Quadra Progression and Evolution
Personally I have felt for a long time now that the real relevance of Socionics as a theory lies not so much in identification of personal types as its use as a tool for a kind of sociological analysis. The quadras represent very discernible archetypes of social evolution that, in my opinion, apply to levels of evolution extending far beyond humanity's rather minor scope; in fact, I believe they are concepts of a highly universal order than demonstrate patterns observable on a vastly diverse range of scales and scopes. I think a very relevant and compelling example is the history of the evolution of life.
Let's start at the beginning.
The first life is postulated to have been created by chemical reactions in "primordial ooze." Heat would be a necessary element: a stroke of lightning, underwater hot water geyser, or simply the heat of random chemical reactions are prime suspects. Life began randomly, sporadically, and arose slowly as more and more of these similar interactions occurred. Eventually lifeforms would have begun to spread and interact. This is the Alpha phase, associated with the element of air, and the ideas of spontaneity, generativity, and new beginnings.
Slowly life begins to organize and collectivize: cells divide and generate, but also consume each other or act together. Some very accessible examples include the bacteria in our mouths and stomach, and the fact that mitochondrial DNA differs from other DNA in our bodies, a relic of its symbiotic evolution alongside the rest of our organs. Animals exist as collectives of organ systems, and they themselves collectivize and colonize. This is representative of the Beta quadra and the element of fire: the constant urge for growth, consumption, striving for higher heights using collective strategy and . If we compare with Gulenko's model of the progression of types (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin...-Benefit-Rings), I would actually say that the dawn of the internet puts us close to the age of LSI-dom in collective evolution: we are all now LITERALLY connected, able to transmit ideas, organize ourselves rapidly, and to begin the development and codification of our embodying cultural, social values as a world.
The next step is Gamma, and it gets harder to conceptualize because I think this is actually what we are coming upon now, or what we are on the brink of in terms of the evolution of life on earth. With the catastrophic passing of counterproductive experiments in peak collectivism such as the Crusades, Colonialism, and the World Wars, and the realization of its downfalls and shortcomings in the forms of government corruption, bureaucracy, rapid transmission of illness, and the intractability of the individuality of self-aware beings, we can see very clearly that the peak of our surface-area-to-volume experiment in terms of collective compression is approaching. We cannot go much further before not only our instincts, but also our realistic limits of functioning as a collective in terms of the resources necessary to sustain our increasingly tightly-knit and demanding projects, will lash back at us, and functionally necessitate that we, in simple terms, back the fuck down. We will being decentralizing at an increasing rate, and steady our attempts at advancing technologically. Water douses the fire of collective advancement, and brings more modest expectations, while still being fluid and therefore insisting on progress.
Delta is hard to picture. We really can't know, it's just not possible. What we can be sure of is that it will be the result of the decentralizing process, and that it will slowly disperse, descending into stagnation and over-stability, either petering out as dust between the stars in the great void, or renewing itself and being revitalized once again with a surge of new life.
Something important to remember is that this is the broadest scope of this cycle, and that the real nature of things is much more complex and intricate than this simple predictive pattern. Evolution is a progressive fractal, in a sense; the line that forms the spiral loops in on itself in the process:
The point is that we are always pushing forward, and this pattern will repeat itself as a mechanism of self-regulation many times during the course of the process, on infinitesimally small as well as inconceivably large scales. We also never know when the end will occur; it is a frail balance that is tested by nature over and over again, and will always be susceptible to permanent squashing at the whim of chaos. But despite this knowledge, there is a certainty to knowing that any situation has its parallels, and there have been so many that have come out alive and victorious despite overwhelming odds. This might all seem a bit overly romantic, but I think there is a real element of beauty to this kind of knowledge, a real reassurance in the universality of these cycles and the ultimate uncertainty that has held balance for longer than we can imagine.
.jpg)
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Gilly
