Consciousness

DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN CULTURE

TRIBAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Just as in biological evolution, where we see a human fetus grow through the stages of the entire tree of life as it develops in the womb, we can likewise see within the development of each human mind, a rough approximation of the evolution of human cultural history.

Each stage of consciousness is a natural worldview that arises from a specific set of values. These value stages behave like living dynamic systems that organize both entire human societies as well as the minds of the individuals who participate in those societies.

Each worldview or value stage arises in response to a given set of life conditions. So the life conditions of primitive survival result in one stage of consciousness, whereas coping with the problems of the modern world result in others. These stages are not “types of people,” they are types of consciousness within people. There are folks who exemplify these stages perfectly and others who defy categorization. In the developed world most people occupy more than one of these stages at different times—for most of us, these levels sound more in chords than in single notes. However, most people do find that they have a general center of gravity that can be identified within a specific level. As a brief overview, the tables below provide a comparative glimpse of the life conditions, the values, the enduring contributions, the pathologies, and the exemplary leaders of each of these stages of consciousness.

As described in each of these tables, every stage of cultural development has a healthy aspect and a pathological aspect—a dignity and a disaster.

TRIBAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Perceived Life Conditions:
A mysterious, threatening, and spirit-controlled world where spirits must be placated and fear drives many decisions

Worldview and Values:

Sacrifice self for kin, tribe and ancestors
Show allegiance to elders, customs, clan
Preserve sacred places, objects, rituals
Obey whims of mystical spirit beings

Contribution:
Family and kinship loyalty, a strong sense of the enchantment of the world, innocence, imagination, closeness to nature

Pathology:
Superstitious, violent, slavery to the group, docile, naive

Contemporary Examples:
Some indigenous peoples and children

Organizational Structure:
Tribe or Clan

Exemplary Leaders:
Chief Seattle, Chief Joseph

Estimated of World Population: 10%

WARRIOR CONSCIOUSNESS

Perceived Life Conditions:
Oppressive tribal control and pathology; craves honor. fears shame; the world is a jungle full of threats and predators–dog eat dog, bit or be bitten

Worldview and Values:

Express self, hell with others
Gratify impulses now, without guilt
Fight to gain control at any cost
Trust yourself and no one else

Contribution:
Individual empowerment, initiative, action orientation

Pathology:
Violent, ruthless, moral bankruptcy of egocentric ethics, always at war

Contemporary Examples:
Urban street gangs, Afghanistan

Organizational Structure:
Early Empires, warring hordes, gangs

Exemplary Leaders:
Alexander the great, Genghis Khan

Estimated of World Population: 15%

TRADITIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Perceived Life Conditions:
An “evil” world without law and order, a world where God’s law should reign supreme

Worldview and Values:

Sacrifice self for the One True Way
A “black & white” sense of right & wrong
Loyalty to the rules of the mythic order
Salvation through obedience and faith

Contribution:
Sense of civic duty, law & order, respect for authority. Strong moral regard for group members, preserves traditions, loyalty, hope and a strong sense of faith

Pathology:
Rigid intolerance, dogmatic fanaticism, extreme fundamentalism, chauvinism

Contemporary Examples:
Religious fundamentalism, extreme nationalism, conservative ideologies

Organizational Structure:
Feudalism, Dictatorships, Bureaucracy, Military-like organization

Exemplary Leaders: Billy Graham, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa

Estimated of World Population: 55%

MODERNIST CONSCIOUSNESS

Perceived Life Conditions:
Opportunities for a better standard of living and improved social position for the individual, need to escape oppressive dogmatic systems, need to demystify material world

Worldview and Values:

The “good life” and material abundance
Progress through science, technology and the “best” solution
Winning and competition
Individual autonomy and independence—liberty

Contribution to the Spiral:
Meritocracy, upward mobility; the middle class, excellence through competition, technology, scientific medicine, confidence in progress

Pathology:
Materialism, nihilism, exploitive, selfish greed

Contemporary Examples:
Corporate culture, modern science, mainstream media

Organizational Structure:
Democratic capitalism, corporations, strategic alliances

Exemplary Leaders: John F. Kennedy, Bill Gates, Margaret Sanger, Carl Sagan, Issac Newton

Estimated of World Population: 15%

POSTMODERN CONSCIOUSNESS

Perceived Life Conditions:
Presence of exploitive, corrupt hierarchy, environmental degradation, shallow materialism, suffering of others

Worldview and Values:

Inclusion of those previously marginalized or exploited
Consensus decisions making & egalitarianism
Environmentalism and preference for “natural”
Multiculturalism and spiritual diversity
Personal growth of the “whole person”
Sensitivity

Contribution:
Worldcentric morality, recognition of human potential, increased responsibility for people and the planet, compassion and inclusion, celebration of the feminine, renewed spiritual freedom and creativity

Pathology:
Value relativism, narcissism, denial of hierarchy, contempt of modernism

Contemporary Examples:
Progressive culture, critical academia, environmental movement, political correctness, the Netherlands

Organizational Structure:
Democratic socialism, consensus committees, self-directed teams

Exemplary Leaders:
John Lennon, John Muir, MLK, Margaret Mead, Joan Baez

Estimated of World Population: <5%

INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Perceived Life Conditions:
Conflict between at least 3 previous stages, looming global problems, failure of postmodernism to offer solutions

Worldview and Values:

New insight into the “internal universe”
Confidence in potential of evolutionary philosophy
Personal responsibility for problems of the world
Renewal appreciation of previous stages’ values
Appreciation of conflicting truth & dialectic reasoning
Aspiration for the harmonization of science & religion

Contribution to the Spiral:
Practical worldcentric morality, compassion for all worldviews, revival of philosophy, seeing spirituality in evolution, motivation to achieve significant results

Pathology:
Elitism, aloofness, lack of patience

Organizational Structure:
World Federalism, any structure appropriate for given life conditions (orgs. from any of the previous levels)

Exemplary Leaders: Albert Einstein, Thich Nhat Hanh, Teilhard de Chardin, Alfred North Whitehead, David Ray Griffin, Ken Wilber

Estimated of World Population: <1%