Clare W. Graves
Clare W. Graves (December 21, 1914 – January 3, 1986) was a professor of psychology and originator of the emergent cyclical theory of adult human development, aspects of which were later popularised as Spiral Dynamics. He was born in New Richmond, Indiana.[6]
Clare W. Graves | |
---|---|
Born | December 21, 1914 New Richmond, Indiana, U.S. |
Died | January 2, 1986 71) Rexford, New York (state), U.S. | (aged
Nationality | American |
Education |
|
Known for | Emergent cyclical theory |
Spouse(s) | Marian Huff Graves |
Children |
|
Scientific career | |
Fields | Psychology |
Institutions |
|
Doctoral advisor | Calvin S. Hall, Jr.[1] |
Influences | |
Influenced |
Education and academic career
Graves graduated from Union College in New York in 1940 and received his master's degree and PhD[7] in psychology in 1943 and 1945, respectively, from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He taught at Western Reserve for three years before returning to Union College as an Associate Professor in 1948. He was promoted to full Professor in 1956, and retired in 1978.[8]
In 1975, Don Edward Beck, a professor at North Texas University, sought Graves out on the basis of his 1974 article in The Futurist. By this point, Graves's health was declining, and Beck resolved to record Graves's knowledge.[9] They were later joined by Christopher Cowan, with whom Beck developed Spiral Dynamics as an extension of Graves's work. After Graves's death, Cowan, his consulting partner Natasha Todorovic, and archivist William R. Lee, became custodians of Graves's work, maintaining the official Clare W. Graves web site, which provides access to some of those materials.[10]
Emergent cyclical theory
In the early mid-twentieth century, Graves decided to conduct experiments that he hoped would reconcile the various approaches to human nature and questions about psychological maturity,[11] as he saw elements of truth and error in all theories known at the time.[12] Rather than construct a hypothesis about how the conflicting systems could be resolved, Graves posed several open-ended questions and looked to see what patterns would emerge from his data. While not typical at the time, these approaches would later become known as grounded theory and inductive thematic analysis.[13]
Based on data collected over the next several decades, Graves observed 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.[14]
Influence
Graves's emergent cyclical theory has been influential in psychology,[15] philosophy,[16] spirituality,[17] education,[18] economics,[19] geopolitical conflict resolution,[20] cultural analysis,[21] and management theory.[22][23]
While Graves's work is most broadly known through consultants working with the Spiral Dynamics (SD) or Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi) adaptations, or through SDi's influence on the Integral movement, these adaptations were not created and popularized until a decade after his death. During his lifetime, Graves worked within academia, with his theories occasionally finding broader audiences such as through the magazine The Futurist.[24]
Metamodernism
Metamodern philosophers Daniel Görtz and Emil Friis, writing as Hanzi Freinacht, have described a four-part developmental stage theory as part of their metamodern approach to politics. In addition to the four parts, they include an overall assessment which is explicitly described as a revision of Spiral Dynamics, which they call the "effective value meme."[25][26] One of the four parts, the "symbol-stage" or "cultural code", uses the same names and Spiral Dynamics-derived patterns as are used for the effective value memes.[27] Görtz and Friis associate metamodernism with the first level of the second cycle of levels, which Graves described as "being" levels as opposed to the "surviving" levels of the first cycle.[28]
Works
Graves worked towards a book describing his theories, but published few articles and gave few public talks on his work during his lifetime. A full chronological bibliography is available online;[29] a selection of his most notable publications is provided below.
Graves was reportedly distressed by the poor reception given to Abraham Maslow at an American Psychological Association seminar in the mid 1950s[30] and determined not to publish his full theory until he was confident he could defend it.[31] Due to a brain injury sustained in 1975,[32] Graves abandoned his book manuscript in 1977.[33] The manuscript, consisting of largely complete drafts of sections describing the derivation of the theory from experimental data, and comparing it to other theories, was edited together with other primary sources to reconstruct the missing section on the nature of the levels, and published posthumously in 2005 as The Never Ending Quest.[34]
Additionally, an edited transcription of a seminar given by Graves at the Washington School of Psychiatry in 1971, along with a reprint of his 1970 article in the Fall 1970 issue of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, were collected and published in book form in 2004 as Levels of Human Existence.
- Graves, Clare W. (1966), "Deterioration of Work Standards." Harvard Business Review, September/October 1966, Vol. 44, No. 5, p. 117-126.
- Graves, Clare W. (1970), "Levels of Existence: An Open System Theory of Values." Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Fall 1970, Vol. 10, No. 2, p. 131-155.
- Graves, Clare W. (1974), "Human Nature Prepares for a Momentous Leap." The Futurist, April 1974, p. 72-87.
- Graves, Clare W. (2004). Lee, William R.; Cowan, Christopher C.; Todorovic, Natasha (eds.). Levels of Human Existence. Santa Barbara, CA: ECLET Publishing.
- Graves, Clare W. (2005). Cowan, Christopher C.; Todorovic, Natasha (eds.). The Never Ending Quest. Santa Barbara, CA: ECLET Publishing.
See also
Notes
- Lee, William R. "Chronology of Publications and Articles by Dr. Graves". Retrieved 4 Aug 2020.
- Graves, Huntley, and LaBier (1965)
- LaBier (1971)
- Beck and Cowan (1996)
- Wilber (2001)
- "In Memoriam..." The Concordiensis. Union College, Schenectady, NY. 16 Jan 1986. Retrieved 2 Aug 2020.
- Graves, Clare W. (1945). A Study of the Genesis and Dynamics of Psychopathic Personality as Revealed By Combining The Clinical Case History and Experimental Approaches (PhD). Western Reserve University. OCLC 45432163.
- Cowan, Christopher; Todorovic, Natasha; Lee, William R. (eds.). "About Dr. Graves..." Clare W. Graves. Retrieved 2 Aug 2020.
- Krumm, Rainer; Parstorfer, Benedikt (10 Oct 2014). Clare W. Graves, Sein Leben sein Werk (in German). Werdewelt Verlag. pp. v, 1–2. ISBN 978-3981531886.
- Butters (2015), p. 71
- Rice (2018), para. 5
- Graves (2005), pp. 14, 32-42
- Rice (2018), paras. 5, 7
- Graves (2005), pp. 184-191
- LaBier (1971)
- Freinacht (2017)
- Wilber (2006)
- Landolfi, Hugo (2017). Psicología, Filosofía y Educación: El pensamiento de Clare Graves en diálogo con la filosofía y sus implicancias educativas (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Editorial Dunken. ISBN 978-987-76-3006-0.
- Dawlabani, Said E.; Beck, Don Edward. Economic Systems and the Emerging Values of Humanity. Bretton Woods 75. Retrieved 2 Aug 2020.
- Beck, Don; Larsen, Teddy Hebo; Solonin, Sergey; Viljoen, Rica; Johns, Thomas Q. (29 May 2018). Spiral Dynamics in Action: Humanity's Master Code. Chester, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1119387183.
- Viljoen, Rica; Laubscher, Loraine I. (1 June 2015). "African Spirituality: Insights from the Cradle of Mankind". In Spiller, Chellie; Wolfgramm, Rachel (eds.). Indigenous Spiritualities at Work: Transforming the Spirit of Enterprise. Information Age Publishing. ISBN 978-1681231556.
- A.C. Beck et al (1972)
- Flowers and Hughes (1973)
- Graves (1974)
- Freinacht (2017), pp. 171, 305-350
- Görtz, D (September 5, 2018). Metamodern Values Explained: TEDxTUBerlin. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading.
- Freinacht (2017), pp. 211-247
- Freinacht (2017), pp. 305-350
- Lee, William R.; Cowan, Christopher C.; Todorovic, Natasha (eds.). "Chronology of Publications and Articles by Dr. Graves". Retrieved 3 Aug 2020.
- Cowan and Todorovic (2005), p. iv
- Graves (2005), pp. 5-6
- Graves (2005), p. 5
- Cowan and Todorovic (2005), p. v
- Cowan and Todorovic (2005), pp. v-x
References
- Beck, Arthur C.; et al. (Staff of the Institute for Business and Community Development, University of Richmond) (June 1972). "Clare W. Graves Theory of Levels of Human Existence and Suggested Managerial Systems for Each Level". In Beck, Arthur C.; Hillmar, Ellis D. (eds.). A Practical Approach to Organization Development Through MBO/Selected Readings. Addison-Wesley. pp. 168–181. ISBN 978-0-2010044-7-2.
- Beck, Don Edward; Cowan, Christopher C. (8 May 1996). Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1557869401.
- Butters, Albion (17 Nov 2015). "A Brief History of Spiral Dynamics". Approaching Religion. 5 (2): 67–78. doi:10.30664/ar.67574.
- Caspers, Svenja; Heim, Stefan; Lucas, Mark G.; Stephan, Egon; Fischer, Lorenz; Amunts, Katrin; Zilles, Karl (1 Apr 2011). "Moral Concepts Set Decision Strategies to Abstract Values". PLOS ONE. 6 (4): e18451. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...618451C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018451. PMC 3069966. PMID 21483767.
- Caspers, Svenja; Heim, Stefan; Lucas, Mark G.; Stephan, Egon; Fischer, Lorenz; Amunts, Katrin; Zilles, Karl (22 Aug 2012). "Dissociated Neural Processing for Decisions in Managers and Non-Managers". PLOS ONE. 7 (8): e43537. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...743537C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043537. PMC 3425477. PMID 22927984.
- Cook‐Greuter, Susanne R. (1 Dec 2004). "Making the Case for a Developmental Perspective". Industrial and Commercial Training. 36 (7): 275–281. doi:10.1108/00197850410563902.
- Cowan, Christopher C.; Todorovic, Natasha (2005). "Editors' Foreward". In Cowan, Christopher C.; Todorovic, Natasha (eds.). The Never Ending Quest. Santa Barbara, CA: ECLET Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9724742-1-4.
- Freinacht, Hanzi (10 Mar 2017). The Listening Society: A Metamodern Guide to Politics, Book One. Metamoderna. ISBN 978-8799973903.
- Graves, Clare W.; Huntley, W.C.; LaBier, Douglas (Feb 2002) [Written 1965]. Lee, William R. (ed.). "Personality Structures and Perceptual Readiness: An Investigation of Their Relationship to Hypothesized Levels of Human Existence". Union College, Schenectady, NY. Retrieved 3 Aug 2020.
- Graves, Clare W. (September–October 1966). "Deterioration of Work Standards". Harvard Business Review. 44 (5): 117–126.
- Graves, Clare W. (October 22–24, 1969). A Systems View of Values Problems. Systems Science & Cybernetics Conference. IEEE No. 69-C37-SSC.
- Graves, Clare W. (Fall 1970). "Levels of Existence: An Open System Theory of Values". Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 10 (2): 131–155. doi:10.1177/002216787001000205. S2CID 144532391.
- Graves, Clare W. (April 1974). "Human Nature Prepares for a Momentous Leap". The Futurist. pp. 72–87.
- Graves, Clare W. (2005). Cowan, Christopher C.; Todorovic, Natasha (eds.). The Never Ending Quest. Santa Barbara, CA: ECLET Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9724742-1-4.
- Hughes, Charles L.; Flowers, Vincent S. (March–April 1973). "Shaping Personnel Strategies to Disparate Value Systems". Personnel. 50 (2): 8–23.
- LaBier, Douglas (31 March 1971). Developments in the Application of The Graves Theory to Behavior Change and Psychotherapy. 9th Annual Convention of the National Society for Programmed Instruction. Rochester NY.
- Laloux, Frederic (20 Feb 2014). Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness. Nelson Parker. ISBN 978-2960133516.
- Lynch, Dudley; Kordis, Paul L. (1989). Strategy of the Dolphin: Scoring a Win in a Chaotic World. William Morrow & Co. ISBN 978-0688084813.
- Reitter, Nicholas (Jun 2018). "Clare W. Graves and the Turn of Our Times". Journal of Conscious Evolution. California Institute of Integral Studies. 11 (11). Article 5. Retrieved 5 Aug 2020.
- Rice, Keith E. (12 Jun 2018). "Clare W Graves' Research". Retrieved 3 Aug 2020.
- Wilber, Ken (16 May 2001). Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1570625541.
- Wilber, Ken (2006). Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World. Integral Books. ISBN 9781590303467.