny self' systems, and the swing between them is the cyclic aspect of his theory. Graves saw this process of stable plateaus interspersed with change intervals as never ending, up to the limits of the brain of Homo sapiens, something he viewed as far greater than we have yet imagined. It has been suggested that Hierarchical organization be merged into this article or section. ... The self is a key construct in several schools of psychology. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individualism, individual freedom, and subjectivity. ...

Influence

A number of management theorists and others have been influenced by Graves' "Emergent Cyclic Levels of Existence Theory". Chris Cowan and Don Beck used it as the basis for their book Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change which in turn is referenced by Integral theorist, Ken Wilber. Dudley Lynch has used it as the basis for four books, including The Strategy of the Dolphin: Scoring a Win in a Chaotic World (with Paul L. Kordis). Many other writers and consultants find merit in the Gravesian perspective in domains ranging from personal coaching to executive assessment, from organization design to social policy. Chris Cowan is a co-author of the book Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change, which describes a theory of human development and management based on the work of psychologist Clare Graves. ... Don Beck is a American management consultant and a co-author of the book Spiral Dynamics. ... Spiral dynamics is a book by Don Beck and Chris Cowan which is based on the theory of psychology professor Clare W. Graves. ... Ken Wilber Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. ... The Strategy of the Dolphin: Scoring a Win in a Chaotic World [1] is a business book written by Dudley Lynch. ...

To understand entrepreneurship and leadership, Dr Dave Robinson has integrated Beck & Cowan (Graves theories) with ethics models to create the 'Personal and Corporate Values Journey' diagram (1998). After several decades of research, he goes further in his phenomenological approach to tie this with several other cultural, business, and logical paradigms (mainly within entrepreneurial business environs) and suggests leadership tools for communication and growth of subordinates and self, linking heavily to Gravesian interpretations. His ethics 'Conflict Star' (2006) is accepted for publishing and other models are to be presented at the 2007 AGSE conference.[1].

Assessments

A number of companies have created and market assessments (see links below). Graves himself, however, never built a test for his theory and doubted that a simple, valid instrument could be constructed to measure levels of psychological existence accurately. His objective was to understand how people think and not just to categorize the things they think about or value. Christopher Cowan, who has edited and published works by Graves and publishes ClareWGraves.com believes that assessments tend to be momentary snapshots, whereas this theory is based on a wave-like moving picture with many uncertainties.

Typology vs. evolutionary stages

Graves work outlines emergent stages rather than personality types which can be present at any stage. Some theorists may confuse Graves 'vertical' emergent stages with personality traits that they may associate with a particular stages. Christopher Cowan believes that many students miss the underlying theory altogether and concentrate, instead, on its artifacts.

Potential for Graves' insights

In many respects, the work of Clare W. Graves marks a beginning and invitation to go further rather than a definitive statement or conclusion. Like his model, his work is open-ended and unfinished. Fortunately, the questions Graves sought to answer in relative isolation are now being broadly asked, and his point of view begins to resonate as the answers he found fit today's world. He was not a prophet nor a seer, but a rigorous old-school researcher with a mind, as he said, "out of its time." For those who understand the perspective he proposed, that time has now come.

Bibliography

• Graves, Clare W.: Levels of Existence: An Open System Theory of Values. In: Journal of Humanistic Psychology, November 1970

• Graves, Clare W.: Human Nature Prepares for a Momentous Leap. In: The Futurist, April 1974

• Lee, William R., Cowan, Christopher C., and Todorovic, Natasha (eds.) (2002) Graves: Levels of Human Existence. Santa Barbara, CA: ECLET Publishing. ISBN 0-9724742-0-X (Based on a transcription by Lee plus handouts from a Graves seminar in 1971)

• Cowan, Christopher C. and Todorovic, Natasha (eds.) (2005) The Never Ending Quest: Dr. Clare W. Graves Explores Human Nature. Santa Barbara, CA: ECLET Publishing. ISBN 0-9724742-1-8 (Compiled from chapters of Dr. Graves's previously unpublished manuscript with reconstruction of missing pieces in his own words drawn from various papers and audio tapes.)

See also

• Anthropology
• Biology
• Cognitive psychology
• Complex Adaptive Systems
• Complexity
• Evolutionary psychology
• Abraham Maslow
• Neuroendocrinology
• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Scientific Modeling
• Sociology
• Spiral Dynamics

Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... Cognitive Psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. ... For the Computer Science term, see Computational complexity theory. ... Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated ev-psych or EP) is a theoretical approach to psychology that explains many mental traits as adaptations in the sense of evolutionary biological, as a product of natural or sexual selection. ... Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist. ... Neuroendocrinology is the study of the interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system. ... Neuroscience is a field of study that deals with the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology of the nervous system, consisting of the myriad nerve pathways running throughout the body. ... Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Spiral dynamics is a book by Don Beck and Chris Cowan which is based on the theory of psychology professor Clare W. Graves. ...

External links

• Clare W. Graves homepage
• Spiral Dynamics applications homepage
• National Values Center Consulting, Cowan & Todorovic
• Spiral Dynamics Group, Dr. Don Beck's website
• jobEQ website
• Dudley Lynch website
• The Humergence Weblog