First Printed 1966
Copyright © 1966 J.G. Bennett
Coombe Springs Press Edition 1976
Claymont Communications Edition 1985

ISBN 0-934254-09-5

Claymont Communications

Box 112

Charles Town, W.Va.

25414

PREFACE

This third volume of The Dramatic Universe is to appear at the same
time as the fourth and last volume of a work which has been one of my
main interests for more than a third of a century.

It has been very hard to bring the work to a stop so that the results
could be published. This is in part due to a temperamental inability to
let well alone, but also and more significantly to a characteristic of the
period in which we live. This characteristic is discussed in the last chap-
ter of the work, where I refer to the explosion of progress that is coming
in every field, and that has gone out of man's control. When this work
was started thirty-five years ago, many notions that I had received from
Gurdjieff and other traditional sources about the nature of man and the
universe appeared to be unsupported speculations. The progress of
science and of psychology in the intervening period has made many of
these notions commonplaces of present-day thought.

There are still, however, a great number that are far ahead of our
time, but the human mind is catching up with its arrears of understand-
ing man and his world, and I hope that this work may help to provide a
framework for lines of thought that at present appear to be unconnected
and yet which by their very nature ought to be built into a coherent
structure. In former times philosophers, and to an even greater degree
theologians, could write about God, man and the universe in a more or
less stationary climate of thought as to the natural order. Man was the
summit of creation, the earth was the centre of the universe. Man had
a single indivisible soul, right and wrong were clearly defined unchange-
able realities. For the philosophers God either existed or did not exist,
but there was no middle path between faith and unbelief. We have passed
through a period when all absolute notions have broken down and the
world is now driving forward with a new dynamism of thought and
action that makes the facts of today the myths of tomorrow, and also
sometimes the myths of yesterday the accepted realities of the present.
In the world of science this explosive situation is creating an almost
insoluble problem of communication. One attempt to meet this is by
the publication of progress reports in the different scientific disciplines.
These have the advantage of being explicitly ephemeral and subject to
revision the following year. If I could have done the same with the
Dramatic Universe—that is, the study of man, the world and God—

my task would have been much easier. This present book has been
written and re-written often enough to have made a whole series of
progress reports on our researches into these themes. These researches
during the last twenty years have been conducted at Coombe Springs
at the Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and
the Sciences, which has provided a meeting point for people interested
in all three sides of the problem, that is, the problem of man and his
nature, the problem of the universe and the natural order and scientific
progress, and the problem of the ultimate purpose of our existence which
is the heart of theology. Thanks to many fortunate circumstances, we
have had access to traditional sources which show that in the past men
have understood better some of the questions that we are still struggling
with, though they formulated both their questions and their under-
standing in terms that we find hard to follow. We have also been
fortunate in our connections with the world of science, especially of the
physical sciences, where the human mind has discovered the limitations
of its ability to apprehend the reality of the natural world.

The new discipline of Systematics briefly described in the second
volume has now flourished into a thriving field of research affecting
education, the integration of natural sciences, history, art and politics.
The present state of our understanding of this discipline is reported in
the first chapter of this volume. Had this book been published twelve
months earlier, the chapter would have been very different, and no
doubt twelve months hence we shall have found improvements and
new applications.

In the following chapter the Systematics of Value has been developed.
Comparing this with the Systematics of Factual Categories of Volume I,
it can be seen that the foundations were already there twenty years ago,
but a great deal of progress has been made.

Passing on to the fifteenth part of the work, we have three chapters
on man. The first is an attempt to set up a general anthropology applic-
able to all phases of human life. This is a most necessary undertaking,
though almost impossibly difficult of achievement. Partial anthropologies,
such as are being used in various specialized fields, can lead to absurd
misunderstandings. This Chapter, number 39, is from my point of
view one of the most unsatisfactory of the whole book, because it
attempts to compress into thirty or forty pages what needs a volume to
itself if it is to be adequately presented. Moreover, new discoveries
constantly being made require rather a series of progress reports than
the static form of a treatise.

Chapter 40 on the Life Cycle of a Man presents fewer difficulties

because it is based upon the actual experience of many decades of study
of the process of transformation from conception to death, and in this
field we have a great deal of material and it has been carefully sifted and
tested against experience.

The last chapter of this volume is again tentative and more theoretical
than practical, because it deals with the ideal structure of human society
according to systematic principles and what we can learn from history
and the experience of the modern world.

The decision to divide the end of this work into two volumes was
taken because of the inordinate length of the historical section. It should,
however, be clear that the chapters on history are really the key to
understanding the whole work, so that in a sense this third volume is a
preparation for the last volume which seeks to answer the question posed
at the beginning of the book; for what purpose do we men exist on the
earth, and how are we to fulfil it?

In reading again what I have written, I am aware of the heavy demand
it makes upon the reader's willingness to take a great deal of trouble to
work out ideas that are presented summarily and often without the
illustrations and examples that are needed to show how they work in
practice. Many sections are little more than precis of original versions
far too long to be included. I have been obliged to eliminate hundreds of
references to authorities and quotations that might have helped to con-
vince the reader that we are on the right lines.

The only—but I hope valid—excuse that I can offer is that the under-
taking is far beyond the scope of a single work by a single author. I
firmly believe that the undertaking is necessary and that it will have to
be carried through by those more competent to do so than myself. With
the prodigious transformations of human experience of the twentieth
century, we must needs recast all our views, beliefs and even our forms
of thought regarding man, the universe and God. No single notion,
theory or expression that has reached us from earlier centuries will stand
without revision. And the revision must be total and totally coherent.
It cannot be made piecemeal because every part of our experience is
relevant to every other part. We are living in an age of change un-
precedented in human history by its rapidity. For the first time since
man appeared on the earth, the entire environment of human existence
is changing out of recognition within a single lifetime. The static and
absolute world picture of earlier centuries is useless in such a situation
and must be replaced by dynamic and relative notions that can adapt to
the changing world. All our ideas without exception and all our modes of
thought and even our methods of enquiry and communication must be

thrown into the fire and only those that come through will serve the
needs of mankind. Even these will have to be fused into a new unity. In
the present work, I have set myself to show that an unified world picture
can be constructed that embraces all human experience and all human
knowledge as it presents itself to us in the second half of the twentieth
century. The picture must, of necessity, be defective; but this is not so
important as the demonstration that some sort of total picture is possible.
The possibility turns largely upon discarding views of space, time and
matter, of life, evolution and consciousness, of causality and purpose and
of a 'Knowable Universe' or an 'Absolute Reality' that have been held
for centuries and are still held though less tenaciously by most philoso-
phers, scientists and theologians. In place of these views, I offer the
notions of a six-dimensional physical universe, of the triadic nature of
all experience, of systematics generally, and of the Universe itself as
uncertain and hazardous by the very fact that it exists at all. I believe
that these notions are consistent with all that we discover in our human
experience both private and collective and that even if much is still
speculative and unverifiable, the progress of human understanding will
show that some such view of the world will have to be adopted if we are
to achieve the harmony of science, including anthropology, history in-
cluding human origins, philosophy including ontology and religion in-
cluding the unification of all creeds and practices. Nothing less than such
an all-embracing harmony can satisfy the soul of man.

In my faltering attempts to accomplish so vast a task, I have been
helped above all by my own students and collaborators at the Institute
for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and the Sciences. I
must single out Mr. Anthony Blake, who has made himself more
familiar with the undertaking than I would dare claim to be myself.
Mrs. Dee Chalmers and Mr. John Bristow have worked hard to bring
order into the confused presentation of palaeontology, archaeology and
history. The Research Fellows of the Institute, headed by Mr. Anthony
Hodgson, have taken part in innumerable discussions and conducted
many seminars that have helped to clarify one or another theme, speci-
ally those bearing upon Systematics. The many diagrams have been
drawn by Mr Ian McCoig, the Hon. Secretary of the Institute. I am
deeply indebted to him for nearly eight months' work done in his scanty
spare time. Mrs. Joan Edwards has typed, corrected and retyped the
entire work at least ten times in fifteen years: her persistence and skill
place me greatly in her debt. Finally, I must express once again my
appreciation of the patience and forebearance of my publishers who have
borne with me for twenty years since we first signed the contract for

the publication of this work. During these twenty years, the patience of
angels might have been exhausted: but I have never had a word from
them save of encouragement and support. They and I are well aware
that such an undertaking as this makes money for no one and that one
does not expect recognition in one's own lifetime. If some of the notions
developed prove fruitful and contribute to the great reconstruction of
human thinking that is bound to come during the next century, I shall
have accomplished all that I could hope.

We have tried to mitigate the difficulties of the reader by dividing the
subject matter into parts, chapters, sections, and sub-sections, and pro-
viding an extended Table of Contents. We have also made use of bold
type to draw attention to neologisms or words used with a special
meaning. Italics are used for emphasis, for words and phrases in other
languages than English. Quotation marks are used for extracts from
other writings, for direct speech and also to indicate that a word is
treated as a symbol rather than as a linguistic element.

J. G. BENNETT
June 1966

FOURTH BOOK
SYSTEMATICS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Part Fourteen
SYSTEMS

Chapter Thirty-seven
THE STRUCTURE OF THE WORLD

14.37.1. Organized Complexity

An outstanding characteristic of our time is the rapid growth of our
knowledge of the world we live in. The more we learn, the more we
become aware of its endless complexity. A drop of water contains a
million, million atoms and each of these atoms is an intricate array of
sub-atomic particles and waves. The Milky Way, which to the naked
eye consists of a few thousand stars, reveals itself to the modern tele-
scope as more than a hundred thousand million stars as great as our
sun, clouds of dust and atoms beyond all counting, and electro-magnetic
and radiation fields of extreme complexity. The proteins and nucleic
acids which build our bodies are molecules of such marvellous intricate
patterns as to make notions of an earlier generation of chemists appear
like kindergarten stuff. The greater the complexity, the stronger also
the evidence that this world is no chaos of atoms in random motion,
but a highly organized, integrated structure. We have grown out of the
atomism of the nineteenth century, without half realizing the implica-
tions of our new mental horizons.

For more than a hundred generations, speculations about the nature
of Reality and the scientific, practical and social activity of mankind have
been dominated by the conviction that truth must be simple; and that,
when seen, it cannot fail to be accepted. Thus, the Greeks saw that the
sphere was the simplest figure and concluded that it must be the most
perfect and hence that the heavenly bodies must move in spheres. For
nearly twenty centuries, this assumption paralysed astronomy until
Kepler demonstrated that the less 'simple' elliptical orbit was nearer the
truth. Celestial Mechanics by the time of Laplace had already lost all
its hoped-for simplicity; but the belief in simplicity was far too deeply
rooted to be abandoned and, in the principle of stationary action,
mathematicians of the early nineteenth century believed that they had
found a simple and ultimate law that governs all free motions and could
apply to all that exists. Today, the laws of motion—renamed General
Field Theory — are seen to be so complicated and are formulated in
such abstruse terms that only a handful of mathematicians profess to
understand them.

The early Greek philosophers pictured the atoms as simple, homo-
geneous, indestructible particles differing only in shape and size. Belief
in the simplicity of the atoms gave way as late as the present century.
Now, we have a profusion of sub-atomic particles, waves and quanta and
quite unintelligible notions that prevail only because they have proved
useful in practice. Complexity has routed simplicity and truth in physics
is anything in the world but self-evident.

Aristotle set up a system of nature which offered a simple account of
all that was known about the world. Today sciences have so proliferated
that no one even knows the main outlines of all of them—let alone their
detailed and evergrowing content.

One might have expected that scientists and philosophers everywhere
would, by now, have agreed to replace the doctrine of simplicity, by one
of the limitless diversity and complexity of the natural order. The reason
why this has not happened is probably two-fold. On the one hand, it
looks like a confession of failure, an admission that the task of under-
standing the world is beyond us. On the other hand, general laws are
being discovered that seem to hold promise of bringing all the diversity
into some kind of universal order which, if not simple, will at least be
within the power of man to grasp. Such modes of thought are relics of
the past and fail to take account of the truly overwhelming complexity
of the world we are beginning to explore. The confidence that we feel
in the scientific method is no longer based upon well-established
universal laws—note that almost every such law that a hundred years
ago appeared secure forever has since proved seriously defective—but
rather upon the unexpressed conviction that, behind the bewildering
diversity and complexity of phenomena, there is an organized structure
that holds them all together.

This conviction is shared by tens of thousands of scientists who
would indignantly repudiate any interest in understanding the world as a
whole. Scientists not only specialize, but take pride in narrowing their
field of research in order to deal with it successfully. The method has
produced such marvellous results that it seems to justify the philo-
sophical outlook that rejects as 'metaphysics' the search for total
explanations; and yet the method itself could not succeed if there were
not an organized structure that connects each specialized part to the
whole and also to every other part, and, especially, to the scientist
himself.

In the main field of practical application of the results of science,
that is in industrial technology, the importance of organization and
structure is self-evident. In the most advanced industrial countries,

more and more attention is being paid to the theory of structures and
less and less to the search for universal laws. The same is true in the
field of economics and politics. The processes of modern life are bring-
ing about changes that are practical and realistic, rather than theoretical
and philosophical. One consequence of this is that our modes of thought
and expression lag behind our practical activity. We act structurally,
but we continue to think and to speak analytically and even atomically.
One of the tasks we set ourselves in Vol. I, was to seek for modes of
expression that would enable us to see and think in terms of wholeness
and structure rather than of atoms and laws. We saw that this meant
going beyond the dualistic language and logic that are our Indo-
European heritage. The notion of multi-term systems enabled us to
attempt a reformation of language, and in this we were helped by the
realization that it was necessary to break through the limitations of time
and space. In the present volume, we must carry our task further in
order to make a synthesis of the notions given by the several systems
separately. In doing so, we shall find structures common to man and
the world and finally interpret them in history. Man is an organized
complex, so is the world and so is its self-realization in history.

14.37.2. Structures and Systems

It is no accident that recognition of the importance of structure has
come, not by way of speculative philosophy or logical reasoning, but
by the pressure of practical needs. We apprehend structures far more by
the power of understanding than by knowledge. Knowledge is confined
to Fact.*

The Domain of Fact does not include transformation, which belongs
to the Domain of Harmony. In this sense, knowing and understanding
are powers that belong to quite different regions of experience and this
suggests the surprising, but correct, conclusion that structures are not
objects of knowledge, and that their true place is in the Domain of
Harmony. We do not know structures, but we know because of struc-
tures.

Facts, that are no more than facts, are atomic and unrelated except
by general laws. That is how the world was studied until the middle of
the present century. Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) and Clark
Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (1873) were magnificent
swan-songs of a dying age of science when it had seemed possible to

[* Cf. Vol. I., p. 63, and chapter 5. Vol. II, pp. 21-23: 'What we know as Fact is the
process of the universe governed by laws.']

explain the whole by the part and to account for the facts, without
regard to the purposive action that makes them possible.

We are now in the midst of a mental revolution, and as with all
revolutions, its true significance escapes those most deeply involved.
We are being forced to look at every kind of problem in a new way;
that is, in terms of structures rather than of general laws. Scientists
and philosophers are not alone in fighting a rearguard action against the
revolution. In every department of human life, the ancient strongholds
are being surrendered reluctantly and usually after they have ceased to
matter. Men pay lip service to doctrines of 'integration', 'unification',
'oecumenism' and to the proposition that excessive specialization has
become a menace to society; but, in practice, the changes come before
the people concerned consent and usually before they realize what is
happening.

We are thus in a stage of confusion due to the inadequacy of our
modes of thought. We continue to think in terms of atomic concepts
linked by logical implications and empirical laws. This approach can
never lead to the understanding of structures whose significance lies
in their organized complexity, not in their susceptibility to destructive
analysis into elements and laws. We have seen in the earlier chapters,
that understanding is the subjective aspect of will and knowledge is
the subjective aspect of function.* We can 'know' structures only in
their functional properties; whereas we 'understand' them in their
working. This working is very much more than actualization in time,
for it concerns what things are and not simply how they change.

Structures link Fact and Value, and they are consequently always
interesting. The elements of structures in isolation or connected by
general laws are only shadows of reality and there is always a step to be
made in order to pass from knowing about them to becoming aware of
the structures in themselves. The problems of knowledge—how we
know, what we know, what knowing is—all arise because of the in-
herent incompleteness of any possible knowledge. No such problems
arise in understanding structures. This is not to suggest that under-
standing is easier than knowing; but that the difficulties in the way of
understanding are of an altogether different kind. We understand by a
mental act that is synthetic and creative; whereas we know by an act
that is analytic and automatic. These mental acts must be projected
into the mind and the mind must be able to experience them sensitively

[* Cf. Vol. I, pp. 62-4. Knowledge was defined as the ordering of function. Ordering
is an operation performed upon the data whereas understanding is a transformation
within the data.]

as images and consciously as judgments.* Some degree of understanding
must always be present for effectual action in the world. It follows that
understanding understanding is of great practical importance; but there
has been little research into the nature of understanding and into the
possibility of developing it, until the growth of complex organizations
has in recent years forced it upon the attention of practical men. It
continues to be neglected by philosophers.

The need for more understanding is not confined to organization
theory and systems engineering. It lies at the root of our central problem
of elucidating the nature and destiny of man. We have not neglected the
task in the earlier volumes of the present work. The first indications of a
technique of understanding came with the notion of multi-term
systems introduced in Vol. I and developed further in Vol. II.+ The
theory of eternal patterns is a projection in analytical terms of a way of
looking at complex structures that cannot be reduced to functional
terms.++

A common characteristic of these varied techniques is the recognition
that structure is a primary element of experience and not something that
is added by the mind. In this respect, it can be said that the techniques
of understanding call for a drastic revision of the usual modes of
thought that treat being and understanding as independent or at least
as separable from one another.

In the study of structures, we cannot separate what we understand
from what we are, nor can we separate what a thing is from the way it is
known. Since no human mind has a synthetic and creative power great
enough to reproduce as a mental image the total organized complexity
of the world presented to us from moment to moment we need a
means of simplifying the task. This is provided by Systematics.
Systematics is the study of structures as simplified totalities. Analytics
breaks structures down into their simplest elements and looks for the
connections between these elements. Systematics takes the connections
is primary and the elements as secondary.§ This is a very difficult

* The four energies involved; automatic, sensitive, conscious and creative are de-
scribed in Vol. II, Chapter 32 and in greater detail in J. G. Bennett's Energies, Material,
Vital and Cosmic, London, 1962. The 'mind' of man is discussed in Chapter 39 below
and the history of mind is the main theme of Chapters 45-48.

+ Cf. Vol. I, Chapter I, pp. 26-28, and Vol. II, Introduction, pp. 3-10.

++ Cf. Vol. I, p. 10, the connection between Knowing and Being and also the
notion of the organism, p. 381.

§ This discipline has been developed in recent years by the author and his co-workers
at the Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and the Sciences.
The quarterly journal SYSTEMATICS, which began publication in 1963, is devoted
to this discipline and its practical applications.]

mental exercise for people trained in analytical thinking; but it is
beginning to make its way into several fields. We shall in the present
chapter, develop the systematic approach as far as is needed for our
subsequent studies.

For convenience, we shall state some of our earlier conclusions.*

1.  A system is a set of independent but mutually relevant terms.
The relevance of the terms requires them to be compatible. No one
term of a system can be understood without reference to all the others.

2.  The order of a system is given by the number of terms. A system
of the first order, or one-term system, is called a monad. Second,
third, fourth, etc. order systems are called dyads, triads, tetrads, etc.

3.  In systems, there are no fixed meanings attributable to the terms,
which depend upon the structure of the system as a whole, so the various
connectivities are common to all systems of the same order.

4.  Every system exemplifies modes of connectedness that are typical
of the number of terms. Thus there are zero connectivities in a monad,
one in a dyad, three in a triad, six in a tetrad, ten in a pentad, fifteen in
a hexad and 1/2n (n— 1) in an n-term system. If the connectivities are
distinguished according to direction, the number is doubled. All the
connectivities are significant and must be taken into account if the
structure represented by the system is to be understood.

5.  Each order of system is associated with a particular mode of
experiencing the world, called the Systemic Attribute.

The Monad gives totality—without distinction of parts, hence
universality as the systemic attribute.

The Dyad gives difference without degrees, hence complementar-
ity

The Triad gives relatedness without relativity and hence dynamism

as distinct from force.

The Tetrad gives structured activity and combines relativity and
order, and hence activity as distinct from potential.

The Pentad gives significance both inner and outer: hence also
potentiality as distinct from actual occurrences. Here entities make
their first appearance in the scheme of understanding.

The Hexad gives structure capable of transformation without loss of
identity, hence recurrence and the character of events and so the his-
torical character of experience. The systemic attribute is called
coalescence.

The Heptad gives completeness combined with distinctions of
quality: hence transformation.

[* Most of the references are to Vol. II Introduction.]

The Octad gives the property whereby a structure can be understood
in and for itself without reference to other structures, hence completed-
ness.

The higher systems have further complexities and attributes.

6.  The mutual relevance of all the terms of a system requires that
they should be of the same logical type and make contributions to the
systemic attribute of one and the same kind. This we shall indicate by
a common designation. Thus the terms of a dyad will be called its
poles, those of a triad, its impulses, those of a tetrad its sources and
so on.

7.  The independence of the terms of a system requires that each
should have a distinctive character. An important part of the study of
systems consists in identifying the term characters of systems of a
given order. The general characters common to all systems are to be
further specified in respect of the particular system under review.

8.  The mutual relevance of terms of a complex system can be found,
to a first approximation, by taking all the terms in pairs. These are called
the first-order connectivities. In a dyad there will be one, in a triad
three, in a tetrad six and in an n-term system 1/2 n (n— 1) first order
connectivities. Connectivities of a higher order can be studied as sub-
systems from the tetrad onwards. This procedure is adopted whenever
circumstances require it.*

These brief descriptions will be amplified later. We must, however,
draw attention here to a defect in the presentation of Systematics in the
earlier volumes. We failed to show the connection between systems and
structures as we now see to be both necessary and possible. We took
the notion of systems to be primary and that of structures derivative.
This was a mistaken view. The organized complexity of the world
resides in the structures that we discover both in our perceptions and in
our mental processes. Whereas in knowing the world, we have to
introduce signs and symbols to connect the mental picture with the
perception; in understanding, the connection is common to the mind
and its objects. The division into elements and laws, or 'things' and their
'behaviour' destroys the structure that must be built up again by a
mental process. When we look at structures with the help of systematic
forms, we retain the coherence and so no 'rebuilding' is needed.

We can describe systems as the forms of structure, but no one
system taken alone can exemplify the organized complexity of real
structures. We usually need to take more than one system into account

[* We shall find an example in the next chapter in the scheme of values where the main
system is a dodecad, but can best be studied as four triads, three tetrads or two hexads.]

in order to gain the insights needed for understanding any existing
structure that we find. According to the aspect of structure that happens
to be relevant to a given purpose, a system of one order may be more
useful than another. It has been found that for purposes of practical
utility, the systems fall naturally in groups of four. The first four from
the monad to the tetrad help us to see how structures work. The
systems from pentad to octad show why they work and how they enter
into the pattern of Reality. The third group from the ennead to the
dodecad is mainly concerned with the harmony of structures: that is,
the conditions that enable them to fulfil their destined purpose.

For many purposes, we can understand what is needed by consider-
ing only the first four systems in a given structure. When we need to
understand what the structure is, why it exists and what it is intended
for, we must take higher systems into account.

Structures that are in process of transformation lead into societies
and communities which are more concrete than structures and usually
too complex to be described in terms of systems alone.*

14.37.3. The Properties of Systems

The series of multi-term systems is a progression such that each
system implies all the earlier ones and requires those that follow. We
cannot understand the triad unless we already grasp the notions of
universality and complementarity and the dynamism of the triad is not
realized without the activity of the tetrad.

The later systems are not only more complex and more highly
organized than the earlier ones; they embody an understanding of
reality that is more comprehensive and practical. The progression is
from abstractness towards concreteness. The monad which defines a
structure, but tells us nothing about it, is more abstract than the dyad
which enables us to see how the polarity of the structure is formed.
Polarity is a less concrete attribute than dynamism. Only with the
pentad do we reach a degree of concreteness that allows us to define an
entity. This, incidentally, illustrates the difference between knowing
and understanding. For knowledge, entities appear to be simple notions.
Things, beings, societies are entities that we know by their names;
but this does not mean that we understand what they are, why they are
or how they are. As we shall see in a later section, the five terms of the
pentad are needed to give substance to the notion of an entity. Again,
we have in all concrete situations uncertainties, hazards and varying
degrees of success in surmounting them. Such situations cannot be
[* This will be elaborated in Chapter 41.]

adequately, that is concretely, investigated without reference to nine-
term systems.

We have, then, a progress from abstract to concrete that is expressed
in the systemic attributes. Not all structures exemplify all stages of the
progression to the same degree. A given structure may exemplify one
attribute strongly and others weakly. Thus we may have a structure
that can be understood very well as an activity (tetrad), but not so well
as a coalescence (hexad). We should call such a structure weak in the
hexad and strong in the tetrad.

The use of the expressions 'weak' and 'strong' is intended to convey
the connection between understanding and will. A structure that fails
to exemplify a system can be regarded as lacking in the will to exemplify
it. An act of decision is needed to bring together the terms of a tetrad
so as to produce and maintain a specific activity. Again, significance is
not a quality that belongs to the experience of one who studies an
activity, nor is it inherent in activity as such. In order to be significant
there must be a decisive concentration of purpose at a central point.
By this decision, the activity acquires meaning in its own right and so
becomes an 'entity'. By another act of will, the entity asserts its own
independent reality and so becomes strong in the hexad.

One other general property of systems remains to be considered. This
we shall refer to as term-adequacy. If the terms of a system cannot be
clearly discerned in a given structure, the required characters will be
lacking and the system in question is then inadequately represented. To
illustrate the point, let us take the three terms: father-mother-child.
It is easy to see that the father adequately represents the affirming im-
pulse, the mother the receptive and the child the reconciling. Compare
this with three terms: man-fish-tree. The terms very inadequately
represent the character of the triad. Only in an insignificant group of
situations, will the three elements exemplify the attribute of dynamism.
If, however, we add a fourth term, man-fish-stream-tree, we can pic-
ture an activity of a man fishing in the shade of a tree that is quite an
adequate tetrad. The motivational terms are represented by man and
fish and the instrumental terms by stream and tree. In this case the
tetrad must be strong in order to exemplify its attribute. The man must
have the will to catch the fish and the fish the will to stay in the water.

We have these three conditions to fulfil in order to have a well-
defined system associated with a structure:

1.  The structure must exemplify the systemic attribute.

2.  The term characterization must be adequate.
3. The system must be strongly willed.

We shall not further discuss the properties of systems in general, but
proceed to examine each member of the series in turn. In doing so, we
must remember that our purpose is to understand structures and that
systems are means to this end. The study of systems is useful only in so
far as it helps our understanding.

14.37.4. The Monad

We have defined the Universe of Existence as the sum of all possible
situations. In doing so, we imply that it is an organized complexity; for
without organization there would be no meaning to the word 'possible'
and, without complexity there could be no 'situations'. This universe,
as it presents itself to us in our immediate experience, is not separated
into subjective and objective realities, but simply is what it is. We can
express this by saying that the first stage in coming to terms with any
or all experience is to see the Universe as a Monad.

The monad is an undifferentiated diversity. We meet this satte of
affairs whenever we turn our attention to a new situation, large or small.
The monadic character of the universe as a totality, is present in all its
parts. Every such part appears in its immediacy as an undifferentiated
totality of which we know nothing except that it is what it is. But, side
by side with this bare knowledge, we are led on, by the conviction that
it is a structure, to hope to understand it by examining its content more
closely. This combination of confused immediacy and the expectation
of finding an organized structure gives the monad a progressive charac-
ter. It is what it is, but it holds promise of being more than it appears
to be.

This starting point is very important for the development of under-
standing. We shall call it the act of identifying the monad. The act
requires both cognition and judgment, that is Fact and Value, and so
takes us into the Domain of Harmony.* We do not yet know anything
clearly, but we can select a particular region out of the totality to be our
field of study, understanding and action. If the region is primarily
composed of mental images associated with words, we call it an 'uni-
verse of discourse'. If it is a class of objects, we call it a 'population'.
If it is a complex of energies, we call it a 'field'. If it is a situation re-
quiring action, we call it a 'problem'. Common to all of these descrip-
tive names is the property of challenging our capacity for understanding.

We shall use the following terminology:

[* As defined in Vol. II, Chapter 25.]

One-term System: MONAD

Systemic Attribute: UNIVERSALITY

Term Designation: TOTALITY

Term Character: DIVERSITY IN UNITY

The monad, as we understand it, is very different from the entities
of Leibniz' monadology which are simple and closed to one another.
Our monads are parts of the whole universe distinguished from the rest
by acts of attention or determination. Even the total Monad, which is
the Universe of Existence, is not isolated from Non-existence. The
possible and the impossible regions are not rigorously circumscribed, but
interpenetrate and interact at every point. Every situation is indefinitely
outlined and the indefiniteness is inseparable from the character of the
monad. The monad is not defined by a sharp impenetrable boundary—
either material or conceptual. It is unified by its total character.

Consider, as an example, a home: it is not precisely defined in extent,
in activity, in human occupants or material contents. All these are
liable to change and they can do so without 'breaking up the home'
providing the total character of 'homeliness' remains unimpaired. It is
an ill-defined yet structured whole. In appearance it is seen as a dwelling
occupying such a place at such a time, furnished in such a way, with a
family living in it comprised of such and such people. Its identity is not
confined to its own boundary: its influence upon the surrounding world
and its ever-changing activities are equally among the recurrent ele-
ments by which we recognize it and give it a name. But it is not a home
just because it is a collection of material objects and living beings. The
unity in diversity that characterizes it is the 'reality' of the home. To
understand a home we must take this totality into our attention. This
establishes the monad.

The appearance of the monad must be distinguished from the content
of the structure. The home as a structure is more than a monad. It has
a form that comprises several systems and its content depends upon the
degree of coherence and harmony with which the appearances agree
with the form.

It might seem from this that we find the monad through the appear-
ance, and not through the reality, of the structure. In a sense, this is
true and must always be so. The appearance is given to us by a process
that is almost automatic. The recurrent elements which go to comprise
it are there in us and in the situation itself. Almost always, they are our
first contact with the structure. But this does not mean that the monad
is no more than the sum of the appearances. We can use the word

'intuition' to distinguish the perception of structures from 'knowledge'
of appearances. There is a necessary intuitive step involved in establish-
ing any monad. This consists in recognizing the object as a significant
whole that can be understood for what it is and not only for what it
appears to be.

How then are monads to be recognized? In many cases, evident
wholeness is a sufficient indication. The example of a home suggests
others of the same kind. Coherent structures whether natural or man-
made can be monads—though sometimes they are so weak in content
as to give little material for understanding. A man and every other living
organism is a monad. So are celestial bodies such as planets, solar
systems, galaxies, up to and including the Universe as a whole. All these
examples have in common the property of being aggregates of matter
and energy—in other words, they 'exist' in the ordinary sense of the
word. As we extended* the concept of energy to include vital and
cosmic energies, and as matter can always be regarded as a state of
energy we can accept as monads intangible, yet existing, wholes such as
mental constructions, theories, modes of thought, providing these are
found actually present in the form of patterns of energy and activity
interacting with the rest of the world. An idea cannot be a monad unless
it is associated with some situation actually existing in time and
space.

An alternative test for monads is to look for the possibility of an act
of understanding. If we hold that only structures can be understood (not
recurrent elements) and if we must always approach understanding
through the monad, we are forced to conclude that nothing can be
understood unless it exists. This does not agree with the ordinary use
of language, for we speak of understanding abstract ideas, theories,
states of mind, without necessarily implying that they 'exist' somewhere.
On careful reflection, we can satisfy ourselves that to grasp the meaning
of an abstract idea does not amount to an act of understanding. We begin
to understand only when we can see this idea in a concrete situation—
in other words when it becomes a monad.

To understand is an act of the will. It cannot be made in the void,
out of contact with things as they are. It cannot even be made in the
semi-void of recurrent elements where we are in contact only with the
appearances of things. This is one reason why we have to distinguish
systems from generalizations that can be studied and known in the
abstract. In grasping a monad, an act is required that goes beyond
knowing. This act makes a connection between two real structures—

[* Cf., Vol. II, Chapter 32.]

one is the understanding monad with the will to understand and the
other is the presented monad with its will to be understood. The act,
and nothing else, cuts through the barrier of subjectivism which
prevents us from knowing whether anything exists or has existed
except our own momentary state of mind. The distinction we have made
between knowing and understanding is so alien to views that are held
without question, that its importance can easily be disregarded. In
metaphysics, it has been customary for centuries to distinguish between
epistemology, the study of knowing, and ontology, the study of being.
This division leaves out of account the study of willing, and it totally
disregards the obvious fact of experience that our degree of connected-
ness or relatedness with other objects depends upon an act of will, and
not upon the interpretation of recurrent elements that gives us know-
ledge of or about them—or, upon our intuitions of being.

The study of Systematics is, therefore, as much a training of the will
as of the powers of perception and thought. It does not add to our
knowledge, but it develops our power of understanding. It starts with
the act, already discussed, of selecting the field or establishing the
monad. This act takes us into the Domain of Harmony where Fact and
Value lose their distinctive character in order to become a 'new
reality'.

The indefiniteness of the monad is relative. It can be made to con-
verge towards definition in two ways. One is to prescribe its content and
the other to specify what it excludes. One method says: 'this, and this
and this. . . .' The other says: 'Not that, nor that, nor that. . . .' Neither
method selects the monad itself: for this is done by fixing attention
upon its specific character, as we did just now in describing the monad
"home'. The selection of the monad is primary; enumeration of contents
and exclusions are secondary. The method of enumeration tends to
reduce the monad to the status of fact. That of exclusion tends to make
it the object of a value judgment. Nevertheless, both methods are
necessary in order to see what is relevant to the situation we seek to
understand. We can usually distinguish relevant from irrelevant ele-
ments in terms of scale. For example, in establishing the monad of the
human body we should take account of the limbs and organs and func-
tions that are relevant for the body as a whole. We should not break
these down into processes, tissues, cells, chemical complexes, atoms,
fields, for these subordinate constituents belong to subordinate monads.
Even so, the task can seldom be accomplished satisfactorily. The
alternative method consists in examining the points of contact between
the monad and its environment. This is called 'seeing it in its various

worlds'.* Returning to the example of the human body, we can say that
it belongs to the worlds of material objects, of living organisms, of
sentient beings, of man, of space and time and a few others. All these
worlds contribute something to the significance of the monad and to the
possibility of understanding it.

These two methods lead to an inner and outer approximation of the
monad. They can give us nothing to work on unless we recognize the
character that unifies the situation.

Any situation to which we direct our attention is a monad, but some
exemplify the systemic attribute of universality more strongly than
others. The strongest monads are those whose complex organization is
unmistakable. Such outstanding structures are often called cosmoses.
In this sense, we refer to man as a microcosm+ and the universe as the
macrocosm. The adequacy of a monad turns upon the combination of
diversity and unity. Neither alone give the true character of the one-
term system. It will be evident that the identification of monads that are
both strong and adequate is an important step towards understanding
ourselves and the world.

14.37.5. The Dyad

The two ways of developing the monad disclose an ambiguity.
Although ideally they might lead to the same result, in practice this
can never happen for it would be impossible to carry either procedure
far enough. Since understanding is a matter of the will and therefore
nothing if not practical, we have to conclude that no monad can ever be
completely established. The difficulty is not one of approximation, as,
for example, we can know the square root of two in numerical terms to
any degree of accuracy we wish. The two procedures converge but do
not coincide except at the limit when everything has been taken into
account. Hence, the aphorism: 'To understand anything one must
know everything'. For practical purposes, we arrive at two opposite
views of the situation according to whether we are looking inward or
outward. Knowledge of what A is not is usually very different from
knowledge of what A is.

The ambiguity lies, not in the limitation of our power to grasp any
given situation, but in the very nature of things. The word universality

[* This technique is applied in some detail to the anthropological monad Man in
chapter 39 below.                                       

+ Cf. Hallam Hist. Lit. quoted N.E.D. 'The doctrine of a constant analogy between
universal nature, or the macrocosm, and that of man or the microcosm.' Cf. also
Disraeli Vivian Grey 'the microcosm of a public school'.]

which we take as the attribute of the monad, and interpret as unity in
diversity, conceals a contradiction. Every monad is a contradiction,
for it presents itself with a claim to self-sufficiency and yet depends
upon everything other than itself in order to be itself.

If we go back a stage, and consider the nature of structures, we find
that the contradiction is at the very root of understanding. Every
structure has a two-fold nature: one nature makes it what it is and the
other what it does. What it is, that is the content, is its own affair;
but what it does concerns everything around it. There is no end to the
repercussions of the smallest act—even the splitting of an atom. Every
monad—being the form of a structure—bears within it the two-fold
significance of its source. It is infinite in its external connectedness, and
it is also infinite in its internal diversity. The two infinities are not the
same. They even contradict one another. The inner significance comes
from separation from the rest of the world and the outer from contact
with it. This can easily be seen in any actual monad: for example, a
home. We even go so far as to say that there are always two homes: the
mother's which draws in and the father's which reaches out. And yet
both homes are the same home—that is the same monad.

Such considerations point to the suggestion that understanding
cannot stop at grasping the monad: it must go on to face the dyad. By
definition, a dyad is a two-term system, such that each term is distinct
from and yet requires, and even pre-supposes, the other. Its character
is well expressed in one of Gurdjieff's favourite sayings: 'Every stick
has two ends.' The contradiction inherent in the dyad is the foundation
of Hegel's Logic, though he did not seem to recognize that the con-
tradiction is not removed by the dialectic without destroying the situa-
tion we are trying to understand.

The word complementarity admirably expresses the character of
the dyad. The two ends of a stick are complementary: one to hold and
one to take the weight. The two aspects of a home are complementary.

When we transfer complementarity from structures like sticks and
homes to systems, we have to find ways of describing the two terms of
the dyad in such a way as to bring out the connection between contra-
diction and complementarity without restricting it to the notions of
'inner' and 'outer' which are not sufficiently general.

It would seem that the most obvious complementaries—male and
female—are also the most appropriate. Man-woman is the dyad that
emerges from the monad, man. The ancient wisdom of China called the
two principles Yang and Yin; and, upon this dyad, based a technique
for understanding that has been in use for at least three thousand years.

This is contained in the so-called Book of Changes, the I Ching. For
the sake of generality, however, we will adopt more neutral terms.
The terminology of the Dyad will be as follows:

Two-term System: DYAD
Systemic Attribute: COMPLEMENTARITY
Term Designation: POLES

Term Characters: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
Connectivity of terms: FORCE

From time to time, the two terms of the dyad have been interpreted
subjectively as right and wrong, good and evil. This has been the cause
of much confusion. There are certainly distinctions that justify the use
of the words good and evil, but they do not form a dyad. Good and evil
are not complementary, that is necessary to one another, in spite of the
widespread belief that this is so. One consequence of this Manichaean
error can be seen in the societies that have been based on it, namely,
the relegation of women to an inferior place as the 'evil' side of human
nature. This is a typical example of the mistake of confusing knowledge
with understanding. The dyad can neither be broken into two parts
nor can its contradiction be resolved. If we break a stick in two, we still
have two ends in each part. Even if—following a modern fashion—we
try to ignore the fact that men and women are male and female, they do
not cease to be complementary to one another. This is apparent in those
professions such as education, where it is the fashion to obliterate
the distinction between male and female teachers.

An instructive demonstration of the irreducibility of the dyad is
found in Hegel's Logic to which reference has already been made.
The dialectic which claims to leave the dyad behind in the act of syn-
thesis does no more than pass from the dyad to the triad leaving the
complementarity of the opposing terms intact. This can be seen in the
dyad Being—Nothing.* This is an authentic dyad and it comes from
the monad by the two methods of centripetal and centrifugal approach.
The monad is the totality of recurrent elements without distinction. It is
true that looked at in one way this is pure being, while in another aspect
it is nothing. It is also true that there is a triad Being—Nothing-
Becoming, but the triad does not resolve the contradiction; it is a step

[* Cf. G. W. F. Hegel Logic translated by Wallace, 2nd. Edition, pp. 158-62. 'If
the opposition in thought is stated in this immediacy as Being to Nothing, the shock of
its nullity is too great not to stimulate the attempt to fix Being and secure it against the
transition into Nothing'. Cf. also pp. 174-9 for Hegel's account of the dyads finite-
infinite and Being-for-self and Being-for-other].

in understanding the nature of reality, and a very important step, but it
is not a step out of the situation presented to us by the very nature of
our experience. We still remain confronted with the contradiction that
the attempt to derive understanding from knowledge leads us both to
pure being and to nothing. We pass through the dyad to come to the
triad, we do not move out of it. The dyad does not supersede the monad,
nor is it superseded by the triad into which it leads. It is always per-
missible to regard any structure we meet as a monad—that is as diversity
in unity—but the better we grasp the universal character of the structure,
the more clearly does its inherent polarity become apparent. The
universe itself is impregnated with the male and female principles.

Let us consider an example where, at first sight, the dyad is by no
means obvious. A tree is a structured whole. We can establish its
monad by the two methods. First method. The tree has such and such
botanical characteristics: it belongs to a family, genus, species and
variety of its kind. It has such and such a shape,colours and appearance
in its environment. It is of such an age and its condition is sound or
diseased. Its height, girth, the depths of its roots can be measured. It
can be represented by pictures, diagrams or by a detailed enumeration
of its parts. Even the number of its leaves can be counted. And this
reminds us to add its seasonal changes, its flowers and fruit and seed.
Combining all these elements in a single act of attention, we establish
the monad for this particular tree. Second method. The tree is a material
object and so part of the world of things. It is a chemical substance. It
is alive and so part of the biosphere. It is a tree among trees and the
forest is the tree-world. For man, it is a source of valuable products
and so it enters into the human world. It is a part of the prodigious
process of energy transformations by which solar energy is captured
and stored up in chemical form through photosynthesis, and so it plays
its part in what Gurdjieff calls the 'common cosmic exchange of sub-
stances.' Once again the monad has emerged and as we blend the two
pictures into one the tree stands out as an object to be understood. But
it also stands out as an ambiguous object. Are we looking at the tree as a
tree or as a manifestation of the forces of nature? Do we see it as it is in
itself or as it is for us? Do we see it as a process of transformation, a
source of experience and activity, a member of the great family of trees,
the mother of a new forest? Or do we picture it as the bearer of life with
limitless potential for participation in all the worlds to which it belongs?
In short, do we think of it as a male nature or a female one? Evidently
both, and both together. The two are distinct and yet inseparable. The
distinction is not artificial and it has nothing to do with sex for the tree

is probably hermaphrodite. It has to do with the indrawing and the
outgoing tendencies inherent in the very fact of its being what it is.

The tree exemplifies the dyad in another way: in the two-fold source
of its life at the leaves and at the roots. It is drawn down into the earth
and it reaches up to the sky. So powerful is the impression of polarity
we receive in looking at a tree that it has become a symbol of the twin
processes of involution and evolution which form the dyad of universal
existence.

It has to be admitted that no description will adequately convey the
notion of complementarity. Among physical scientists it is accepted as
the most straight-forward way of describing the dual nature of light
(photon and wave) or of subatomic electric elements (particle and wave).
There is no suggestion that the principle of complementarity is more
than a way of describing a group of recurrent elements (interference
experiments for instance). It is not usually claimed as a step towards
understanding. Even when it is brought into the philosophy of science,
it tends to be associated with the notion of equivalence used by Einstein
in general relativity theory and with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
In our view it is universal and necessary for any practical understanding
of the world.

We should look for strong dyads which clearly and fully exemplify
the systemic attribute. Every pair of terms is, in form, a dyad; but the
vast majority of such pairs are such weak dyads that we cannot gain
much from studying them.

We have distinguished strength and adequacy. This distinction
scarcely applies to the monad, but it is very important for the dyad.
There can be a high degree of complementarity, but a low degree of
adequacy. Two faces of a coin are complementary; neither is effectual
without the other: but it is only in special situations that the term-
character of poles is present. When coins are used as currency, we ignore
the difference of face. Only when we are tossing the coin, or perhaps
looking for its date, do we pay attention to the difference of face. Here
we have the example of a structure that can be treated as a dyad; but
whose term characters are adequate only in a special context. Consider
next another pair: positive and negative electric charges. Here the
adequacy of the terms is obvious. The polarity of the system is complete.
Nevertheless, the pair do not make a strong dyad, because they manifest
complementarity only through bodies under special conditions. The
force of the dyad arises only when charged bodies are separated by a
non-conducting, rigid construction. The pair '+ and — electric charge'
lacks the concreteness of a true dyad. A final example: male and female

of different species such as a cat and a tortoise. The term characters are
polar, but there is no complementarity: the dyad is a very weak one,
for they cannot mate.

In any actual structure, we can find many dyadic elements. Most of
them will be weak or inadequate: but some will be necessary for the
harmony of the structure as a whole. Thus, in all material structures the
dyad stress-strength must be calculated for all relevant elements, in
order to tell whether the structure will be stable. In a dynamic system
the disturbing and restoring forces must be known in order to predict
how the system will behave. The basic distinction in a human society
is that of the active oligarchy and the passive majority. This dyad must
be kept in mind as it influences all other elements of the structure.

Before we leave the dyad, we must emphasize the essentially dyadic
character of our Indo-European languages with their subject-predicate
construction. This attribute is a reflection of the dualistic nature of man
himself at the present stage of his evolution. Our functional mechanisms
are dominated by dyads: active and passive states, pleasant and un-
pleasant sensations, like and dislike, desire and aversion, approval and
disapproval, yes and no in all its forms; these and a score of other dyads
permeate the human psyche and its functions. We do not, however,
readily accept the complementarity of all these dyads. We tacitly assume
that we can have one term without the other and so constantly are led
to expect the impossible.

It is a great step forward, when we learn to accept the comple-
mentarity of dyads and cease to look for its removal by the suppression
or elimination of one of the terms. There is a way beyond the dayd:
but it is the way of advance towards systems of higher complexity and also
greater concreteness. The dyad is ubiquitous, but it is not the last word.

14.37.6. The Triad

The step from dyad to triad is from force to dynamism; from the
need to resolve a contradiction to the conditions that make the resolution
possible. The dyad is in a state of tension. The male and female prin-
ciples are in need of a mutual action, but they cannot produce it within
the limitations of the dyad. This unsatisfied need is experienced as
force, but it is not merely subjective. All polar forces have a dyadic
character. We commonly overlook the dual character of gravitational
and other fields of force. Separation in space (rigidity) and contact in
eternity (the potential energy field), are both required to produce a
force. Unless two bodies are connected there is no force, e.g., if one is
electrostatically charged and the other is not, no force arises. But they

must also be separated, for if they are in the same place, the charges are
neutralized.

If the force is to produce a result, the bodies must be released. Then
we observe the accelerated motion characteristic of force fields. It is the
same with man and woman. When there is complete union the force of
attraction is neutralized. When there is separation the force is experi-
enced. When the separating barrier is removed, the dynamism of the
situation reveals itself. In a home, the dynamism arises only when the
father and mother roles are brought into mutual action. If they are
isolated, a force may be felt, but it is sterile so far as the home is con-
cerned. If they are merged, no force remains.

Consider the classical example of Newton's second law: 'Action and
reaction are equal and opposite.' A weight supported on the table presses
down and is pressed up. The rigidity of the table and the gravitational
field maintain the weight in equilibrium. There is a force equal to the
weight, but nothing happens. As was shown in Vol. I (Appendix 2)
rigidity and potential energy are correlative and contradictory terms.
Thus we have a dyad. Rigidity of the table is the positive component;
weight, or the product of gravity and mass, is the negative component.
Suppose there is no friction: with no expenditure of energy the weight
is pushed off the edge of the table and falls to the ground with the
acceleration due to gravity. The situation has become dynamic, but for
this to happen a third factor has been introduced, the sideways thrust
that pushed the weight off its support. There is no dialectical triad here,
but a concrete situation. The structure has been extended. Thanks to
the motion we can understand the nature of the gravitational force.
Neither the weight of the body nor the rigidity of the table have been
changed and therefore the terms of the dyad are unaltered. The transi-
tion is to a new system: the triad with the disturbing lateral thrust.

This may seem to be a contrived illustration designed to suggest that
an act of will is involved in pushing the weight off the table and so to con-
nect will and the triad. This is true, and it enables us to distinguish between
force and dynamism. The first step in penetrating into the nature of
the triad is to recognize that all activity is initiated by acts of will.

The next point to observe is that systems are the forms of structures.
The triad is the form which we shall expect to find in every dynamic
structure. The dynamism is in the structure, not in the form as such.
Every dynamic structure has the form of the triad. Whenever a dynamism
is set up, three independent terms or impulses will be found. The terms
differ in character. In Vol. II, we called them the Cosmic Impulses of
Affirmation, Receptivity and Reconciliation. The positive component

of the dyad becomes the affirming impulse in the triad. In doing so, it
changes its character. Whereas the terms of a dyad remain unchanged,
the affirming impulse blends with the other two to produce the dynamic
structure. It is the same with receptivity. When it enters into relation-
ships with the two other impulses, it absorbs something of their quali-
ties. Consider again the example of Newton's Law. The rigidity of the
table is a static factor in the dyad; when the weight falls off, it seems
to play no further role. But this is an error. If the table did not retain its
shape the character of the motion would be distorted. Only the presence
of rigid bodies enables us to detect accelerations. Thus in the dynamic
situation of motion in a field of force, rigidity is the connecting link
between the motion and the observer.* The change of character that
occurs here is very general. Many of the difficulties in the interpretation
of natural phenomena arise from treating qualities as if they remain the
same in passing from one system to another.

The triad is pre-eminently the system that shows us how acts of
will enter into the structure of the world. In Vol. II, Chapter 27, the
connection between will and the triad was asserted but not adequately
explained. Since that volume was written, research into four- and five-
term systems has shown that we should distinguish three moments in
the realization of events. The first is the Act whereby the dynamism is
introduced, but nothing happens. The second is the Action which
initiates the process and the third is the Activity itself. The Act is
triadic and the action is produced by the connectivities of the triad. The
activity has the form of the tetrad.

We can now set down the nomenclature that we shall adopt for the
description of triads and their properties.

Three-term System:                   TRIAD

Systemic Attribute:                    DYNAMISM

Term Designation:                     IMPULSES

Term Characters:

First Impulse:      AFFIRMATION           1

Second Impulse:  RECEPTIVITY            2

Third Impulse:    RECONCILIATION     3

1st Order Connectivities:         ACTS

Affirmation-Receptivity:       GENERATION

Receptivity-Reconciliation:   CONSENT

Reconciliation-Affirmation:  DECISION

2nd Order Connectivities: ACTIONS

[* Cf. Vol. I, pp. 250-2, and Appendix III.]

There are six second order connectivities that are symbolically
represented by the order of the three impulses. They correspond to the
fundamental laws of will of Vol. II Chapter 28:

1-2-3 Expansion            2-1-3 Concentration

1-3-2 Interaction           2-3-1 Identity

3-2-1 Freedom              3-1-2 Order

The dynamism of a structure is usually a combination of many triads.
Sometimes it is possible to recognize a dominant triad. This is an
indication that the structure is closely connected with one of the funda-
mental cosmic processes. For example, in a family, the dominant triad,
Father-Mother-Child, corresponds to the dynamism of expansion and
we have no difficulty in recognizing the impulses of affirmation, recept-
ivity and reconciliation. There are subordinate triads of the family,
such as Society-Family-Home, or People-House-Furniture, but these
are common to other situations besides the family proper.

In Vol. II, we connected the triad with Will,* but failed to show how
will as relatedness can be the same as will in action. With the develop-
ment of Systematics, the problem appears to be resolved. The Act of
Will is made by coalescence of two impulses. These first order connect-
ivities of the triad need more explanation.

The act is not a movement from one impulse to another, nor is it the
action of one impulse upon another; but the two-way connection between
them. Generation is the act whereby affirmation and receptivity are
united without loss of their respective natures. It is clearly exemplified
in the sexual act; but we must distinguish between the act and its out-
come in, for example, the conception of a child. The generative act is
mutual and it requires that there should be affinity between the two
terms. In our human experience, the male and female terms are never
so completely unified as to make a single act of will. Dans l'amour il y
a toujours l'un qui baise et l'autre qui tend la joue, may be a cynical
distortion of human love: but it still remains true that the act of will is
always to some extent separated in the two partners. Another example of
generation is to be seen in the diffusion of cultures. This requires a
strong affirmation, expressed in a new culture, and also a receptive
environment. Ideally, there is no imposing by the one, nor stealing by
the other. The mutual recognition of the two terms is sufficient to spread

[* Chapter 27, Vol. II, Will and the Triads, pp. 69-99. Cf. p. 70, 'Will is the principle
by which Function and Being are related.' Again, p. 83, 'Every manifestation of Will
on every scale consists in the mutual adjustment of the three Cosmic Impulses of
Affirmation, Receptivity and Reconciliation.']

the new ideas and techniques. This ideal is never fully achieved. There
will always be a tendency for the higher culture to dominate and for
the lower culture to remain dependent.

Thus we see generation as a perfect act of will that cannot be accom-
plished by the human self; but which nevertheless can be recognized as
the ideal. In the Christian faith, this ideal act is seen in the union of
Christ and His Church that is foreshadowed in the sexual union of man
and woman and imperfectly exemplified in evolving structures of all kinds.

The second connectivity between the second and third impulses is
the act of will whereby action is made possible. It could be called sur-
render, opening, acceptance and it could also be called enlightenment,
vivification; but these descriptive names suggest movement from recept-
ivity towards reconciliation or movement from the third impulse to-
wards the second. The true, essential act of will is wholly mutual and
shared by both impulses. It seems, therefore, best to call it Consent.
It is the acceptance of a transformation whereby receptivity and recon-
ciliation are unified. Whereas, in generation, both terms act from their
own nature; in consent, both terms depart from their own nature. As
an example, we may take the act of accepting a gift. In the ideal act, the
beneficiary is not merely receptive, but responsive and yet free. There
is such full consent that the effect of the gift is to unite donor and
recipient. This ideal is seldom even approximately realized in human
experience. The gift may be refused or taken in some wrong way so as
to divide rather than to unify. The difference lies in the connectivity
between the receptive and reconciling impulses. When this is weak
the act of acceptance is self-destructive. When the connectivity is
strong the recipient is also the reconciler.

The third connectivity refers to the true act of will as commonly
understood but never fully realized in human experience. It is a Deci-
sion or commitment that is wholly unforced and unconditioned. Only
such a decision can be called a pure act. Usually decision is affirmation
weakly linked to the structure to which it refers. This is not a free decision
nor is it a true commitment. The union of affirmation and reconciliation
in one and the same act of will has a quality that we always wish to
attain but cannot. We are aware of the ideal act of will because of our
essential nature, but it is impossible because of our existential limitations.
This is not to suggest that the connectivities of the triad are irrelevant
to human problems, but to remind us that in any actual structure we
shall not find triads in their essential purity.

In triads that occur in our human experience, the second order
connectivities or actions are more evident than the first. They give rise

to the six types of process that will best be studied under the hexad.
We have generally to deal with situations in which the terms interact so
strongly as to be confused. There is a confluence or overlap of the
three term characters, that makes it hard to recognize them as affirmation,
receptivity or reconciliation as the case may be.

To illustrate confluence of characters let us return to the example of
the home. The dynamism of the home springs from three distinct
impulses. One is the impulse to realize in the fullest degree the potenti-
alities latent in the people and the place. In part it is the home seeking
its place in the world. In part it can be called the male element in action
as the urge to create. The second impulse comes from the home itself
in the claim it makes to be the hearth and the heart of the family. The
preservation of the integrity of the home is not the sole objective of this
impulse which seeks rather to strengthen the hold of the home upon its
members. It can be called the female or mother-force in action. The
third impulse comes from the mutual love which creates the family
feeling and in which even inanimate objects have their part.

The three impulses are all necessary for the dynamic structure of
the home. The initiative is constantly passing from one to another and
the dynamism goes into action in each in turn. If any one of them is
weakened or distorted, the home loses some of its character. The point
is that, although in their nature and origin the three terms of every
triad are quite distinct and even opposed, when they are brought to-
gether in an actual structure in the form of its dynamism there occurs
a limited, but unavoidable, merging of characters. Without this mutual
accommodation, no relationship at all can be established.

Let us consider an extreme case of non-accommodation in the
dynamism of the home. The father identifies himself exclusively with
the first term and sees and treats the home as nothing but a jumping
board for worldly success. The mother identifies herself with the home
as a place. She sees it as a structure of precious material objects, and
demands that love of home should be interpreted as love of the material
objects which comprise it. The children, identifying themselves with the
third term, demand from their parents exclusive love and attention in
disregard of all other obligations. No relationship has been established;
the home is a complex of dyads, that is opposing and unreconciled
forces. Only when the impulses are allowed to colour one another, does
the home become a nexus of relationships.

The mutual relevance of the terms of the triad and the resulting
interpenetration of qualities makes for great practical difficulties in
applying triadic analysis to the situation of life. No two triads are

identical in content and character. The study of triads can only reveal
the kind of dynamism present in a given complex structure. Moreover,
it must be recognized that, for all its infinite variety, the triad has no
flexibility. Each triad is what it is and cannot become other.

Existence is a perpetual flux, including relationships, but it is also
more than relationships. It is through and through relative and approxi-
mate. There are no exact situations. The will does not control the world,
but makes it possible.* This holds good for small situations as well as
large. The act of will initiates an action that makes possible an activity.
Activity is the attribute of the tetrad. It stands to relatedness as relat-
edness stands to complementarity. At each stage there is a more intimate
involvement between the actors and the drama.

14.37.7. The Tetrad

The difference in character between the triad and the tetrad can best
be understood in the concept of Order. The triad connects and so
makes action possible and moreover determines the kinds of action that
are possible. The tetrad is the form of all activities that lead to a change
of order. For this reason, the four-term system is inherently flexible.
We can picture it in the activity of bread-making, which calls for four
elements: flour, water, yeast and fire. There are two raw materials and
two active agents. Yeast ferments from within the flour; fire cooks by
an action from without. Good bread requires the exactly right adjust-
ment of the four terms and the adjustment is possible by the very nature
of the process. Each element is separately controllable and the place
and time of its entry into the process can be selected to give the required
sequence of transformations. We can picture the four elements as four
Sources from which the activity of bread making is sustained.

The difference between the situation just described and that of a
triad or network of triads is that its very nature is to be an activity of
transformation. The activity must be orderly, flexible and intelligible
or rational. We can distinguish several processes such as blending,
activating, transforming, fixing. These are all connected with Order and
they are projections of the cosmic processes whereby all Existence is
created, maintained and transformed. The characteristics of Being are
best represented by the Tetrad as we saw in Chapters 32-4.

We can hope to understand the world and ourselves because of the
structure shared by all modes of Being. All Being is a state of trans-
formation and all transformations have the same basic structure. They

[* Cf. in the Tao Teh Ching 'The Supreme Will can only set in motion, It cannot
control the things It has made.']

can be studied in our own mental operations and in our behaviour and
they can be studied in every coherent situation. We cannot, however,
hope to understand the world if we reject on principle its inherent
rationality. Rationality does not mean simply that it conforms to univer-
sal laws, but that there is a reason for everything that happens in it.

On the hypothesis that the universe and its activity are capable of
being understood, we are entitled to look for the same rationality in
natural processes as we find in mental processes. We cannot understand
the working of the mind except as an ordering or goal-seeking activity
which makes use of a variety of means or instruments. The example of
bread-making given above illustrates the connection between the factors
of motivation and instrumentation. The aim is to have good bread. The
ground of the activity is the procuring of water, flour and yeast. Tech-
nical knowledge of baking and appropriate environmental conditions and
operational conditions and implements are needed in order to achieve
the desired result.

The various factors fall into four distinct groups which can be recog-
nized in every ordering activity and serve to distinguish it from random,
meaningless happening. The four factors are in pairs: one pair concerns
the whence and whither of the activity and the other pair the how, when
and where. We shall call the first two the motivational and the second
pair the instrumental terms. Owing to the requirement of mutual
relevance, we must be prepared for a certain degree of overlap and
interpenetration of terms that in practical study will make exact identifi-
cation impossible. Nevertheless, we have found* that every activity can
be best understood by regarding it as the working of motives or causes
and instruments or conditions.

We can now proceed to set up a suitable nomenclature for future
reference:

The instrument term will include techniques and skills where these
are relevant. As the interplay connections vary according to the content
of the activity, we shall defer their study and further development of
the terminology until suitable illustrative material presents itself.*

We shall find it convenient to represent the tetrad and its connections
by means of various well-known and widely-used symbols. The simplest
figures with four points are the square, the cross and the tetrahedron.

The square suggests ordering activity as displacement from one level
to another and hence as transformation. This serves to distinguish
activity from mere change. The cross emphasizes the distinction between
the vertical and horizontal components. The vertical arm with its
distinction of higher and lower suggests motivation. The horizontal
arm with its distinction of right and left suggests operation and direction
and hence the idea of co-operation. The tetrahedron brings out the
connection in activity between unity of goal and plurality of paths. The
apex represents the point of fulfilment or completion. The triangle
stands for the components of the activity in progress.

We can designate the four terms, but not define them exactly. In
every situation, there is an interplay of terms that both diminishes their
identity and enriches their content. A few remarks may help us to
recognize them.

GROUND. The relatively formless raw material of the action: as
soil is ground for the growth of a plant. Also the initial situation in the
temporal sense: the point from which the activity starts. It includes the
separate urges of all the component elements through which they come
together in a concerted activity.

GOAL. The ideal pattern which can unite all the components of the
activity into a structured whole. Also the end-point and fulfilment of
the activity. The central theme or motive that sustains the activity.

DIRECTION. The cognitive element whereby the activity is ordered

[* V. infra Chapter 39, Anthropology. Cf. also A. M. Hodgson, Problem Solving
Groups in Systematics, Vol. II, Nos. 3 and 4 October and December 1964.]

and adjusted to all other activities with which it is connected. The
'right hand' as the leader of the concerted action. The guiding intelli-
gence. Also the way in which the activity is focused and can be recog-
nized as a whole.

INSTRUMENT. This is the strictly operational term. It comprises
the entire inner working of the activity with all the mutual adjustments
it calls for. The 'left hand' as the field of action, the vehicle or receptacle
within which it proceeds. This term, when human, has the qualities of
feeling rather than thought.

The vertical arm alone stands for ascent and descent, but cannot
convey the complexity of an activity. The horizontal arm stands for the
interplay of inner and outer or positive and negative forces, but cannot
express the rational elements in the activity. In the cross, we have a
symbol that not only connects the vertical and horizontal components
of the action, but also expresses its manifold complexity. When it is
completed by adding the outer connections it shows how each term is
relevant to the other three, and gives us the six connectivities of the
system. We shall make use of this symbol of four points and six lines
to represent activity as a structure.

The square shows the activity as both ordering of the ground and
attainment of the goal. This two-fold character distinguishes activity
from translation or motion which starts from one point and, going

through a series of stages, ends at another point. An activity remains

within its own ground as a plant stays planted in the soil from which it
sprang. The goal is not a terminus ad quern, but the guiding pattern to

which the activity must conform even before it starts. The square
conveys two distinct notions that must be combined, but not confused.
One is that of activity as being and the other is that of activity as
becoming. The Being of any situation is its inner-togetherness and
this in turn is derived from its eternal pattern.* Becoming is trans-

formation that must involve disruption and recreation of inner together-
ness and the becoming of a situation is therefore its ableness-to-be which
is derived from its hyparchic strength. The square symbol admirably
represents this two-fold character of all ordering activity. The two

horizontal arms represent the ordering of the ground and the realization
of the aim. The two vertical arms represent the transformation of the
ground itself as externally ordered into a self-directed whole.

The third representation shows the distinction between 'actual' and
'ideal' parts of the activity.

In this representation, the triangle at the base shows what is actually
going on and the apex—the goal—provides a common element which
changes the character of the three other terms. The ground state—or
actual situation—is changed by the aim which is shared. The direction
goes beyond simple adaptation to seek for the realization of the aim
within the existing circumstances. The instrument is subjected to a
demand beyond the provision of immediate necessities. Each of the
three effects modifies the whole structure and gives it, first unity and
coherence, and then an intelligible form which can be understood and
evaluated.

The Six-Fold Interplay. There are six connectivities between any
two of four terms. Each represents an interplay of two sources. They are
represented by the cruciform diagram which distinguishes between the
two pairs of terms.

The letters A, B, C, D have been used to symbolize the four sources
and the lines the six first-order connectivities.

A and B, Goal and Ground, can be called the motivating sources.
The ground is motivated by need and the goal by aspiration. The line
A B represents varying degrees of blending of the two motivations.
Pure need exists only in the moment and must be satisfied as a condition
of maintaining activity—as a living body must breathe. Pure aspiration
is eternal and unlimited by conditions. The greater part of the activity
within any rational structure is motivated by some intermediate influ-
ence. It may be the pressure to relieve a strain that has some element of
aspiration. It may be the desire to achieve a tangible aim that has some
element of need in it. Thus the interplay A B represents a spectrum of
motivating influences rather than the two opposing patterns of the
immediate and actual needs and the ultimate and ideal goal.

The horizontal line C D also represents a blending of the qualities
of direction and instrumentation. Direction can be effective only through
an instrument and every instrument has a certain degree of self-
regulation that tends towards direction. There is, moreover, in every
structure an optimum degree of interplay of the influences that come
from the environment and those that arise within the structure itself.
Here again, then, we have a spectrum of instrumental agencies in the
interplay of C and D.

The interplay between goal and direction is straightforward. A C
represents the balance between doing a job for its own sake (direction)
and doing it to serve a greater purpose (goal).

Between goal and instrument there is a connectivity that can be
interpreted as integrity. The structure must not be divided against
itself, but wholly devoted to the purpose for which the activity has been
launched. This is represented by the line A D.

The lower interplay C B represents direction or governance in the simple
sense, as that which guides the activity and 'keeps it on the track'.

On the other side, there is the interplay between the instruments and
the work they have to do. Where people are concerned the line B D
can be expressed as skill or instrumental ability. In a more general sense,
the interplay B D stands for sound construction and the economic use
of the available materials.

14.37.7.1. THE ARISTOTELIAN TETRAD

The connection between our tetrad and Aristotle's four causes will
be evident to students of his Physics and Metaphysics. Aristotle reached,
by stages, the conclusion that the arising of any significant object
requires the combination of four independent terms. He began with the
dyad of matter and form as the principles from which all explanations of
Nature (Physics) must start.* We have a wooden bed or a marble statue.
Wood and marble are the matter; bed and statue are the form. He goes
on to say that wood does not become a bed by itself, so that there must
be a third factor that causes it to change. Mere change, however, is not
enough; it must be directed and guided towards the forms.+ There are

[* Aristotle, Metaphysics, 23, 1029. 'It appears then that substance is the first reality:
one mode is called matter and the other mode is called form.' Substance is the monadic,
and matter-form the dyadic expression. Aristotle uses the word hyle for matter, but in
a different sense for that adopted by us in Vol. I where hyle is the primary, undiffer-
entiated substance that takes different forms. Aristotle takes wood as hyle whereas we
should say that wood is hyle differentiated into lignin and cellulose with a complex
cellular structure.

+ Aristotle, On Generation, 'for water does not make life of itself, nor wood a bed,
but art does it.']

thus two operative factors, one the efficient cause that produces the
change, and the other the final cause that directs it towards its end which
is the form.

It seems clear that his two principles, matter and form, are not so
much a dyad as the two motivational terms of our tetrad. The wood,
being deprived of form, is in need of being fabricated, whereas the form,
seeking to realize itself, calls forth the art of the carpenter. The artisan
and the technical operations correspond to our two operational terms.
Aristotle refers to four aitiae, commonly translated as causes or reasons,
but equally well rendered by our term sources. There are four kinds of
sources in Aristotle's scheme; two principles which are the Formal and
the Material Sources, and two agents which are the Efficient and Final
Sources. The final cause is distinguished from formal cause by its being
an activity that directs the transformation of the wood into a bed, though
when the work is done the final source becomes identified with the form.*
The final cause unmistakably plays the same role as our directional term.
Aristotle does not explicitly distinguish between the energy that drives
the action and the instruments that the worker uses; but it is reasonable
to identify his efficient source with our instrumental term. This corre-
spondence is encouraging, because Aristotle's wonderful insights into
the workings of nature have influenced human thinking for more than
two thousand years, more than those of any other single man. The
Aristotelian tetrad can be related to our own according to the scheme
of Fig. 37.7.

In earlier chapters, we associated the tetrad with Being. We can now
amplify the notion to that of being as activity, which will include
being-becoming and also the integration of ends and means in the
motivational and operational terms. The relativity of Being derives from
the property of the tetrad whereby the blending of qualities gives rise to
different gradations or levels. We shall find, in a later section, that two
superimposed tetrads give seven gradations or qualities according to
the Pythagorean scheme of tetrachords and the diapason.

The limitation of the tetrad consists in its lack of central emphasis.
This allows an activity to be studied as an ordered diversity; but it
prevents us from associating the activity with an entity whether a
person or a world. We cannot point to the tetrad and say that its activity
is significant for other activities in a recognizable manner. The tetrad
is too self-contained and yet lacking in intrinsic significance.

Even more surprising is the observation that although the tetrad is the
symbol of Being, it does not allow for the existence of separate entities.
This is directly due to its lack of a centre; but in a more fundamental
way it is inherent in the very nature of the first four systems. These
represent structural features that pervade all experience: but they do
not show us the place of entities such as things, selves, cosmic bodies or
such structures as societies and historical events. Entities are not simple
notions, but on the contrary they can be recognized only when a certain
degree of organization is attained. In order to find all the elements that
are combined in every entity, we must pass on to the pentad.

14.37.8. The Pentad

Dynamism and activity are characteristic of structure, but they do
not disclose what structures are, nor how they are meaningful. If we
are to specify how a structure is significant for itself and for the totality
that contains it, we must go beyond the tetrad and add meaning and
potentiality to activity. A structure becomes an entity only when it has
meaning and potentiality in its own right.

The notions of essence, essence-classes, spiritualization and the pen-
tad as they were introduced in Chapter 35, are charged with significance;
but they were applied only to the one specific problem of showing how
all existence is in a transflux equilibrium of mutually dependent classes
of beings. We must now generalize the notion of the pentad so that it
can be applied to every question that concerns the meaningfulness of
structures and the nature of entities.

Meaningfulness can be of three kinds:

1. A structure is meaningful by its own nature. It is what it is. We

recognize it as that and not other to the extent that we comprehend its
intrinsic significance behind the external form. This significance is
unique and can be regarded as the 'centre of gravity' about which the
structure turns. By this property, a structure—whether regarded as an
entity or as an event—makes an unique contribution to the Total
Significance towards which all Existence is evolving.

2.  A structure is meaningful by its potentiality. It is only in the limit
of uni-potent entities,* that potentiality is a fixed quantity. In all
complex organizations, potentialities are far greater than the possibilities
of actualization. The interest we take in all kinds of situations largely
derives from the range of their meaningful potentialities. These have
upper and lower limits beyond which the connection with the structure
concerned is so tenuous as to lose its significance. We can consider the
human organism as an example. The human body is involved, as is all
other living tissue, in various physico-chemical processes of which the
man is not aware. It is governed by the same physico-mechanical laws
of gravitation, electro-magnetism, thermodynamics, as govern all other
material objects. These universal processes do not add to the significance
of a particular human body, because they are outside the limits of its own
potential for variation. At the other extreme, there are modes of signifi-
cance so great that individual men can play no part in their realization.
One man cannot influence the destiny of the Biosphere, except within
the context of the total human society. The entire human race cannot
influence the destiny of the galaxy. We cannot even guess at the modes
of significance that are associated with great cosmic assemblages whose
time scale is measured in thousands of millions of years.

Within the limits imposed by its own nature, every structure has a
gamut of significant potentialities. These are partly dependent upon its
own nature and partly upon its history and they are quite different from
the central or inwardly directed significance of the first kind.

3.  A structure is meaningful by the ways it is connected to the world.
There are upper and lower limits to the meaningfulness of these con-
nections. For example, cell-life is a highly significant constituent of the
Biosphere, + but a single tissue cell out of hundreds of thousands of
millions that make a human body has no significance for that body as
a complete structure. A million cells could vanish without a trace and
for all significant purposes the body would remain unchanged. At the
other extreme, if we consider the life of the entire Biosphere as a com-

[* Cf. Vol. I, Chapter 9, Section 4.9.4, pp. 180-3, for a discussion of potency as the
principle of stratification of existence.

+ Cf. Vol. I, Chapter 20, Section 8 .20.3 ., pp. 376-81.]

plex significant structure; not merely one but a million human bodies
accidentally destroyed would not affect its total significance.

Thus there are outer limits of significant connectedness with the
world as there are inner limits of connectedness with one's own potenti-
alities. We then obtain five significant points associated with any com-
plete structure and this gives us the key to the interpretation of the
pentad. Before going further, we shall set down the terminology that we
shall use in the sequel.

Five-term System: PENTAD
Systemic Attribute: SIGNIFICANCE

Subsidiary descriptive terms: Potentiality and Meaning

Term Designation:                        LIMIT
Term Characters:

INTRINSIC LIMIT                   UNIQUENESS or IPSEITY

LOWER INNER LIMIT            LOWER NATURE

UPPER INNER LIMIT              HIGHER NATURE

LOWER OUTER LIMIT           NOURISHMENT

UPPER OUTER LIMIT             MASTER

1st Order Connectivities:               MUTUALITIES

The Pentad has ten mutualities.

There are also ten Second Order connectivities that are triads. Some
of these are more significant than others. For example, the triad
Nourishment-Uniqueness-Master gives the 'law of reciprocal mainten-
ance'.

The Third Order connectivities of the pentad are tetrads and there
are five of them. Each of them gives the form of one of the basic
activities of the structure concerned.

We have thus:

SINGLE TERMS                                                 Five Monads

1st ORDER CONNECTIVITIES                         Ten Dyads

2nd ORDER CONNECTIVITIES                        Ten Triads

3rd ORDER CONNECTIVITIES                         Five Tetrads
and the PENTAD as a single system.

There are thus no fewer than thirty-one systems implicit in the
structure of a pentad. Significance implies activity, dynamism, com-
plementarity and universality. Its full measure cannot be taken unless
we recognize how complex the notion of 'meaning' really is. The same
is true of the notion of 'entity'.

To illustrate the scheme, we can again take the example of a home.
The home derives its unique character from the family that makes it
and lives in it. It may be a good or a bad home, but it is that home and
no other, not just because one particular human family lives in it; but
because they do so in an uniquely significant way. If this intrinsic
significance or ipseity is weak, then the home is only a shadow of a home.

The minimum potential for a home is the provision of the require-
ments of family life. These can be named and enumerated: some such
as shelter, external access, furniture, utensils, that are always required
and others that are optional like gardens, books, ornaments. We can
enumerate down to a certain point and we can break down the contents
of a home into separate units; but we cannot comminute without
limit or the significance will disappear. A book may be significant, but
not the paper of which it is made. Grandfather's chair is a significant
part of the home and so is his beard. But we do not identify the materials
of which the chair is made, nor every hair in the beard. Thus there is a
lower limit of inner significance beyond which we lose touch with the
character of the home. This is the 'lower nature'.

The higher nature consists in the limiting potentialities of a home. A
home is not the same as a nation or a civilization. It cannot afford its
members the same opportunities as the 'great world'. The home is the
natural field of self-realization of its members, but it cannot be the
total field of their action. Seen in its fullest possible expression, the home
has a 'higher nature' that is specific for each family and yet has a general
character common to all homes.

The home is nourished by the life of the earth. There is, in every
home, a constant influx of influences, food stuffs, material objects,
sources of energy, communication with people, and so on. All this can
be called the raw material of home life. All these ingredients have in
common a certain degree of preparation for entry. There must be some
appropriateness or correspondence between the needs of the home and
that which enters and becomes part of it. Unless this correspondence is
realized, the home takes in useless material and fails to draw from its
living environment the nourishment needed to enable it to fulfil its
potentialities. There is evidently a lower limit beyond which discrimina-
tion would be impossible. The limit is fixed by man's ability to recognize
the significance of the life about him.

The upper outer limit is the human society that the home nourishes
and serves. Whether it accepts or rejects its role as the growing tip of
human society, the home must occupy the place allotted to it. The
upper limit of significance of a home must fall within human society.

It is not significant for the biosphere or for cosmic structures such as
the solar system or the galaxy. Knowingly or unknowingly, every home
serves the human race both in its present existence and in its evolution
towards completion. For this reason, we can speak of human society as
the Master of the home.

Symbol of Pentad. In Vol. II, we used a four-pointed star as the sym-
bol of the pentad, thus:

We have since rediscovered a symbol used by learned authors of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,* and as this enables not only the
terms, but also the mutualities to be represented we shall adopt it for
all five-term systems.

The pentad can be understood from its place as the start of a new cycle
within the series of systems. The first four systems, with the attributes
of universality, complementarity, dynamism and activity, are all
abstract in character. They do not particularize the structure to which
they apply. With the pentad, we have a new property given by the
character of the terms as limits: the possession of a boundary separating
'within' and 'without'. The structure thereby becomes an entity, that
can be known and understood by its inner nature and its outer connec-
tions. From this observation, it seems to follow that we cannot regard
entities as simple notions definable by a single characteristic, but rather
as structures having at least the complexity of the pentad. This is
important, not only for the philosophy of Being, but also for natural
and moral philosophy. It is noteworthy that physical science has
presented us with modes of existence which cannot be described either
as entities or as non-entities. The dilemma holds both for sub-atomic
particles and waves and for such quasi-entities as Planck's quantum of
action. In our study of essence classes,* we found that dispersed energy
and simples could not be described as pentads and hence could not
enter into the process of spiritualization. We now have the same notion
in a more general form that can be expressed in the proposition:

Independent existence cannot be predicated of any structure
whose form is less concrete than the pentad.

Various corollaries can be set down:

1.  Significance can be predicated of entities but not of universality,
complementarity, dynamism or activity.

2.  Significance is associated with a potentiality-range, or multi-
potency, both inner and outer.

3.  Every significant entity is in a state of transflux equilibrium and
maintains itself by exchange with its environment.

4.  Every entity has a Master that it must serve as a necessary con-
stituent of its own significance.

5.  Life is associated with the fifth level of energies where significance
begins to emerge (Chapter 32).

6.  The combination of significant identity with the possibility of
undergoing change, requires a five-term structure.

The ten mutualities of the pentad are more than connections or lines
of flow. Each of them expresses a complete meaning. Let us take the
proposition: Life is Generation. This can be represented by the pentad
which has the germinal essence as its ipseity.

[* Chapter 35, Vol. II, particularly Section 13. 35. 1.]

The description of this pentad will be found in Chapter 35, Section
13.35.7. We shall consider shortly the ten mutualities starting from the
bottom:

Soil-Plant. The soil nourishes the plant and the plant enriches the soil.
Soil-Germ. The soil maintains the germinal life and the germinal life is
the significance of the soil that distinguishes it from rocks, wind and
waves.

Plant-Germ. The germ is the source of the plant and the plant is the
life of the germ.

Plant-Animal. All life on the earth depends upon this mutuality. The
two kingdoms of life are mutually necessary, but opposite in their basic
modes of existence.

Germ-Animal. The germ is the potential animal and the animal is the
developed germ.

5oil-Man. The existence of man on the earth is basically rooted in the
soil and the soil realizes its maximum potential in giving birth to Man.
Plant-Man. Vegetative existence is basic life.

Germ-Man. Man's significance is to be the Master of the germinal
essence and the germinal essence is fulfilled in man.
Animal-Man. Man is the higher nature of the animal and the animal
is the lower nature of man.

The complex organization of the humble essence class from which
man has grown is brought out by attempting to hold these ten mutualities
in a single mental image. This also helps us to recognize that there are
entities not identified by boundaries in time and space; but by a well-
defined cosmic role. The 'germ' is not this or that particular seed or
invertebrate animal, but a mode of significance associated with a group

of bodily forms. The group is here the entity. It has the five modes of
significance that fix its inner and outer limits and its intrinsic meaning
and purpose.

If the word 'entity' is used loosely to designate anything that can be
distinguished as a separate existence, then we need to add the qualifier
'significant entity'. The loose, ill-defined use of the word is misleading
and we shall in the sequel restrict the use of entity to those complex
structures that can be recognized as significant in their own right and
that have manifold potentialities and a definite place in the cosmic
scheme. According to this definition, all entities can be represented as
pentads.

14.37.9. The Hexad

A complex structure can be recognized and studied as an entity
without reference to its hold upon Reality. Its potentialities can be
actualized in different ways; but each way will include some and exclude
others. Until the structure is situated within the existing world it re-
mains indefinite and only partly concrete. The situating of the structure
is more than assigning a time and place for its actualization. We have to
take into account its self-consistence and its action upon other structures.
These derive from its pattern in eternity and its hyparchic substantiality.

When the situating of the structure comes about, we have an event.
The event is the structure as an act of realization. The determining
conditions of time, space, eternity and hyparxis make it possible for
the structure to take its place in the existing world. The act of realiza-
tion is dynamism transformed into substance, more or less according
to the Aristotelian and Thomist conception of the transformation of the
ens in posse into the ens in actu. One difficulty of interpreting the act
has lain hitherto in the inability, for want of an adequate reference
framework, to distinguish between actualization and realization. Our
six-fold scheme of three space-like and three time-like dimensions makes
the interpretation straightforward. We can distinguish three kinds of
space: configurative or positional (C), dynamic or directional (D) and
rotative or vortical (R). The three time-like dimensions are Time (T)
Eternity (E) and Hyparxis (H). These can be represented symbolically
by two interlocking triangles.

The complex structure, which we have been tracing from its abstract
notion of universality through the progression of the systems, now
emerges as a recognizable event. An event is a coherent structure and yet
it is extended in space and successive in time. How then is its unity to
be understood? We shall say that every event is a present moment.

The successiveness which we observe is not inherent in the event, but

in the way we experience it.

It follows that we know events not as they are in reality, but only

as they appear to us as facts. In order to understand events, we must

grasp the complex structure of six independent terms. We have to find
ways of expressing the systemic attribute, the characters of the terms

and the connectivities. These must be sufficiently general to apply to

all structures and not only to events as we experience them.

We have, so far, encountered only special hexads. There are the six-

dimensions of our geometry already cited. Another hexad is given by

the six grades of pre-organic existence. In our scheme of twelve principal

levels of existence, we found the cell, at the stage of sexipotence, as the

simplest entity capable of maintaining an independent existence under

the conditions of space and time.* The cell can be regarded as the highest

manifestation of causal complexity, just as the animal organism is the

lowest manifestation of purposive complexity. There are thus two

hexads in the scale of existence, one that leads from simple energies to

cellular organization and the other that leads from the animal organism

to the universe. These two hexads show remarkable morphological

similarities notwithstanding the prodigious differences of scale. All the

terms of the first hexad can be described adequately in terms of mechani-

cal processes alone. None of the terms in the second hexad can be

described without reference to experience, that is to organized sensitiv-

iy. When the two are compared, we see that cyclicity must be associ-

ated with six-term systems.+

[* The quinque-potent viruses, and other forms on the threshold of life, depend
upon cells to provide an environment in which they can reproduce and renew their
existence. They cannot, therefore, be regarded as truly independent forms. Cf.

Chapter 2O, Vol. I, pp. 370-2.
+ Hence, in the Categories of Fact, Vol. I, Chapter 2, Section 1.2.8, we find the

sixth category described as repetition or renewal. Cf. p. 42. 'To pass from potentiality
to repetition six independent elements must be present.']

Quite a different aspect of the hexad is given by the Six Fundamental
Triads or Laws.* The dynamism of every possible event is a combination
of these six triads. We can construct an interesting symbol in the
following manner:

1. We take the three cosmic impulses; Affirmation 1, Receptivity 2,
and Reconciliation 3, and form them into a hexagon thus:

2. Each point characterizes a triad by indicating the central impulse.+
There are two triads according to which of the other two impulses
initiates. Thus, there is 1-2-3 expansion and 3-2-1 freedom, both
characterized by the transformation of the second or receptive impulse.
In this way, we obtain six triads as in Fig. 37.13.

The two triangles of the symbol show the way Existence realizes
itself in events. The triads of order, expansion and identity bring the
universe into being and maintain its existence. The three triads of
freedom, interaction and concentration enable Existence to escape from

[* Cf. Chapter 28, Vol. II, pp. 100-28. The six laws are:

Expansion           1—2 — 3

Concentration 2 — 1—3

Identity              2-3-1

Interaction         1—3—2

Order              3-1-2

Freedom             3-2-1

Vide Supra: Section 14.37.6, where the laws are taken as second-order connectivities
of the triad. The six laws determine the dyanmism of all essential natures, that we have
called World VI or the Will as Pure Essence. When Being becomes involved in
existence, the Cosmic Impulses change in their operation and the triads multiply. For
the conditions of human self-hood-will embodied in existence there are 48 triads
each with its own characteristic dynamism producing the complex activity that we
observe in human experience.

+ Cf. Vol. II, pp. 104.'... a Cosmic Impulse placed in the central or inner position
in the triad. This position determines the inner nature of the triad. It shows us what
manifestation of the Will is here at work.']

its own limitations and recover the Unity of Being sacrificed in the act
of creation.

We have in the symbol thus constructed far more than the representa-
tion of dynamism. It tells us how the universe can be both a created and
also a self-creating structure. Thus, the hexad takes us into a stage of
understanding that is beyond that of simple significance concentrated
at a point. It shows how an event can be totally significant, by the inter-
weaving of cause and purpose.*

There is no commonly accepted word to express the interpenetration
of creation and counter-creation; we must, therefore, look first for an
adequate description of this attribute of structural events. We are not
to regard it as ebb and flow, the outgoing of the world from its source
and its ultimate return. This interpretation, that is familiar in the
Hindu doctrine of Aldya-pralaya, the Sleep and Awakening of Brahman,
suggests too strongly the notion of cyclicity or recurrence. And yet
recurrence is certainly one aspect of the attribute we are seeking.
The defect of our usual notions of cyclicity is that the various phases of
the cycles are taken to occur successively in time. We need to get away
from a narrow temporal interpretation to enable us to express the sense
of total interpenetration at all points of the six characteristics of the
hexad.

There is a remarkable symbol associated with the Sufic tradition that
enables us to represent in a single figure cyclicity, progress and inter-
penetration. This symbol is akin to the pentacle of Rosicrucian tradition,
but is not found in Rosicrucian literature.

[*We can associate the triangle of order-expansion-identity with causality and the
triangle of concentration-freedom-interaction with finality.]

The numbering of the points is taken from the recurrent decimal
1/7 = 0.142857.* Whereas, in the usual representation, we have two
independent triangles, here we have two broken triangles 147 and
285. This enables us to express the two-fold character of creation and
counter-creation and also the notion that the entire process moves on
towards a goal. In this way, we combine cyclicity and progress and there-
by remove a cause of dispute between those whose convictions are
founded on a sense of the endless return, and those who believe in
limitless progress. The dispute seems valid so long as our language
lacks words to express the deeper reality in which significance lies not
only in what continually is; but also in what is in process of
becoming, and also in what can never be. Owing to the construction
of our bodies and mind, we cannot directly perceive the coalescence of
contraries except as mutual destruction. We can, however, adapt the
word coalescence and give it the strong meaning of the unification of
being and becoming. Coalescence will be understood as the property of
structure, whereby significance acquires depth and enrichment and yet
retains the unique character associated with a particular event.

With these explanations, we can now set down the terminology that
we shall use in referring to the hexad:

Six-term system: HEXAD

Systemic Attribute: COALESCENCE

Subsidiary Attributes: The forms of Events, Recurrence,

Progress and Self-Realization, Independence.

Term Designation: LAW.

Laws govern the coalescence of Events.

[* For this derivation Cf. P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous].

Term Characters:

1  ORDER

2  EXPANSION

3  IDENTITY

4  FREEDOM

5  CONCENTRATION

6  INTERACTION

1st Order Connectivities: STEPS

Since the direction of the step influences its character, there will be
thirty steps involved in a completely coalescent structure.

We have adopted the designation 'step' for the connectivities to bring
out the difference between the limits of significance and the steps
by which significance is realized in practice. The hexad is the system
most appropriate for studying structures in process of realizing their
significance as events.

The theory of coalescence has been little studied and yet practical
men are aware that success in action requires a nice balance between
attention to what actually is and what potentially might be; they also
discover that events do not cease to be when their actualization is
completed. They live on and transform according to laws that are very
different from those of actualization in time. The coalescence of events
requires transformation according to all the determining conditions; but
it differs from simple actualization chiefly in its hyparchic components.
This is why we find a tendency to associate coalescence with recurrence
and cyclicity. The cyclic character of events is their projection into
time: in its intrinsic nature, coalescence is a total transformation that
can scarcely be grasped unless we can see its connection with the hexad.
At the present stage of our researches, we can say little about the
connectivities and for this reason the treatment in the present section
has been over-weighted with references to the six triads. These are so
instructive for the study of events, that there is a risk of relying upon
them to the exclusion of other properties of the hexad. The total
structure of events is particularly hard to grasp and one reason for this
is that, upon the level of human experience, events are confused and
dominated by irrelevant factors.

Our common experience is of successive actualization in time. We
are eternity-blind and we are aware of hyparxis only as a projection.
Our space-intuitions are defective owing to the form of our perceptions.
It is scarcely surprising that the true character of significant events

escapes us entirely. We must also remember, that the hexad tends to
direct attention to the separateness and isolation of events from one
another. To arrive at the awareness of total structure, we must go on to
the seven-term system.

14.37.10. The Heptad

It should be apparent from our earlier studies that there are radically
different modes of existence. All modes of existence change and there
are also radically different kinds of change. Simple, successive actualiza-
tion without direction is quite different from purposive activity. Change
as it refers to entities is different from change that has no focal points of
significance. In the last section we arrived at a kind of change that is
more highly integrated than the development of separate entities however
significant these may be. Coalescence of events is a total change that
integrates an entire region of existence into a new wholeness.

It is easy to misunderstand these differences. We suppose that differ-
ences lie in what things are and what they do and so miss the differences
that are due to the structure of existence. The notion of different
kinds of change as distinct from different kinds of things or different
modes of existence, is unfamiliar and hard to grasp. We know that
water is a different kind of thing from wax and that it expands when it
solidifies whereas wax contracts. We know that one man is different
from another, but both shiver when cold and sweat when hot. Mankind
has built up, recorded and constantly makes use of a vast body of
knowledge of things and their behaviour. Some of this is available in
the form of general laws, such as those of mechanics and thermodynam-
ics. Some, indeed the greater, part is non-quantitative and imprecise,
but nevertheless indispensable for successful action. What we tend to
overlook is that action itself is totally different for different structural
situations and, while this is not a serious handicap for understanding the
simpler systems, it is a decisive obstacle to penetrating more deeply into
the nature of Reality than is possible for dualistic and even dialectic
thinking.

We have reached the point at which we can no longer separate the
structure we study from the context in which it exists. Hitherto, we
could treat systems as closed except at the points of exchange with
other systems,* but this ceases to be possible when we must take into

[* For example, any activity according to the tetrad can be isolated from other activi-
ties, by treating the latter as instrumental factors. An entity can be regarded as an
isolated unit touching its environment only at its outer limits and its self-realization can
then be treated as a complete event.]

account the changes in the environment that accompany the changes
in the entity. For this, we must be able to relate two independent struc-
tures within a superstructure common to both. This seems easy enough
until we try to formulate the conditions that make it possible. Self-
realization requires a well-defined identity, whereas integration requires
the dissolution of identity. The dilemma cannot be resolved by a
compromise that would diminish the cosmic significance of the whole
at the expense of a part, or of a part at the expense of the whole. The
dilemma is not artificial; it arises whenever that kind of change occurs
in which there is a real gain or loss of significance. We see it, for ex-
ample, in the human dilemma of man who must fulfil his private destiny
and yet become fully integrated into human society. The dilemma is
far more than the contradiction of the dyad that is made intelligible
by the notion of complementarity. Here we have to allow for complexes
undergoing changes that affect them not only inwardly and outwardly,
but also by a mutual action that introduces a new complex distinct from
either of them.

The situation created by the combination of three independently
changing complexes could not be described in terms of any static system
in which the terms had fixed meanings. No structural organization
could accommodate the almost unlimited variations that could arise
unless there were some principle of order of a different kind from those
of the first six systems. We find this principle in the heptad; but it will
be far more difficult to describe than those we have met before.

We shall introduce the notion of transformation as the systemic
attribute of the heptad and define transformation as the kind of change
whereby three effects occur:

1.  An entity becomes or realizes itself.

2.  The entity in realizing itself acquires new properties that were not
potential or even possible in its non-realized state.

3.  The entity while retaining its identity is integrated into a structure
as a part into the whole.

We can detect within our experience evidences of these effects and
we are accustomed to regard them as showing that everything is in
process of change according to natural laws. We do not so easily dis-
tinguish the essential novelty of the situation brought about by real
transformations. One reason for this is that we rely too much upon
sense experience and too little upon the finer perceptions of our inner
consciousness. Another reason is that real transformations are compara-
tively rare, because the stringent conditions required for their realization
do not arise without conscious intention.

There is no universally recognized symbol for the heptad and this is
probably because it cannot be represented completely by any stationary
figure. Transformation is not understood by its beginning and end nor
even by the path that joins them; but by its total action. We think of
an object undergoing transformation from one state to another. This is
inadequate. We may add to our picture the environment and recognize
that this must also participate in the transformation. This is better, but
still not enough. The transformation itself is a reality that must be taken
into account. When Shakespeare wrote of the dawn as 'gilding pale
streams with heavenly alchemy', the transformation he evokes was
total: in the object, and in the environment, in the beholder and in the
'heavenly alchemy' itself.

A simple way of picturing transformation is to associate it with the
three Domains of Fact, Value and Harmony. That which is transformed
is Fact. But that which acquires substance through the transformation is
Value. The transformation itself is that which is realized in the Domain
of Harmony. The three are distinct and yet they are also one.

We can partly represent the situation by means of two tetrads with
a common point thus:

Each of the two squares represents an activity, one inner and one
outer, and the common point stands for the transformation. The weak-
ness of the symbol as a visual aid lies in the apparent equivalence of all the
points including No. 4. This point represents the transformation as
well as the meeting of the two tetrads. We may, for example, interpret
1-2-3-4 as the Domain of Fact and 4-5-6-7 as the Domain of Value,
when the point 4 would represent the Domain of Harmony. If the three-
fold significance of point 4 is remembered, the diagram can be very
useful.

This symbol expresses very well the distinctions between the seven
terms and the concentration of the transformation at point 4.* The weak-
ness of the symbol consists in suggesting too strongly that the heptad is
constructed in seven 'levels' or seven 'stages.' It is true that there are
distinct 'states' in transformation and that for some purposes these
states can be regarded as levels or even as stages in a process of transi-
tion ; but they are not all of equal importance, nor, in general, do they
succeed one another in time. Unless the deeper notion of state or con-
dition is grasped, the symbol of the double cone can be misleading.

Another way of approaching the heptad is to regard it as an additive
combination of triad and tetrad and compare it with the dodecad which
is multiplicative combination.

3 + 4 = 7              3x4= 12

The combination of systems is not obtained by addition alone, for this
cannot bring out the unique attribute of which the higher system is the
bearer. We must be able to recognize the higher structure before we
can see how the lower structures enter into it.+ Since, by all accounts,
knowledge of the connection between four and seven was one of the
secrets of the Pythagoreans we should here consider the tetraktys and
its combination in the diapason to give seven qualities of sound. The
musical scheme of the Greeks is based upon the doctrine of the mean,
which was both the middle string of the lyre and the centre of the

[* Cf. the author's A Spiritual Psychology published Hodder & Stoughton, 1963. This
diagram is used very extensively to illustrate human psychology from the standpoint of
man's transformation from material to spiritual modes of existence.

+This was apparently well understood by the Pythagoreans. Cf. Syrianus quoted
by T. Taylor in his translation of Iamblichus' Life of Pythagoras (1818 reprinted
Watkins 1965), p. 223. 'When we unite the triad with the tetrad, we say that we make
seven. This assertion, however, is not true: for monads conjoined with monads,
produce indeed the subject of the number seven, but nothing more.' I.e. we have the
quantity seven, but we do not have the systemic attribute of the heptad.]

heptacord (Arist. Prob. 19.25). This enables two tetrachords to be
unified in such a way as to give the complete harmony of the diapason.
The scheme becomes one of transformation that is beyond either addi-
tion or transition. We have:

Fig. 37.17. The Greek Heptachord

The tetraktys of Pythagoras was not a transition from hypate to
nete, i.e., from ground to goal, but an integration of all the properties
of numbers within the structure of the tetrad.* The seven-tone musical
scale with its unequal intervals proves to be a very useful representation
of the character of the heptad. Gurdjieff+ avoids the difficulty of over-
emphasis on transition by combining three representations: he takes
the structure of the organic complex opium, the spectrum of white
light and the octave of sound. The first emphasizes the seven qualities,
the second brings out the integrative character and the third the way in
which transformation requires the combination of three independent
factors. This complexity should not surprise us: the heptad is an
advanced structure and combines integration and diversification in a
very remarkable way. This can be seen in yet another symbol sometimes
used to represent the hexad, that of the helical snail shell (see Fig. 37 .18).

In this symbol, the number 4 appears to be isolated: but it is also the
point of transition from the 'inner' or 'secret' part of the shell to the
outer or 'manifested' segment. The shell starts from the central point
and at the opening joins with the external world.

Transformation can never be obligatory or compulsory. It must have
an element of freedom and hence of hazard. This is because it connects
two incompatible realms. For us men, it is the principle of our very
being. We are both spiritual and material, both essence and existence

[* The Pythagoreans were primarily interested in Transformation; hence their
veneration for the Tetrad and Heptad, as expressed in the invocation: 'I swear by him
who found the Tetraktys whence all our wisdom springs and which enshrines Perennial
Nature's fountain, cause and root.' (Iamblichus loc. cit. p. 80.)

+ All and Everything, Chapter 39, The Law of Heptaparaparshinokh.]

and we cannot renounce either pole of our nature without ceasing to
be men. The complementarity of our natures can lead step by step to-
wards the transformation that is beyond nature. The secret of this
transformation is that the two natures remain what they are; but in
being connected through action, they are both brought into a new
realm of harmony. Since it is not in either nature to cease to be what it
is and become the other, a third element distinct from both must
enter. This is expressed in the ternary: body, spirit and soul. Body and
spirit are both to be expressed as tetrads of activity, but soul develops
from the monad of simple possibility of existing to the heptad that
integrates into a complete whole both itself and also body and spirit.

We must not lose sight of the blending of qualities that accom-
panies integration. This is why the symbol of the rainbow, or spectrum
of white light, is so widely invoked and with it many other septenaries,
such as the seven sins and virtues, the seven qualities, the seven metals,
seven days of the week, seven planets and so on almost ad lib* One of
the difficulties in the study of seven-term systems arises owing to the

[* An interesting septenary is that of the Seven Rays of Mrs. Alice Bailey's Tibetan
writings. The seven rays are both characteristics and also modes of action. They are
described as:

1st Ray Will, Purpose or Power

2nd Ray Love—Wisdom

3rd Ray Active Intelligence

4th Ray Harmony through Conflict

5th Ray Concrete Knowledge or Science

6th Ray Devotion or Idealism

7th Ray Ceremonial Order

There is evidence here of the combination of triad (1-3 and 5-7), tetrad (1—4 and 4—7)
with the 4th Ray as the link between the essential and existential natures. The expres-
sion. 'Harmony through Conflict' corresponds to the 'soul-nature'.]

apparent conflict of interpretation as seven stages and seven qualities.
We have devoted a disproportionate attention to the heptad in order to
show how these two interpretations are both necessary and how the
conflict is resolved in the systemic attribute of transformation.

We have now to see how the heptad shows itself in our experience.
Transformation is never perfectly achieved in the existing world. It can
be approximately realized in cosmic constructions such as the human
organism. It is striven for and constantly evades us in history. The life
of mankind upon the earth is a vast transformation whereby the two
disparate natures seek harmony and fulfilment. By transformation, the
significant events of human life are integrated into the stream of
universal history. Hence we associate the heptad with history and will
find it a powerful aid to understanding human destiny.

In Vol. I, we treated the heptad as the principle of structure, thereby
emphasizing the character of integration of parts into a whole without
suppression of the independence of the parts. So also in history: the
total process does not suppress the significance of events large and small.

We can now attempt to set up a terminology for the heptad.

Seven-term system: HEPTAD
Systemic attribute: TRANSFORMATION
Subsidiary attributes: Structure, History
Term Designation: STATE

Term Characters:

7       COMPLETION

6       RENUNCIATION

5       INSIGHT

4       HARMONIZATION

3       SEPARATION

2       INVOLVEMENT

1       INITIATION

1st Order Connectivities INTERVALS
2nd Order Connectivities HARMONIES

The interpretation of the characters of the seven terms would require
lengthy explanation. The terms are not exactly qualities, nor exactly;
stages; but rather states, in which the various qualities and stages are
made possible. So many and so varied interpretations of the seven terms
have been given that a treatise would be required to show their common
significance which is not expressible in any words in general use.

We must now pass on to the remarkable system of the octad which

includes and completes the notion of transformation, but extends it
to include the integration of scales.

14.37.11. The Octad

We shall, at this stage, abandon any attempt at exhaustive treatment
and base our study of the octad on the extraordinary symbol of the
double square that is used more widely than any other in artistic repre-
sensations of the cosmic order in books and buildings of South-West
Asia. In its simplest expression, the symbol is:

This symbol is developed into elaborate designs in rugs and carpets,
in architectural motifs, in Kufic calligraphy, in painting and illuminated
manuscripts and its influence has penetrated into all forms of art
including poetry, music and dancing. The elaborations are deliberate
exercises in portraying the complexity of the world and the paths that
lead to Union with the Source of All.

A form of the symbol, that is frequently seen as an architectural
theme, develops each of the points into a square.

This form of the symbol represents the notion of withinness: each
square being equivalent to a point and each point to a square. In more
elaborate forms, the star-shaped figure in the centre is contracted to
give the squares sides or 'walls' of such thickness as to form six hexagons
and an eight-pointed star. The symbol of Fig. 37.21 can be seen on the
walls of buildings associated with Sufic brotherhoods in all parts of
South West Asia and North Africa.* Its chief purpose is to express the
unity behind appearances wahdat-es-shuhud, and at the same time the
identity of essence in the diversity of forms wahdat-al-wudjud.

The double-square symbol, when developed according to systematic
principle, proves to be of special value for representing organized
structures and historical processes involving a range of scale from
unity to totality. The form we have adopted is obtained by joining all the
points of a regular octagon, see Fig. 37.22.

In the symbol, all the first order connectivities are shown. The two
squares 1-3-5-7 and 2-4-6-8 jointly delineate an inner region that we
shall call the Arena. This contains all the area common to both squares,
but excludes the eight points and the triangles connecting each point to
the nearest side of the other square. The arena proves to be a valuable
concept for the interpretation of the octad. In the Sufic symbol of Fig.
37.21, the arena is represented by the central star, and the eight outer
regions by the eight hexagons. The same theme with its distinction of

[* The author was first struck by its strange power when he saw it on the outer wall
of the Mevlevi Tekke in Damascus where it faces the terminus of the Hedjaz Railway.]

ares appears in innumerable forms in the art of South West Asia.* The
is shown separately in Fig. 37.23 to help in visualizing its place in
tion to the eight points.

The two squares represent two domains by the fusion of which the
historical process achieves completeness. We can, for example, regard
the square 1-3-5-7 as representing the Domain of Value and 2-4-6-8
as the Domain of Fact. The Arena then is to be interpreted as the
Domain of Harmony. When we study specific and limited situations,
the squares will retain their distinctive characters and represent the
qualitative and quantitative elements of the structure.

[* V. inf. Chapter 48 where the presence in S.W. Asia of an ancient traditional
knowledge of a science of effective action is discussed.]

The octad is distinguished from the earlier systems by its ability to
represent both the atomic and the total character of structures. This is
most strongly marked in the horizontal line 3-7 where the third point
stands for the unit or atomic aspect of the structure and the seventh
for the totality or social aspect of the structure. The vertical line 1-5
connects spirit and matter, or form and content.

The square 2-4-6-8 represents the states or conditions which the
completed action requires. The points 2 and 4 are the functional and
being aspects of the atomic units and the points 6 and 8 are the cor-
responding aspects of the Totality. The aspect of will is contained within
the Arena.

We shall now consider a practical example of the way in which the
eight-term system enables us to study very complex organized struc-
tures. Education is the link between successive generations of mankind.
It involves the personal relationship of teacher and pupil and it also
affects the entire human race. If we seek to lay down the requirements
of an ideal educational structure for mankind, we must provide for the
entire range of human activity from the necessary vital processes to the
supreme aspirations of the spirit of man. We must take account of the
human individual and we must also look towards an integrated society
of all mankind. These requirements must be satisfied by making full use
of the natural abilities of people and also their potential for develop-
ment. Education must adapt to the changing needs and to the advancing
ideals of humanity. This gives the eight points of the octad as shown in
Fig. 37.24.

It will be seen that the seven connectivities from each point cut the
diagonal lines in seven places. We shall designate the intersections on
the line 3-7 by the small letters a, b, c, d, e, f and g and those in the
vertical line 5-1 by the capital letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G. We can
interpret e-g as various stages of organization required for the full-play
of educational advance. The two end points, a and g, are outside the
Arena, and not directly part of the educational activity proper. The
remaining points form a pentad with the Ideal School as the focus of
significance. There are two terms derived from the unit, i.e., the child
or student and two that stem from the human totality or mankind. We
have thus:

These seven points represent schematically all the structural require-
ments of a complete educational system.

The seven points in the vertical line 5-1 can similarly be associated
with the results to be looked for in a balanced and integrated educational
system.

A.  Personal habits and disciplines taught in infancy.

B.  Sensory-Motor skills including speech and writing, use of instru-
ments and basic mental operations, social discipline training generally.

C.  Mental skills, manual skills, learning of facts and techniques, teaching
generally.

D.  Balanced education according to personal and social conditions—
vocation guidance.

E.  Judgment, moral responsibility, capacity for original work and
practical effectiveness in life.

F.  Creativity, spontaneity, freedom in personal relationships, leader-
ship.

G.  Complete integration of perfected individual into the social en-
vironment.

Each of the connectivities discloses, not only a mode of action, but a
range of actions or interests. Thus, the form of the octad enables us to

represent in far greater detail the organization of a complex structure,
than was possible with the earlier systems. We shall not go further into
this highly important example, which has been studied and reported

elsewhere.

We shall leave the octad with a summary of the terminology we have

adopted.

Eight-term system: OCTAD

Systemic Attribute: COMPLETEDNESS or organized totalities.

Term designation: ELEMENT

Term characters fall into two tetrads:

1-3-5-7 ACTIVE ELEMENTS
2-4-6-8 STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
The eight term-characters:

1.                                                        SUMMIT

2.               STATES

3.                                                        ATOM

4.               FUNCTIONS

5.                                                        BASE

6.               NECESSITIES

7.                                                        TOTALITY

8.               IDEALS

The region common to the squares 1-3-5-7 and 2-4-6-8 is the
ARENA. All the cross-over points within this region represent the
various operations required for the perfect working of the structure.

First-order connectivities (dyads): COMPONENTS
Second-order connectivities (triads): INITIATIONS
Third-order connectivities (tetrads): FIELDS
Fourth-order connectivities (pentads): SIGNIFICANT

SUB-STRUCTURES

The terminology, even in this summarized form suggests the im-
mense complexity of completed self-directing structures. The octad is,
indeed, a very powerful instrument of investigation. Its value is
classificatory, interpretative, heuristic and predictive. It is, however,
only applicable to those structures that are organized in depth. We have
given the example of education where the depth extends from the
human individual to the entire human race and from the basic instinctive
activities up to the highest degree of spiritual perfection.

A comprehensive study of the human individual as an octad is now in

progress at the Institute of which the author is Director of Research
but will not be available for publication for some time. A sketch is
given in Chapter 40.

14.37.12. The Ennead

There is no stage of transformation beyond completion and therefore
the octad must be the last of the transformational systems. Completion
is not the answer to all problems concerning our experience. It does not
take account of situations in which completion is impossible because
of the very nature of existence. In the existing world, total completion
is impossible. All situations are open-ended and subject to disturbance
by unpredictable factors. Completion is only an approximate systemic
attribute. We have to go beyond the octad to find systems that can allow
for uncertainty and hazard and yet reach a harmonious structure. The
ideal completeness in depth and in breadth that we find in the octad is
never encountered in actual experience of the world, which is never
free from incompatibilities, imperfections, uncertainties and loose-ends
generally.

The nine-term systems, by breaking into the completeness of the
octad, enables us not only to represent but to study the working of
structures as we meet them every day. A simple way of looking at the
situation is to picture the completeness of the octad disrupted by the
entry of an alien element. If this element cannot be absorbed into one
of the eight terms, something must give way in order to restore the
harmony. Taking the example of education, we see the individual and
all mankind with a series of intermediate groups. So long as no other
element is involved, all the requirements of education can be satisfied
by the structure. If, however, we suppose that man has to serve some
purpose, unconnected either with his personal life and fulfilment, or
with the necessities and ideals of the human totality, then we can no
longer construct an educational system from the eight elements alone.
We have seen that the spiritualization of existence requires a special
contribution from the human essence. This cosmic contribution has to
be made in a dimension other than those of man as unit and mankind as
totality. It is 'man capable of selective transformation'.*

We shall no longer have an orderly progression of social organizations
and educational aims and procedures; for the conditions will be totally
different. The octad breaks open and a new kind of harmony must be

[* The Spiritualization of Existence was the theme of Chapter 35 and the notion will
be developed in greater detail in Chapter 40 below.]

looked for; the ninth element has disrupted the complete structure of
human society.

No one who has observed human affairs and human history can
doubt that uncertainty and hazard are as real as order and completeness.
No account of man, and his world would be worth much that did not
give full weight to the reality of uncertainty, and show the way beyond

it.

The key to the problem of hazard consists in the combination of
dynamism and coalescence which comes by joining the properties of the
triad and the hexad. This is obtained by adding a triad of transforma-
tions to the hexad which we can represent in the form of Fig. 37.14 to
obtain the symbol known as the Enneagram.

The symbol is usually drawn in a circle representing the serpent
Chronos that devours itself by its own tail (see Fig. 37.26).

In this form, the symbol is used for divination and interpretation of
dreams in many parts of Asia. It is probably of Chaldean origin and is
connected with the special place occupied by the numbers seven and
ten the ratio of which, in the decimal system, gives the recurrent num-
bers, 0-142857, corresponding to the hexad figure.

The nine-term system has the systemic attribute of harmonization
and the terms are of two kinds: there are three sources and six steps.
In the diagram 37.26 the sources are numbered 3, 6 and 9 and the
steps 1, 4, 2, 8, 5 and 7. There is a two-fold progresion: round the circle
from one to nine and about the hexad in the order 142857.

The interpretation we shall give is due to G. I. Gurdjieff who claims
to have found it in a Sufic School in Central Asia.* We need not concern
ourselves with origins, since the system can be tested against experience

[* Cf. Meetings with Remarkable Men, Book II, Chapter 8, 'Prince Yuri Lubovedsky'.
The interpretation is one of the central themes of Gurdjieff's System for the Harmoni-
ous Development of Man.]

The causal link AB has broken-down and is replaced by the indetermin-
ate linkage AEB1 where E stands for the environmental conditions.
Thus, a man sets out from A to reach a destination B, he meets a friend
E and changes his plan and goes to B1. In practice, deviations of this
kind occur in all processes subject to the laws of existence, and from
this comes the uncertain and hazardous character of events both in
human life and in the world at large. It is possible to arrange matters
so that the line P when deviated by E is restored to its original direction
by a secondary causal impulse S, thus enabling it to reach B after all.
The man who meets a friend, may also receive a reminder that he is
needed at B and so return to his original path. This is over-simplification

for the tendencies to deviation are so varied as to be unpredictable,
except where an artificially contrived experiment is being made. This is
done in scientific research which seeks to compensate for the unpredict-
able impulses E by carefully adjusted experimental conditions. When the
laboratory experiment has to be changed in scale and transferred to the
conditions of practical life, new problems of compensation and adjust-
ment arise. Dealing with these is the field of technology and it requires
an insight into structures that comes only with much experience.

Even when all possible adjustments are made, uncertainties remain
and the outcome of a process never corresponds exactly to the initial
plan A. We discover this to be so for all human undertakings and we
should expect it to be so in all directed processes subject to the condi-
tions of time and space.* If we interpret A as the whole causal nexus
and B as the purpose or goal; the inevitability of deviation remains.
A cannot include all the influences that may affect the process once it
has been initiated; nor can B include all the conditions in the future that

[* Reference should here be made to the principle enunciated in Vol. I, Section
3.8.3, that Potentiality is always richer than any possible actualization. Although
the exact realization of a plan is theoretically possible, the odds against it are so great as
to make it impossible in practice.]

will determine the practical success or failure of the enterprise. The
man in the journey may succeed in reaching B and then find that an
unexpected change of plan, outside his control, has made his journey
useless.

Generalizing these considerations we can reformulate the proposition
regarding universal hazard, already introduced in Vol. II,* in the follow-
ing form:

The Structure of the Universe is such that no process whether
causal or purposive or both can reach completion except in
artificially contrived environmental conditions.

This proposition is attested by all experience and it is the almost
obvious consequence of the character of the determining conditions of
space and time. Nevertheless, it is commonly disregarded both in the
study of nature and in the practical affairs of human life. If we accept it,
then the meaning of the expression 'artificially contrived environmental
conditions' assumes an enormous importance and presents itself as the
key to understanding life itself.

It is not hard to see that the required conditions must involve at least
two independent lines of actualization: one to give initial direction and
the other to effect the necessary adjustment and adaptation. For example,
a motor-car requires both an engine and a driver if it is to reach its
destination: the one makes it go and the other ensures that it goes in the
right direction. In modern times, men have begun to devise self-
regulating mechanisms. The 'primary mechanism' and the 'feed-back'
that enables it to adjust itself to changing environmental conditions are
constructed independently. Cybernetic theory takes into account the
possibility of changing the end-point so that the mechanism is not only
self-regulating but self-improving. In this case, there is a third in-
dependent operation: that of testing the final condition and comparing
it with the ideal. Operational feed-back and end-product self-perfecting
make, with the primary construction, the three terms of a triad. It is
noteworthy that when these conditions are approached in a factory
producing a mechanical device like a motor-car, the structure of the
organization is found to approximate to that of the enneagram.+ The
study of living organisms shows that these structures, that are not only
self-regulating and self-renewing but also purposive, always conform

[* Especially in Chapter 36, God and the Cosmic Drama. Cf. also p. 271 'with in-
completeness comes hazard; that is, the uncertainty of fulfilment''.

+ Cf. C. E. King, Systematics. Vol. I, No. 2, 1963. The Production of a Mechanical
Device. The author shows how a mass-production organization should conform to the
dynamism and hexad of the enneagram.]

to the same pattern. It thus appears that, while the very nature of
existence is to be pervaded with uncertainty and hazard, there is built
into it a means whereby uncertainty and hazard can be overcome. The
importance of this supposition can scarcely be exaggerated. If it can be
confirmed, it will give us the key to the Universal Drama: the Deus ex
machina whereby the seemingly inevitable tragedy is redeemed and
brought to triumph.

At this stage, we can do no more than develop the formal Systematics
of the enneagram. In Chapter 41, we shall return to the problem of
existence under the conditions of time and space and see how the prob-
lem is resolved by the creation of structures in the pattern of the
enneagram. We shall start by setting down some more or less obvious
statements:

1.  Every process, leading from an initial state A towards a final state
B, must undergo deviation and distortion due to environmental disturb-
ances.

2.  Only with an artificially constructed system of compensation
can a process be made to continue in a pre-determined course.

3.  A point of hazard can be identified at which a process can be
corrected for deviation by the impact of a second independent, yet
related, process CD initiated at that point.

4.  The second process itself requires adjustment in the same
manner as the first. When this second adjustment EF is correctly
applied, the system is brought into a state of dynamic harmony that
can continue indefinitely so long as the construction holds together.

5.  The three processes must be such as to blend and reinforce one
another after each point of mutual impact.

6.  The construction must be such that there is an interplay of
adjustments apart from the processes themselves. The latter produce the
result and the former help the construction from collapsing or de-
generating.

These various requirements can be represented by the symbol of the
enneagram.

The three processes AB, CD and EF correspond to the three points
of the triangle 9-3-6. They are the dynamism of the structure.

The inner construction corresponds to the six-pointed figure 1-4-2-
8-5-7 which indicates the way in which the processes correct and rein-
force one another to obtain self-renewal.

The first process AB enters the construction at the point 1. It reaches
its hazard-point at 3 where it meets process CD and the two continue
through the points 4 and 5. At 6 the second hazard is corrected by the

entry of process EF. The completion of AB occurs at the point 9 where
the final hazard must be overcome.

The arrows on the figure 142857 indicate the direction of the flow
of influences within the structure.

We can best understand this construction by considering a simple
example of a process that occurs in human experience and has in the
course of time acquired the appropriate structure for giving an har-
monious equilibrium.

A good working illustration can be found in a kitchen organized to
provide meals for a community.* The total structure comprises ele-
ments of very different nature such as: the building housing the kitchen
with its equipment, the utensils, fire or stove, raw foodstuffs and condi-
ments, a head cook and his assistants, knowledge of the art of cooking,
of planning meals and of the requirements and tastes of the com-
munity. The operations are rendered hazardous by the conflicting but
complementary characters of the kitchen (1) as a utilitarian establish-
ment ; and (2) a place concerned with vital transformations and psychic
experiences. This is the dyad.

In the preparation of a meal, three distinct processes occur:

AB The kitchen itself is brought into activity and fulfils the purpose

of its existence.
CD The raw food is prepared and transformed into a state suitable for

human consumption.
EF A meal is planned, brought into existence and shared by the

community.

[* We do not take the case of a small family where the kitchen usually has no inde-
pendent structure.]

These form a triad and a little thought will show that all three are
really distinct and belong to different departments of human experience.
AB belongs to the world of material objects, CD to the world of life
and EF to the world of human experience. The structure is complete
only when the three processes are correctly conducted and coordinated.
The starting point of each process is at one of the points of the triangle.
The kitchen in its ideal state before work starts is at 9; the activity
begins at 1. The food in the raw state is at 3; its preparation begins at 4.
The meal as a plan of action is at 6; its realization begins at 7.

Now let us consider the sequence of operations of process AB, as
they succeed one another in time. The sequence goes clockwise from
1 to 9.

1.  The kitchen prepares. The cooks arrive.

2.  The meal is planned and the tasks are allotted.

3.  The raw foodstuffs are assembled.

4.  The food is cleaned and prepared.

5.  It is put on the fire or otherwise changed.

6.  The plan of the meal emerges.

7.  Sauces are made. The dishing up begins.

8.  The meal is taken to the dining room and served.

9.  It is eaten and enjoyed.

When we examine the preparation of the meal from the standpoint
of the Chief Cook, we can see that his attention and interest have to
travel along a different route. His starting point is the picture he has
in his mind's eye of the finished meal and the order in which the dishes
will be served. In other words, he begins from the point 8. From here,
he calculates when each dish has to go into the oven or on to the stove,
that is, point 5. When he sees the picture, including the preparation
of sauces and the serving, point 7, he is ready to begin the actual work at
point 1. Now he must take into account the quality, quantity and condi-
tion of the raw food, making changes of plan if his suppliers have let him
down. That is to say he must now look ahead to point 4 and see what
has to be done in the physical sense. Of course, in a big kitchen someone
else will have seen to the details; but, in any case, the chef must know
where he stands. Then the orders are given and everyone goes to his
work at point 2. The attention of the chef continually travels over the
path 1-4-2-8-5-7 given by the six-pointed figure, thus exemplifying
the significance of the structure as a harmony. However much the
details may vary, the six stages are always present and they are always
linked in the two different ways: one successive in time and the other

recurrent. It is the inner sequence that determines the coherence and
perfection of the meal that is served and the good order and efficiency
of the kitchen.

The chef must constantly keep his eye on the time that the meal will
be served (he is preparing a meal for a community, not for private
diners in a restaurant). Some food requires hours to cook, some minutes.
The lines from 8 to 2 and 8 to 5 must always be kept open. One directs
the kitchen and the other watches over the food.

As soon as the cooking is complete, the meal takes precedence over
the food as such. Serving the meal occupies the centre of attention; the
work is no longer dictated by preparing and cooking, but by the order
and manner in which the dishes must be presented to make a perfect
meal. This is where the point 6 makes itself felt as a shock or stimulus
to the entire activity of the kitchen.

When the point 8 is reached, the food is dished up and goes into the
refectory where it completes its cycle of transformation on the table
and in the digestive organs of those who eat it. The meal as a creative
act is only partially completed in the dining room. It lives on in the
memory of the community as a bond of union among its members and as
a link between them and the cooks. The only process that is completed
within the kitchen itself is the first one. When the meal is ready for
serving the chef sees to it that the kitchen is restored to its original
order—point 9—in readiness for the next meal.

Certain subsidiary interpretations may be added. The points 4 and
5 are the scene of the actual activity of cooking; they are the ground
work of the kitchen. This is why they are referred to as the basic
response to the hazards of the process. Going from point 1 to point 2
is a matter of routine; but as soon as the operations begin, uncertainties
and deviations from the plan are unavoidable. They become apparent
at point 3 where the intention changes into decision. There is quite
a different hazard at point 6. This concerns completion. Only a very
experienced cook working with a well-trained team can be confident
of producing the meal in accordance with the unpredictable circum-
stances that arise when the guests are assembled. The adjustments
between points 6 and 7 depend upon the creative genius of the cooks.

Point 9 is both start and end of the process. It can be taken to repre-
sent the ideal kitchen and also the perfect meal. The structure is in
contact with the outside only at the points of hazard. The inner six-
pointed figure refers only to the internal organization and working.

The construction symbolized by the enneagram may appear to be
artificial and forced. It is only by the detailed study of many processes

of completion that we have been convinced that it does give the mini-
mum requirements of a dynamic harmony. The anabolic trans-
formation of energies in the human organism provides one of the most
striking illustrations.* The three processes are: AB metabolism of food;
CD respiration and transformation of air; EF sensation and the trans-
formation of impressions. There is a marvellous mutual adjustment of
processes. A very striking and vitally important feature of energy
transformation in man, is the distinction between the action of air CD
that is automatic and that of sensations EF that can be effective only if
intentional. This is one of the key notions of Gurdjieff's anthropology.+
The entire scheme of the present section is based upon Gurdjieff's
system, which derives in turn from Sufi sources the origin of which
probably goes back to the traditional wisdom of the Chaldean cosmo-
logists.++

14.37.13. The Dodecad

The ennead shows us the form of structure that enables nature's
hazards to be overcome. The harmonization is dynamic and indetermin-
ate. If, by appropriate combination of processes, the hazards are over-
come and the basic aim is achieved, the auxiliary processes are left
unfinished. This is evident, since no isolated finite structure can achieve
perfect harmony. We shall expect to find, in ten and higher term
systems, principles of organization whereby structures can enter into
dynamic and yet stable systems. The ten-term system appears to have
the systemic attribute of integrative complementarity, by which we
mean the ability of several sets of processes to compensate for one
another's defects and produce an overall harmony that reacts on, and
sustains, the individual structures. The eleven-term system goes
farther and provides the conditions for mutual completion of structures
of different kinds: we shall refer to synergism, adapting a theological
term used to express the doctrine that the human will cooperates with
Divine Grace in the work of regeneration.§

The study of such complex organizations would take us out of the
field of systems theory for they cannot generally be described as 'sets of
independent yet mutually relevant terms'. Ten- and eleven-term systems
are best seen as characterizing societies or communities in a state of

* Cf. Chapter 32, Vol. II, section 12.32.7, sub-section ii, pp. 234-236.

+ Cf. All and Everything, Chapter XXIV pp. 753-4,787-8, where the two adjustments
are called respectively the mechano-coinciding mdnel-in and the intentionally actualized
mdnel-in.

++ Cf. Vol IV, Chapters 47 and 48 for an account of the Traditional Wisdom.

§ This will be the dominant theme in the final chapters of the present work.

dynamic harmony. This is not to say that the pure Systematics of the
decad and undecad are beyond investigation; but that they are too
complex to be pursued further here.

When we go on to the dodecad, we find a type of structure of such
universal and such concrete importance that it should be thoroughly
investigated. The dodecad is the last of the set of four that begins with
the ennead; and it should, therefore, represent the ideal complete
structure in which hazard is totally harmonized. In earlier chapters, we
have found many instances where a complete scheme of classification
and description applicable to a complete range can satisfactorily be
represented as a twelve-term system. The twelve-tone scale is the natural
foundation of all music. There are twelve categories of Fact (Chapter 2),
twelve levels of Potency (Chapter 9), twelve levels of Existence (Chap-
ter 12), twelve gradations of Energy (Chapter 32), twelve Substances
(Chapter 33), twelve stages of Creation (Chapter 34) and twelve
Essence Classes (Chapter 35).

The ubiquity of the twelve-term system might seem to be due to the
property of the triad and tetrad when taken together of expressing
dynamism combined with activity. It cannot, however, be explained so
simply. Advocates of a duodecimal notation point to the success of
Chaldean arithmetic which relied mainly upon the divisibility of the
number 60 by the first five natural numbers. Since our arithmetic is
largely of Chaldean origin, the peculiar superimposition of the twelve-
term system on the decimal notation may be accounted for historically.
This still leaves us to account for the remarkable tendency of natural
structures to exhibit a twelve-term order.

It seems that the dodecad is significant for understanding all total
structures of the Universe, because it is the first system in which the
main elements of our experience can all be represented. The hexad
combines complementarity and dynamism, but cannot fully describe
the distinction between Existence and Essence. In our study of Will
we found that this distinction enters in World XII where six triads are
initiated by essential impulses and six by existential ones.* This brings
us to the dodecad in the line of self-limitation of the Absolute Will.
Again, we find three domains, each formed as a tetrad, occurring in
various forms. Thus the dodecad combines dynamism and diversity, or
relativity and relatedness.

More important, though more obscure, is the interpretation of the
dodecad as the terminus of the third tetrad of systems. We concluded,
in the last section, that the uncertainty and hazards of existence cannot

[* Chapter 28, Vol. II.]

be expressed in terms of the first eight systems, which are thus incapable
of conveying the dramatic character of the Universe. The dodecad can
be taken as the culmination of the transformations whereby the structure
of existence is first disordered, then corrected, then redeemed and,
finally, perfected. This view agrees with the traditional belief that the
number twelve is associated with perfect structures. We shall see, in a
later chapter, that the perfect human society should be composed of
twelve groups. We shall, therefore, adopt Perfection as the systemic
attribute of the dodecad.

As with the ennead, we shall not expect to find in the dodecad only
one kind of term-character. There are probably three type-characters:

1.  Upper and Lower: in hexads.

2.  Dynamic: in triads.

3.  Cooperative: in tetrads.

We shall find, in the next chapter, a twelve-term structure of Value
with various subsidiary structured features. We can, therefore, dispense
with an attempt to illustrate at this stage the practical use of the dodecad.

Our survey of the Structure of the Universe shows how the prodigious
complexity of entities, qualities, processes and organizations can be
brought into a form that our minds can grasp by applying the method of
Systematics. This does not mean that through Systematics alone we can
understand the Universe. Understanding, as we said at the outset, is a
property of the Will: but unaided by structural insight it cannot become
conscious of itself. The history of mankind shows how the human mind
has, over a period of more than a million years, gradually developed the
power of recognizing and understanding structures. These insights
have, apparently, been in the past restricted to a minority who have
expressed and preserved them in the form of symbols and myths. Some
of these symbols have come down to us and have been used in the present
chapter. Others still remain undeciphered. We are now at a stage in
human evolution when an advance in the understanding of structures
has become imperative. Human affairs are still largely conducted on the
principle of contradiction. T am right and if you disagree with me then
you must be wrong.' Like and dislike, activity and passivity, extraversion
and intraversion, good and evil and innumerable other dyads dominate
our language and our behaviour. For a long time, men have looked for
ways of getting beyond the dyad: but mankind as a whole remains bound
by sentiments of exclusion and contradiction. Meanwhile, the progress
of science and technology is leading us towards structured notions of
greater and greater complexity. The same is true of nearly all branches

of life: psychology and sociology, art, history and religion all are
moving away from naive expectations of simple unstructured solutions
to human problems and towards the recognition that we and the world
in which we live are an organized complexity that can be understood—
even to the limited extent that we do understand—only by discerning
the structures that bind us all together.

In the remaining chapters, we shall first study man and human
societies as structures and then pass on to the problem of Time and its
resolution in History in Vol. IV.

Chapter Thirty-eight
VALUES

14.38.1. The Systematics of Values

Values move the Will. They are the motives that set up relationships.
Values arouse interest and desire, as well as respect, wonder and the
sense of obligation. They are never simple, but present themselves to us
in a structured array, and they must be combined with facts in order to
be real. We do not apprehend values by knowledge, but by an act of
judgment. As we saw in Vol. II, values call for our assent, and they are
real for us insofar as we do assent to them.*

No one disputes that there are different kinds of value: riches, a
good name, a quiet conscience, beauty and truth are all expressions of
value experience. Attempts to simplify the notion of values and to reduce
all values to a single basic value fail. Nor has there been much success
in setting up a classification of values or an order of values by which
one is helped in selecting which of any two or more values is to be
preferred.

The reason for these failures is to be sought in the structural character
of the value experience. This is most easily recognized in great works of
art, which delight us by the profusion of value experiences that they
evoke. These may include sensual, intellectual, emotional and moral
qualities that reinforce one another by their diversity and even their
conflicting appeal. The value experience of man is a totality of qualities
that acts upon us to attract or to repel, to delight, to warn, to arouse in us
feelings of hope, of duty, of obligation and of Tightness. The dynamism
of human activity is geared to this complex structure. A man whose
sense of values is destroyed falls, in the literal sense, into apathy. He
cares for nothing and lives a vegetative existence without colour or
meaning. Value for a human person is the totality of qualities which
he can recognize and to which he can respond. The totality of all such
qualities for all people is the Monad of Human Value. If there are
springs of action beyond the reach of human perception then the human
value-monad is a sub-totality within an Unknown Whole. The human
value-monad certainly changes and develops, though it is not certain

[* Cf. Vol. II, 10.25.3., PP. 21-2 also p.18. 'All values are apprehended by a non-
cognitive act that we shall call Assent'.]

whether it is only the content that changes or whether the capacity
for value experience can also evolve.

Within the monad we can distinguish two mutually exclusive modes
of value experience. The first includes all values that attract our interest,
arouse our desires or fears, and to which we assent involuntarily. The
second mode comprises all values that depend upon our own consent
and to which we respond only by voluntary action. This gives us the
dyad of values which can be designated as delights and obligations.*
We have been familiar with this dyad from the moment when, as
children, we were brought to realize that I want and I ought may pull
in opposite directions and yet can never be separated. If there were no
'wants', there would be no 'oughts'; and, conversely, 'want' reactions
would cease to be value-reactions, if there were no obligations attached
to them.

The two terms of the dyad can be expressed somewhat differently as
relative and absolute good. The Good is a general term for value that
was used by the Greeks. 'The Good', says Aristotle 'is the aim of all'.
He defines virtue as the means by which the Good is to be achieved.
Virtue in action is holding to the mean between defect and excess. But
virtue is also the Ideal to be aimed at but attained only in the Supreme
Good, that is God.+ Thus, for Aristotle, virtue and goodness are both
relative and absolute. Relative good is manifested in our response to
value influences of the first kind—by our avoidance of extremes.
Absolute good is implicit in values of the second kind.

The complementary nature of the two kinds of value needs to be
made explicit. There would be no values for a perfect machine that
would exactly fulfil the purpose for which it was constructed. We can
speak of values only if there is a sensitive response to various stimula-
tions and if this response is made by way of an act of judgment. If I
make the statement 'This is beautiful', I am faced with the conflict of
'this' as an objective particular and 'beautiful' as an objective universal.
'Beautiful' is not an attribute of 'this'. If I seek to make it so, I am at
once confronted with the objection that 'this' does not and cannot
wholly exemplify the universal value, 'beauty'. But if 1 deny that it is
beautiful I lose contact with the particular object that has evoked in me
the experience of 'beauty'.

This kind of contradiction always arises in value judgments and it is
absent from factual assessments. If I say 'this is an apple', there is no

[* These include, of course, their negatives: aversions and prohibitions. The point
of the dyad is that the will is engaged in opposite ways.
+ Aristotle Nicomachaean Ethics Book I, 6 vi and 7 xiii.

ambiguity because the class of all apples is compatible with the nature
of a single apple. There is no such compatibility between any particular
object and any universal value. We can neither say that beauty is in
objects nor out of them. Beauty is not a formal perfection standing apart
from objects, nor is it an attribute known by the inspection of many
objects. It lies somehow in the contradiction between objects as bearers
of value and values as judgments made upon objects. Truth is not mere
correspondence between image and object, but a satisfying vision of a
structure of meanings that is free from compromise or evasion. This
universal description of truth conflicts with the requirements of any
particular truth, so that the dyadic character of Truth is as unmistak-
able as the dyadic character of every other value.

It need hardly be said that the dyad is not the end of the story.
Values are also dynamic and hence associated with three-term systems.
We have been accustomed to the static conception of Values inherited
from Aristotle and fixed in the ethic and aesthetic of European thought.
In eastern cultures—such as those of India and China—there is a fluid
appreciation of values that we find hard to grasp, and yet the progress
of our own western culture has compelled us to abandon rigid concep-
tions of the fixity of values and the order of their importance. Never-
theless, neither eastern nor western thought has yet grasped the full
structural nature of our value experience. In consequence of this, the
theoretical and the practical, ethics and aesthetics, have lost contact
with one another. The relativism of practical judgments is now accepted
by all workers in the field, but absolute value systems are still supposed
to be theoretically possible. For example, philosophers, theologians
and legislators construct ethical, religious and juridical systems on the
assumption that 'right' and 'wrong' are absolute terms; while the very
same people find themselves compelled to accept in practice a relativity
of values that makes sense in terms of a dynamism, but not in those of
any static scheme.

There is a further difficulty that is connected with our ideas of time,
evolution and progress. It is generally assumed that progress means
'getting better', in the sense of transition from an 'inferior' prior state
to a 'superior' posterior state. Progress, in the sense of a deepening
significance of what is already there, is not so easily grasped. It can be
illustrated, in a simple way, in the phenomenon of memory. An event,
which at the time may seem confused and almost without meaning,
often turns out in retrospect to have a very precise significance in
relation to subsequent events. As we look back at it, we see it stripped
of the irrelevances that at the time confused us. That which as a trace

of past Fact seems to fade away, remains as an impact of Value—to

acquire a new content that we did not see when it was happening. The
event recedes in memory, but remains present as an influence in our
lives. This influence is not subject to the conditions of time and yet it is
not timeless. This is what we mean by 'progress in hyparchic depth.'*

When we see more clearly that Values are experienced as a structure,
the distinction of 'higher' and 'lower' ceases to be one of exclusion or
rejection. When structure is ignored, we tend to think in terms of
higher values and to act in terms of lower ones. Structure presents the
higher and lower values as they are integrated in the total significance
of every situation. A house is significant because it is a house, not be-
cause it has a roof. Nor is its significance weakened because it has
foundations hidden in the earth. So it is with values: crude needs, blind
urges are as much a part of the structure as fine visions of beauty or the
consciousness of Truth. Progress is not from one to the other.

The pattern of Values becomes real when it is actualized in a struc-
ture. There are degrees of perfection recognizable as stages in the
integration of separate elements of value into the harmonious and, at
the same time, concrete pattern of an event. Harmony in a concrete
situation requires, and also creates, an integrated structure. To achieve
the greatest degree of harmony, the various kinds, and even the subtlest
shades, of value must be right: rightly adjusted and rightly blended.
Such Tightness is the mark of a supreme work of art. The artist has seen
the essential and has eliminated the inessential: but he has not made the
mistake of equating the essential with the 'highest' or 'best'. Art that
seeks to express only the highest and purest values falls into insipidity
and never attains reality.

We say that progress is the transition from abstract to concrete. This
does not necessarily mean from simple to complex. In most situations,
the monad is complex and rich in content: but so long as it can only
be grasped as a formless array of elements, it is experienced in abstrac-
tion from its true significance. The same array when seen as a dyad of
contradictory elements is already more concrete and therefore more
'real'.

We are constantly made aware of value impulses. These vary in
content and may sometimes be so rich as to overwhelm us. But if we
are unable to see them as a meaningful structure, they may produce
confusion and even a sense of helpless frustration. We cannot respond
effectively to value impulses until we can make judgments and this
begins to be possible when they present themselves in two contradictory

[* These notions are further developed in Chapters 42 and 43, Vol. IV.]

groups: those values whose property is to awaken the natural impulses
of desire and passion, and those values whose property is to arouse
supernatural impulses of obligation and worship. It is by this separation
that we pass from the catalogue of virtues that we find in any ethical
treatise from Aristotle to Spinoza or from Kant to Sorley,* to categories
of Value that progressively take shape as a systematic structure in which
all values are found to be significant.

The belief that all values make a necessary contribution to the con-
creteness of the whole structure does not require that we should abandon
belief in progress. Progressiveness seems to imply a transition from
less to more only if we restrict it to a temporal sequence, + There is
a progress in the deepening concreteness and coherence of value
judgments, but this progress is primarily hyparchic, and only in the
second place, temporal.

From the dyad of natural and supernatural values, or of delights
and obligations, we pass to the triad. This is the source of 'value-
dynamism' which stems in us men from the very nature of the human
self-hood. There are three kinds of value related to the Self-hood.

Higher Part of Self Universal Values
Central Part of Self Personal Values
Lower Part of Self Natural Values

We shall represent these by the symbols U, P and N.

The personal values are the various impulses which inspire the self
to reconcile within its own nature the affirmation of Universal Good
with the multitudinous denials that are experienced in and around it.

The Universal affirmation of Value is permissive rather than com-
pulsive and it can be ignored, distorted or denied. The innumerable
contradictions, inconsistencies and denials and uncertainties of the
Natural Order are also not compulsive. Man need not identify himself
with any of them. In his search for the Reality in which both are
reconciled, man is brought into the Dynamism of Value.

[* Cf. W. R. Sorley, Moral Values and the Idea of God being the Gifford lectures for
1914 and 1915, 3rd Edn., 1924. As Sorley says (p. 51) 'If we are to compare values at
all, it appears to me that we must give up the idea of scale for that of a system'. It
seems unfair to treat him as a mere cataloguer. Nevertheless, in his thorough and most
instructive enquiry he keeps to the notion that some values are 'better' than others and
indeed regards 'moral' values as the only true values. This notion makes a truly system-
atic treatment impossible.

+ 'Every day and in every way I get better and better', as Coue the founder of
'auto-suggestion' taught his followers. Getting 'better and better' is one of the illusions
of the nineteenth century; but it still persists and will continue to do so until mankind
grows to maturity.]

The six triads have both essential and existential forms and their
character changes in passing from one level to another.* Together
they determine all the ways in which values penetrate into human life
as value-experiences, value-judgments, and value-seeking. They do not
show us how the activity of value-realization is to be organized and
sustained. For this, we must pass from the triad to the tetrad.

Each tetrad of values is constituted by two motivational and two
instrumental terms. This distinction can be found in Aristotle's separa-
tion of Goodness and Virtue. The good is value as motive and virtue
is value as instrument. We can see in the tetrad the common element in
all ethical systems. Thus Descartes distinguishes the motives which are
'pure actions within the soul' and those which 'terminate in the body'.+
The instrumental terms of the tetrad are Mind and Matter. Since
Descartes rejects the notions of purpose and finality his tetrad tends to
collapse into a dyad. This is the common defect of Cartesian philosophy.
With Spinoza, we have the Amor Intellectuals Dei as the higher moti-
vational term and the 'passive affections' as the lower. The instrumental
terms are ratio or reason based on true knowledge and conatus or the
powers inherent in the existence of each individual.++

The motivational terms in Kant's Ethic are the Categorical Imperative
or transcendental sense of obligation, and the natural inclinations. His
famous distinction between the personal and the universal sanction for

[* The connection between 'triads', 'laws' and 'worlds' has been discussed in Vol. II,
Chapter 29.

+ R. Descartes, Passions de l'Ame, Art. XVIII, 5, p. 54.

++ B. Spinoza, Ethics III, 7, Ratio and Intuitus are simply two stages in the realization
of the directive instrument which is the Intellect. The Conatus also changes according to
the level of being. Nevertheless, the tetrad is recognizable throughout.]

actions brings out the two sides of the instrumental scheme of values.*
We have an intuitive sense of Duty that guides our actions and we have a
Moral Discipline that enables us to act according to conscience. The
Critique of Judgment (1790) distinguishes the Sublime and the Beautiful
in the domain of aesthetic values with the faculties of perception and
inception as instruments.

Thus, in four philosophical systems that develop views, in many ways
conflicting, of man, the universe and God, we find a tetrad for the
activity of value. The terms are quite differently interpreted, but there
is always a distinction between two kinds of motives and two modes
of action.

It may fairly be concluded that the Systematics of Value is the true
'Groundwork' (to use Kant's term) of every Moral or Aesthetic doctrine.
When the triad and tetrad are combined—as we have done in so many
other situations—we obtain a dodecad. This will give us Twelve
Fundamental Categories, in terms of which all possible value experi-
ences and value realization can be described.

Whereas in Vol. II, we constructed tetrads on the principle of taking
the extremes A and B and the two means AB and BA between them,
we now have at our disposal the less crude procedure given by the
distinction of the motivational and the instrumental sources of an
activity—though the results are approximately the same. We will
assume that each of the three groups of values—Natural, Personal and
Universal—involves a complete activity of its own. There will then be
three tetrads corresponding to each of the three groups. Working out the
details is then a matter of careful attention to the content of the systems
—that is, to what happens and to what is experienced at each point.

14.38.2. The First Tetrad—Natural Values

We shall start with the tetrad of receptivity, which will give us the
Natural Values. The ground state out of which all value experience
arises is the sense of uncertainty generated in us by our power to think
of the future. If, as is probable, animals have little or no power to
picture past and future events, they cannot know the states of anxiety
which stir men by the feeling that some events are more important
to them than others. Over and against the sense of uncertainty, which is
the Ground of the tetrad, comes also the feeling that there must be
security beyond the hazard of the moment. The belief that nature is
not capricious is the antidote to anxiety and, historically speaking, we

[* Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and especially the ideas in the Meta-
physical Foundation of the Theory of Virtue (1796).]

are justified in saying that the basic value upon which natural science
is constructed is the belief that there is an universal and meaningful
order behind the given array of phenomena. This conviction need not
be combined with any belief that there is a purpose in Nature, but if
this purpose is wholly denied Nature is reduced to the status of a drab
mechanism incapable of joy or suffering. The awareness that there are
in Nature values beyond Nature itself is the awakening of the positive
emotion of 'joy in existence'. It is a natural emotion deriving from a
natural value and therefore it belongs to the first tetrad. If we include
in this notion of joy all the positive motivations that make man's contact
with Nature meaningful, we can regard it as the Goal of the first tetrad.

Thus we have the two motivating sources of the natural values:
present anxiety, which makes the world matter; and awakening to its
meaning, which makes it joyful.

The instrumental values, or virtues, arise from the masculine impulse
towards self-assertion, which sees value in occupying the place of
another; and the feminine impulse of protection, which sees value in
care for another.

As our purpose is to establish a structural scale of values, we must
not confine our attention to a single tetrad, but work towards the
dodecad. For this, we shall take the values in succession, starting from
the ground state, and number them from one to twelve.

14.38.2.1. CONTINGENCY

We can start from the very pertinent question, 'Why does anything
matter?' In the entire Domain of Fact, there is no answer to the ques-
tion. All facts are equally indifferent, unless someone feels them to be
otherwise. But that feeling means experience. Experience cannot be
indifferent. It is not at all easy to see why this is so, but it seems that at
the root of all meaningfulness is the uncertainty as to what is outside
the present moment. This is one reason why the title Dramatic Uni-
verse was chosen for the present work. Wherever there is uncertainty,
there is the beginning of drama, and wherever there is drama, there is
value.

The new-born child is aroused out of its vegetative existence (vegeta-
tive, that is, so far as its place in the natural order is concerned) by an
awareness of uncertainty on experiencing sensations of touch, taste and
sound. Most anthropologists are agreed that man in the primitive state
was first moved to a sense of Value by the hazards of his existence. This
is observed even among non-human primates such as chimpanzees.
We do not start life with any ready-made values—least of all any

rational, meaningful values—we start with the sense of hazard or
contingency.

If we look at the situation carefully we can see that if there were no
uncertainty, there would be no value. 'Toujours perdrix!' exclaimed the
bored King of France, showing how the disappearance of contingency
from his menu had deprived it also of value.

It remains to satisfy ourselves that contingency is not a kind of fact.
This is necessary in view of the confusion that has been created by
the attempts to see in Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle evidence for
a non-material or non-mechanical element in the physical universe.
Uncertainty of the kind which led to the formulation of the principle
concerns fact, and fact alone. It is primarily the uncertainty that comes
from the obvious truth that we cannot observe anything without chang-
ing it, for observation implies an exchange of energy between observer
and observed. Usually this does not matter, for the changes we produce
in looking at an object are negligible. On the quantum scale, as is well
known, this is not so. But this uncertainty should leave us unmoved; it
does not represent a hazard to our existence. The contingency which
brings us into the Domain of Value is of a different kind. It is vital to us
all, whether we are children or adults, savages or men of twentieth-
century culture who have lost the primitive fear of nature. There is
always and in everything an unpredictable element and this alone, as
we have said before, makes life interesting and, therefore, worth living.

One last point must be mentioned. Human experience, as we know it,
would be impossible without contingency. We are constantly in the
presence of an almost infinitely greater number of happenings than we
can 'take in'. We notice some and not others. The primary selection is
never made intentionally. This is easily verifiable by introspection.
We find that our attention has shifted, but we cannot tell why or how.
Further observation must convince us that there is no causal mechanism
at work which guides the selection without our being aware of it. It has
all the characteristics of simple chance. The wind of our attention
bloweth where it listeth; our possibility of doing anything about it
begins only when the attention comes momentarily to rest on some
object or idea. It flits hither and thither, noticing some, passing others
by. There is no regular 'scanning' of the kind that radar and television
have made familiar. What we observe resembles rather a lottery in
which the winning numbers are drawn blindfold from an urn. The
events themselves may be governed by a combination of strictly causal
laws and precise structural connections and therefore be inherently
predictable—precognition makes this quite plausible—but our aware-

ness of them is certainly not predictable. This contingency, is built into
the very structure of experience. It makes values both possible and
necessary, and it also explains how there can be free will in a determined
world. It is our contact with the world that has a degree of freedom that
the world itself may not have. That degree of freedom comes from
uncertainty. On this view, there can be no further doubt that con-
tingency is the basis and starting point for any doctrine of values.

14.38.2.2. conflict

As we become aware of contingency, we find ourselves in Hamlet's
dilemma: whether to suffer or to take arms. The dilemma evokes the
quality of self-assertion which can be the masculine virtue of courage
or the masculine vice of pugnacity. In any case, it places us in conflict
with Nature and with ourselves. The conflict directly concerns means,
but it takes place in a context of aims and purposes. We wish to be
free from contingency or else to overcome it, because it warns us of the
insecurity of our hold upon existence.

Conflict is the name we shall give to the second category of Value.
It is to be distinguished from a mere opposition of action and reaction.
Even among living things there can be struggle which is not conflict
in the true sense. The 'struggle for existence', the 'battle of life', the
'survival of the fittest' are expressions which refer to the phenomenal
world, not to that of experienced values. There is no true dyad in the
struggle for existence which is the universal consequence of the separa-
tion of time and space. The true dyad is seen in the force engendered by
incompatible demands, of which a typical manifestation is two men
fighting for possession of what can, by its nature, belong only to one
of them. The force engendered is not due to necessity—that is, to the
operation of universal natural laws—but to self-assertion. The difference
can be seen when we compare two animals fighting over a carcass or for
the possession of the female. The first struggle ceases with the satis-
faction of hunger, but the second is implacable because the self-assertion
of the male is aroused. Conflict is a strange value, but it is a value none
the less. Not all conflict is destructive. There can be an inner conflict
in man which leads him towards more concrete and, in that sense, higher
values.

The significance of Conflict was recognized in the Chaldean cosmology
which has coloured so much of human speculation for thousands of
years. The conflict of Ahura and Ahriman produces the situation in
which mankind is created, and in the resolution of the conflict human
destiny is fulfilled. In our own cosmology we have found the two streams

of involution and evolution meeting in man and producing the funda-
mental conflict of self-assertion and self-denial.*

The dyad of Conflict belongs to the Domain of Value. Self-assertion
and self-denial are not merely contradictories, they are complementaries.
Without this dyad there can be no urgency in our experience of Values.
The acceptance of the conflict as the condition of progress sets free the
flow of activity by which the tetrad of Natural Values maintains its
activity. The connection between conflict and direction+ as the mascu-
line instrument can be seen if we recognize that in true conflict there
is always an aim to be attained. The force of the dyad derives from the
enhanced determination to get free from the hazard of contingency, but
it also leads on to the awareness that a creative dynamism can come out
of it.

14.38.2.3. concern

The feminine response to contingency is Concern. This, in the
widest sense, is the mutual acceptance that can arise between two enti-
ties. In the Domain of Values it brings us into relationship with the
natural order by a participation mystique that is the first awareness that
something other than ourselves 'matters' to us. Concern is not neces-
sarily unselfish. The self feels itself involved and drawn into the trans-
formations of value that affect its own experience. Concern is a natural
virtue or value-power which we share to some extent with the animals.
With man it can become conscious acceptance of his own role in the
world. Concern can be mutual and hence a true relationship.

It is noteworthy that Concern is accepted as a value in nearly all
philosophical systems, even in those that disagree on fundamentals.
J. P. Sartre uses the term le regard for the factor of experience that
opens us to search for values outside ourselves. Heidegger, in Sein
und Zeit, asserts that the difference between authentic and non-
authentic experience depends upon whether or not one assents to the
concern++ evoked by the experience of the precariousness of our factual
existence—i.e. of contingency. At the other extreme, we have an idealist
philosopher like Bosanquet who says 'We have experiences differently
centred and variously overlapping, but not completely repeating each
other, kept apart by distinctions of quality, but contributing, and
knowing that they contribute to the same great structures and pro-

[* Cf. Vol. II, pp. 111-12. Also p. 161, 'Man has the impulse to assert and also to
deny himself. Between these two impulses the Self is unable to rest.'

+ Cf. Chapter 37, Section 5.

++ Usually translated as 'care' Cf. Being and Time (1962) Chapter VI where the
connection between 'care' and 'anxiety' is discussed, especially section 40.]

gressions.'* Finally, reference must be made to Whitehead's doctrine of
prehension or mutual sensitivity.+ Whitehead's negative prehensions are
close to our category of Conflict. He insists that the rejection of negative
prehensions must come before there can be a positive relationship.

The meaning we wish to convey by the word 'concern' is distin-
guished from purposeful overtones by remembering that we have here
one of the instrumental terms of a tetrad. Concern guides and directs
our actions but it is not the ground of anxiety which sets them in
motion nor the end state of satisfaction towards which they are drawn.
Concern is a relational value corresponding in the progression of
systems to the triad. Conflict and Concern in the infinite variety of their
interplay work in us to bring into action the natural values of the first
tetrad.

14.38.2.4. joy

The highest natural value is the state of felicity engendered by the
sense of security and harmony between the self and its world. It is a
non-personal value in the sense that it is experienced as a general state
of well-being expressed by the word Joy. When we consider it carefully
we can see that joy is the goal of the natural life and also the transition
to the personal or human life.

Joy crowns nature and emerges out of nature. It is the awareness of
value as an activity within ourselves. Nevertheless, it cannot be an
experience solely human. Nature rejoices unmistakably in animals and
bird life; but most certainly Joy is a value that penetrates into all levels
of existence. Facts do not rejoice; for bare fact is an abstraction, a life-
less dance of bloodless categories. As soon as we return to experience we
find values, but we do not always find rejoicing. Joy in the tetrad is
the goal or ideal state of nature; all that exists looks towards it and has
meaning, because Joy is hidden but beckons.

'Everything that lives has meaning.

And needs neither suckling nor weaning.'

In Sanskrit, Joy is sukha, one of the three goals of human striving. We
shall meet with the two others at the heads of the tetrads of personal
and universal values.
We must not forget that Joy belongs to the tetrad of receptive or

[* B. Bosanquet, The Value and Destiny of the Individual, London 1913, p. 57.

+ A. N. Whitehead, Process and Reality, p. 332. It must be noted that there is no
progressiveness in Whitehead's categories (p. 315). Progress is reserved for the much
criticized factor of 'Creativity'].

natural Values. We accept the goods of the natural order, but we do not
create them. Nor must we overlook the belief of many philosophers that
there are no values in Nature. Hume in his Dialogues Concerning
Natural Religion goes to the extreme of concluding that the very Source
and Origin of Nature must be indifferent and without values. 'The
whole presents nothing but the idea of a blind nature, impregnated by
a great vivifying principle, and pouring forth from her lap, without
discernment or parental care, her maimed and abortive children'.* Even
a profoundly religious man can write: 'I think we may say without
hesitation that, apart from the emotions which they may awaken in a
rational spectator, the kaleidoscopic transformations of external nature
possess in themselves no trace of that intrinsic value which must be-
long to what Kant calls an end-in-itself'.+

Kant himself is indeed quite clear that there are no values in Nature,
whether inanimate or animate. Value resides exclusively in the 'Goodwill'.

Coming from such eminent sources, the belief that there are no values
in Nature must be treated with respect, even if it offends our sense of
beauty and justice. It seems that the error is traceable to the Cartesian
dualism of mind and matter. Matter is defined as that which is inert
and insensible and, since values imply sensitivity, it logically follows that
there can be no values in matter. The distinction we have made between
Fact and Value removes the difficulty. There are not two substances—
two kinds of reality, mind and matter—but a whole scale of energies
whose operations are known as Fact and a whole scale of qualities
whose operations are judged as Value. The two Domains are distinct but
never separated.

The key to the problem of values in Nature goes back to the primary
value of contingency. Wherever there is hazard there is value. The
objection that there can be no value without experience can be reversed
and made to read: wherever there is value there must be experience. If
we cannot always recognize it in Nature, this is no doubt due to the
limitations of our organs of perception. Maybe the psalmist could see
what philosophers are blind to when he wrote 'Let the Heavens rejoice,
and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let
the fields be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the
wood rejoice! ++

Whether or not we are prepared to accept Joy as a value that per-
vades all Nature, we should be able to agree that it is the highest of the

[* Cf. D. Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Book I, Chapter II.
+ Cf. A. Seth Pringle-Pattison, The Idea of God, Oxon, 1917, pp. 29-30.
++ Psalms 96, vv. 11 and 12.]

natural values of our own experience. It is not a personal value, and that
is why we can never make it our own. The natural values are to be
accepted but not possessed!

'He who bends to himself a Joy
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the Joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity's sunrise'.

The distinction is important for our entire theme; for if we can see
it for ourselves and understand that it is valid, we have a secure founda-
tion for the Systematics of Value.

Joy and Freedom are inseparable. Joy is the natural freedom of the
will. It is unearned and it must not be confused with the freedom that
comes through the realization of the personal values to which we must
now turn.

14.38.3. The Second Tetrad —Personal Values

The intermediate or reconciling values are voluntary and purposive.
They are, therefore, associated with the activity of Selves. The dynam-
ism of value requires the purposive link to reconcile the universal and
the natural values. The universal values can be experienced, but not
created, by selves. The natural values can be experienced but not con-
trolled by selves. We participate in the universal values by reason of
our link with the supernatural order. We also exist as a part of Nature
and so we find ourselves acted upon by the natural values. The inter-
mediate values are characteristic of human experience by reason of their
ambivalence as both natural and supernatural but never wholly either
the one or the other. This ambivalence is also characteristic of the
human self-hood which not only participates in both orders, but does
so in its motivations as well as in its modes of operation. The human
self-hood is ambiguous because its Reality is essential and yet cannot
realize itself otherwise than in existence. Our power of judgment in the
Domain of Values derives from our two-fold allegiance to the values of
our existential nature and to the values of our essential nature. In the
exercise of this power we call upon and we are moved by the values
that are personal to ourselves and which we ourselves have to create.
The personal values form a tetrad: two are motivational and two are
instrumental. The ground of intentional activity is the search for value.
When man awakens to the realization that there is something to be found
that is not wholly contained in nature, he begins to substitute aim for
desire. Desire is causal and structural. We desire because we come under

the influences belonging to the structures of contingency, conflict,
concern or joy. When we entertain an aim we are looking, not for some-
thing to be found, but for something to be created. We will use the word
Hope to express the quality of the ground state of the creative activity.
From the very start, value-seeking looks not for what is, but for what
might be. It lies in the nature of the human self-hood to be dissatisfied.
The self is never wholly unaware of the precariousness of its hold upon
Reality. This theme is ably developed by Heidegger and his followers.
By its awareness of mortality, the Self is lifted out of Nature into a world
where Being is Becoming. This is a world of striving towards a goal—
that can never be fully realized within the limitations of self-hood—of
achieving a secure place in the Cosmic Scheme. Awareness of this goal
places the Self under an obligation from which there is no escape.

The instrumental terms are equivocal. Here the male and female
sources interchange their characters according to the nature of the
activity. Resolution, courage and direction come from the hunger for
Reality. But direction also requires wisdom, insight and the recognition
that values are like sensitive plants quickly destroyed by too much heat.
Hunger is a receptive state; the starving man does not bargain for his
food. But wisdom is also receptive and silent; not imposing herself on
the activity. Out of these virtues, required for the realization of the
personal values, we shall find the two characteristic sources which
establish the instrumental terms.

14.38.3.1. HOPE

We find in our experience, a tendency to reconcile awareness of
natural contingency with belief in a supernatural purpose by calling
upon a vague, though personal, feeling that there must be a resolution
of the dilemma. We shall equate the value that evokes this feeling with
the quality of Hope. In doing so, we seem to break with the 'theological'
triad that places hope outside the natural order and links it with faith
and love. There is, however, a personal hope that does not have the
supernatural quality of the hope that looks beyond the limitations of
existence. Personal hope is the basic motive that makes life possible for
man and he can have it even if he has no perception of a Reality beyond
life. Because of hope, we are led to search for answers to questions that
we do not even know how to ask. It is quite different, therefore, from the
goal-seeking activity that we observe in the natural order. We must not
confuse hope with the 'directiveness of organic activity'.*

[* The title of E. S. Russell's valuable book: The Directiveness of Organic Activity.]

Directiveness can result from the combinations of causality and struc-
ture that govern the natural order. Hope means far more than direction;
but it also means less. The search for value is not made initially in a
predetermined direction as a plant searches for water in the ground, or
an animal for food.

A difficulty common to all the personal values must be noted before
we go further. Since the self-hood of man can be of different kinds-
Material Self, Reactional Self, Divided Self and True Self*—there can
also be different kinds of hope. The hope of the Material Self is fictiti-
ous. There is no true search, only an 'efficient causation'. The hope of
the Reactional Self is likely to appear 'on the spur of the moment' and
disappear as quickly. That of the Divided Self can be stable but spuri-
ous—borrowed from others. Only the hope of the True Self is the
authentic value experience we are seeking to understand .+

We should, finally, note the similarity between Hope and Contingency.
Both are vague indeterminate factors in our experience. This is charac-
teristic of the ground state of all tetrads. Compare the notions of
wholeness and potentiality which occupy analogous positions in the
Categories of Fact. ++

14.38.3.2. NEED

There comes a time during the day when a vague feeling of discomfort
and fatigue changes into the realization that we are hungry and need
food. The first state can be called motivational and the second instru-
mental, for it sends us in search of a meal. In our spiritual life, the
vague unrest that makes us search for an aim or purpose that can satisfy
us, sometimes takes shape as awareness of a value that concerns us
directly and yet is not within our present power to realize. Values of
this kind do not belong to the natural order. They are not to be under-
stood in terms of cause and effect and they cannot be measured—
or 'quantified', to use the modern expression. They arouse in us the
need to bestir ourselves and to overcome our own limitations, and the
reason is that these are personal values such as self-respect, courage,
kindness or honesty. When we become aware that these values are
lacking in us, we experience them as a defect in our own being. But they
are also instrumental values or virtues by which the goal of the Self-
hood—Security—is to be attained.

[* Defined in Chapter 29, Vol. II, pp. 131-2 and Chapter 31, Section 11.31.1.
+ It is interesting to compare these four with the four types of 'ground' in the parable
of the Sower (Matt. 13, vv. 3—10).
++ Cf. Chapter 2, Vol. I.]

The existing, natural universe, with its mechanism of causality and
structure, is self-sufficing—and, therefore, in the literal sense, sterile.
It needs nothing and can achieve nothing. Even the values, so long as
they are natural, do not bear the seeds of their own transformation. It is
only when we come to the values associated with the Self-hood that we
find them to be sources for its transformation and eventual union with
the Individuality.

14.38.3.3. DISCRIMINATION

The values that arise from need are non-selective. Each situation has
its own qualitative problem and the Self in search of the Good responds
to it as best it can with the virtues it possesses. The next step is to
introduce a more intelligent, more conscious use of the powers. This
brings us to the sixth group of Values, to which we shall give the name
Discrimination.

Discrimination is one of three triadic or relational Values. It corre-
sponds to Concern in the first tetrad. Discrimination relates the Self
in a more dynamic fashion than is obtained through need. The Self
has the powers of Function, Being and Will, and by exercising all
three in its response to a situation it not only participates, but can act
effectively.

Let us consider the two ways of responding to a classical situation,
one by need and the other by discrimination. One man, importuned by a
beggar, sees that he is hungry and, acting from the morally good impulse
of generosity, gives him money on which he gets drunk and commits a
crime. Another man in the same situation recognizes that the beggar is
a drunkard, and, seeing that he is really hungry, takes him and gives
him food, but not money. In both cases a value is assented to, but in the
first it is need and, in the second, discrimination. The first situation is
dyadic; good and evil are contradictory and yet complementary. The
beggar goes inexorably to his fate and the generous man is the blind
instrument of his downfall. The second situation is triadic. Compassion
takes the place of generosity and a relationship is established, the dynam-
ism of which may save the beggar from his fate.

Are we then to say that the discriminative virtues are 'higher' or
'better' than the moral ones? This is not the right way to look at it.
Both are instrumental and both are necessary. Discrimination would be
abortive without the moral virtues to make it effective. We must go
further and say that discrimination cannot arise unless there is first
awareness of need. There are many situations, indeed the great majority,
where the functions of the self-hood—thought, feeling, sensation and

the rest—properly trained to recognize and respond to the needs that
arise under normal conditions—will be able to act rightly without the
exercise of discrimination, at least in matters of detail. With such a self,
the role of the instrument of discrimination is to maintain a right
balance between the various activities that are evoked by the response
to value stimuli.

There is a link between the first and second tetrads. The development
of discrimination comes from the struggle to understand oneself, other
people and the world. Unless we are placed in conditions of conflict—
the second natural value—the power of discrimination can scarcely
develop. Similarly, concern and the moral virtues are closely linked;
one leads into the other.

Hence, as we said earlier, the triad of discrimination is the instrument
of transformation as the dyad of need is the instrument of reaction. We
require both right reactions and right transformations.

self, for then one can be united with the Individuality. In external ob-
jects, the value can be called 'rightness'. In action, it can be called
'justice'. The serenity of a perfect work of art does not depend upon
absence of action or tension, but upon the impression it conveys that
no part of it could be improved.

These remarks should be sufficient to convey the idea of a group of
values that are motivational or normative rather than instrumental. They
have in common the subjective quality of restfulness. When we con-
template them in the inner life, in music, in works of art or in actions, they
are completely satisfying. It is this quality that we wish to convey by
using the word serenity.

The eighth value has, however, another attribute not less important
than the subjective state it engenders. It is also to be understood object-
ively as that which makes upon us the uncompromising demand that
we should accept nothing less than perfection in whatever we do. Even
if we can never meet with perfect serenity within ourselves or in any
of the works of man, it yet stands as a goal that cannot be denied.

The perfection attainable in all that we do, presents itself to us as a
sufficient reason for right action. It connects personal values with
universal values and is the source of all obligations that lie within the
limitations of the Self-hood. We can associate the eighth value with
conscience. A good conscience is serene because it is aware that no
obligation has been neglected.

The connection between Serenity and the Categorical Imperative of
Kant's Grundlagen can be seen from his formula: 'Act only on that
maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should
become a moral law'. Indeed the basis of the Grundlagen is the assump-
tion that personal perfection must mean harmony with the universal
law. This is also the Hindu doctrine of santosh (serenity) and dharma
(obligation). The acceptance of obligation is a free act of the will. This
is the second freedom—the first was the natural freedom to enjoy happi-
ness—and it is characteristic of selves. Its exercise requires both aware-
ness of need and the understanding that discrimination gives. It is an
acquired freedom—in theological language, the freedom of works.

Evidently, we are making progress. The eight values, or groups of
Value that we have discovered, form not only two tetrads, but also a
progressive series, each term of which presupposes all the preceding.
As we found with the natural values that one arose from another, so
also here the personal values cannot be placed in any other order than
Hope, Need, Discrimination, Serenity. We can regard them as four
stages in the transformation of value experience in the human self.

14.38.3.5. THE TRANSFORMATION OF VALUE EXPERIENCE

First Stage—Hope. Search or longing for a value that cannot be defined
but which turns the self in a definite direction. The basic motivation in

Value-activity.

Examples and Illustrations:—expectancy of achievement; surprise;
distress or disappointment initiating search for a more secure condition;
the artist's urge to create he does not yet know what; dissatisfaction of
the Self-hood with itself and the arising of the hope that change is

possible.

Second Stage—Need. The objective is recognized and its non-realiza-
tion arouses a sense of need. The good that one lacks stimulates to

action.

Examples and Illustrations:—the operation of the moral virtues;
taste without judgment in art; the sense of disparity between what one
is doing and what one might do; the artist's sketch or the draft of a
poem where the beauty has been captured but the work is incomplete.

Third Stage—Discrimination. Successful search for harmony and com-
pleteness directed by understanding of the relativity of values.

Examples and Illustrations:—taste developed into sound judgment;
discriminating choice of methods; the ability to see oneself and take
account of one's own qualities and defects; the work of art as an expres-
sion of the artist's judgment, taste and technique; authenticity; integrity
in Scientific research; creative activity as the search for a fuller under-
standing.

Fourth Stage—Serenity. Contentment in the attainment of the goal.

Examples and Illustrations:—except at rare moments, the fourth stage
presents itself as awareness of the unattainable. Serenity is seen in
supreme works of art and in noble actions. Our contact with the fourth
stage is experienced as an insatiable demand for perfection. When we
assent to this value we have a tranquil conscience and aesthetic satis-
faction. It includes awareness of Individuality which can see the Reality
behind all appearances. The taste of freedom won.

The four stages, though distinct, may not follow strict successiveness
in time. They are experienced also under the conditions of eternity
and hyparxis; that is as potential states of which we are conscious even
though we have not attained them, and as recurrent states which grow
deeper and stronger each time we return to them. As we are accustomed
to think that processes consist entirely of steps following one another in
time, we tend to underrate the importance of the 'visions' and 'repeti-
tions' that accompany our search for perfect values. There is a sense in

which all the values co-exist within a complex structure of Ends and
Means that makes the world matter to us and us to the world.

The values of this personal tetrad are associated in a special way with
our human life. The natural values are there whether we seek for them
or not. The supernatural or universal values are always independent of
us, though in a different way. The personal values are what we make
them; or, it might be better to say, they are what they are insofar as we
are able to realize them.

14.38.4. The Third Tetrad —Universal Values

We cannot doubt that there are values that do not depend upon us
or upon any or all of the finite Selves in the universe. These values
proclaim the sense and purpose of the Universe even if they do so in
language that is beyond our present understanding. In the triad of
value, we placed the Universal or Supra-personal Values as the Affirma-
tive Impulse. They are the source of the dynamism of values by which
the Universal Drama is inspired.

Universal Value does not mean value that can be found everywhere
in the Universe. In that sense of universatility we should have to refer
to natural values as universal for all nature is permeated with them.*
Nor can we say that the personal values are limited to selves. Through
selves they produce an activity that touches all that exists—animate and
inanimate. Therefore, we must understand Universal Value as a quality
that is inherent in the very nature and condition of Existence itself.
The Universe is mysterious in a sense that Nature is not. This does not
mean that Nature is wholly knowable, for that would imply that Nature
is only Fact. The mystery of the Universe lies, first and foremost, in
the impossibility of explaining why and how it is there at all.+ This
inscrutability, combined with the conviction that it is neither purposeless
nor indifferent, arouses the feelings of awe and reverence which are the
first evidences of Deity. The Universal Values not only make the world
in which we live significant and interesting, they are the very quality
that enables us to recognize it for what it is: a Rational Whole fulfilling
a purpose and moving progressively towards a Goal. We cannot fully
grasp the purpose of Existence, nor see the goal of its striving; but by
our experience of the Affirmative Universal Values, the conviction grows

[* In Chapter 34, Vol. II, p. 269, we concluded that the three Domains of Fact,
Value and Harmony are co-terminous. They are separated in their roles only, not in
their location. The dynamism of Existence and Being is the perpetual reconciliation
in the Domain of Harmony of Affirmative Value and Receptive Fact.

+ It was with some such realization that Leibniz asked 'Why is there something rather
than nothing?']

in us that the purpose and goal are such that we have a place in them,
and that this place is secured through the realization of our own personal
values. This is as it should be, for we belong to the region of reconcilia-
tion or the Domain of Harmony where the affirming and receptive
values meet, and the Value-relationships of the world are in process of
realization.

To establish the Tetrad we must first picture the ground of the
Universal activity. We are faced with the difficulty that we cannot know
this as it is in itself but only as it appears to us. We shall, therefore,
use the indeterminate expression Transcendence to designate the
presence in the Universe of a value that is beyond nature and yet with-
out form of its own. At the other extreme, is the highest conceivable
value or the goal for which the Universe exists. This is the Fulfilment
of all purposes, the end of all striving—the Peace of God which passeth
all understanding.

The instrumental values or cosmic virtues must have the qualities
that enable the Universe to fulfil its purpose. Here we have to call upon
our own experience of the supernatural activity, which must necesssrily
be limited to what our self-hood can perceive. It is bound to be a mere
shadow of the transcendent Reality. We shall describe them as Holiness
and Love.

14.38.4.1. TRANSCENDENCE

This word has been used with somewhat different meanings in the
various schools of philosophy. The scholastics used it for those attributes
of Deity that cannot be expressed in terms of the Aristotelian
categories. This usage suits our purpose very well. Spinoza applied it
to Universals that are incommensurate with our bodily experience and,
in his Analysis of the three modes of cognition, places that of the
Transcendental Ideas at the highest level. This may seem to disconnect
it from value, but that was certainly not Spinoza's intention. Transcend-
ence, for Kant, refers to that which is unrealizable in human experience,
but not necessarily Divine. This is not inconsistent with our adoption
of the word as the ground of the Universal Values. There is another
important sense in which Transcendence is used to denote the antithesis
of Immanent Pantheism, which declares that God is nothing but the
Supreme Value within existence itself.

Transcendence as a value is a quality to which we can give neither
form nor intellectual content—but we can give to it our assent. We do
not ask from it that it should be clear or definite; such properties do
not appear in the first term of any tetrad. But we can grasp the notion

of Transcendence as the ground of the universal activity in the Domain
of Values. All existence seeks for the Reality of Being which is beyond
Existence. By our acceptance of a part in this striving, we bring ourselves
within the Universal Affirmation.

'La est le bien que tout esprit desire,

La le repos ou tout le monde aspire,

La est l'amour, la, le plaisir encore.

La, o mon Ame, au plus haut ciel guidee,

Tu y pourras reconnaitre l'Idee

De la beaute qu'en ce monde j'adore.'

14.38.4.2. HOLINESS

The first instrumental value on the Universal Scale is experienced
as the sense of awe and wonder with which we contemplate the Creation.
We are drawn and worked upon by the mystery of so great a world that
yet acknowledges its own nothingness in front of the Hidden Power that
creates and sustains it. This experience can be called Holiness, which
expresses both the good that we find and the virtue it engenders.

Holiness is an irreducible experience that cannot be expressed in
simpler terms. It is consequent upon the awareness of Transcendence.
We feel the wonder of the Creation and, when we compare it with our
own insignificance, wonder turns to awe and reverence. Thus, as we
should expect from its 'position' as the second member of the tetrad,
Holiness is dyadic. It is the mysterium tremendum: the 'hushed, trembling,
and speechless humility of the creature in the presence of—whom or
what? In the presence of that which is a Mystery, inexpressible and
above all creatures.'* Here we have the dyad in its full force. The sense
of contradiction is wholly merged into the awareness of complementarity.
The indwelling holiness that stirs man to the vision of his own nothing-
ness and the transcendental holiness that draws him towards the Infinite
are in full contradiction, yet they are one and the same.

To say that Holiness pervades all that exists is not to say that all that
exists is God—Deus est Omne quod est, as the alchemical pantheists
used the formula. In the formula of the Vedanta, Brahman alone is
Real and Atman is identical with Brahman. There is grave risk here of
a pantheistic interpretation which was certainly not the intention of
its authors. If we say that Holiness is the quality of the Divine Essence
by which the world is sanctified, then we have the formula of Duns
Scotus: Deus in omnibus esse, id est essentiam omnium subsistere—to say

[* Rudolph Otto, The Idea of the Holy, trs. J. W. Harvey, London, 1931, p. 12.]

that God is in everything means that he gives everything His essential
quality—that is, Holiness.

14.38.4.3. love

Nothing is more certain than that relatedness is necessary for the
realization of Value. Love is the instrumental value by which the whole
universe is held together in a nexus of holy relationships. Love as an
universal value must come after Holiness. Love without holiness is
little more than the relationship of concern or that of participation,
neither of which has an universal character. As with Holiness, Love
is both a good and a virtue. Here the instrumental condition is identical
with its own source. There cannot be ineffectual Love, though love
may be unsuccessful in the sense that the Fulfilment it seeks may not
be perfectly attained. Love is the Value associated with the Unitive
Energy* (E2) by which the entire activity of the Universe is co-ordinated
and sustained. It also corresponds to the eleventh category of Fact, that
is Domination. Harmony is the reconciliation of Love and Domination
within the system of creation.

It seems appropriate to take Unity or Love as the masculine, and
Holiness or Purity as the feminine instrumental virtue. In the Sufi
cosmology, which has an affinity with that of the Gnostics on one side
and that of the Babylonians on the other, there are two universal
spirits, the Pure Spirit which is the Holiness of God, and the Spirit of
Love called Ashq. The working of these two spiritual powers bring
about the redemption of the world. This does not seem to be at variance
with the concept of Love as the penultimate value.

It remains to ask ourselves how the Cosmic Love is related to our
human experience of love. With man, love is both a good and a virtue;
a state and an instrument. It is by love that the Self-hood is united with
the Individuality. This union is the first step towards the realization
of the Universal Love by which the human is united with the Divine.
But even before the transformation of the Self-hood is prepared, man
can participate in the work of universal reconciliation by his own
creaturely love in all its manifestations. When love is seated and centred
within the True Self, it is a projection of the Universal Love that can be
free from distortion, though inevitably diminished in scope and intensity.
For a reason no doubt connected with a purpose beyond Self-hood,
we can reproduce in the union of man and wife the quality of the supra-

[* Cf. Vol. II, Chapter 32, p.232. 'The vertical unitive energy is manifested as
Cosmic Love'. The chapter outlines a scheme of 12 qualities of energy ranging from
dispersed (heat) energy (E 12) to the transcendent energy (E 1).]

personal love that is not subject to the limitations of time and place.
There can certainly be less perfect forms of love that are nevertheless
authentic. Each of the four selves of man can love. The love of the
Material Self is concerned with gain and cannot reach beyond the Value
of Hope. The love of the Reactional Self comes from dissatisfaction and
the need for security. That of the Divided Self is an authentic relation-
ship, but it falls short of union. Only the True Self of man can know
union and so reproduce the working of the Universal Love.*

14.38.4.4. FULFILMENT

The highest of all values must be that in which the significance of
the Creation is consummated. It is the goal of the Universal Striving,
for which the hazard of the Cosmic Drama has been undertaken.

We are forced—owing to the limitations of language—to express
ourselves in temporal terms. This is not wholly wrong, for there is
certainly a sense in which the Universe is moving towards fulfilment in
future time.+ But it is by no means adequate; fulfilment has also an
eternal character that makes it always 'present' as theologians say, in the
'Mind of God'. In an even more pregnant sense, every present moment
large or small has fulfilment as its goal and, at the same time, its
guarantee of significance. Whatever we do and whatever we undertake,
in the least act just as well as in the greatest, the Highest Value is
projected through the dedication of the act itself to the service of the
Cosmic Purpose. It is the pole of attraction towards which the creation
is drawn, and yet it does not and cannot exert a compulsive influence.

It is not in the nature of Value to compel but only to summon. Every
value offers itself for realization, but for that it must enter the Domain
of Harmony, and this can come about only by an act of will. The su-
preme significance of human life is that we are endowed with the will
to realize Value. We can do this only within the tetrad of personal

* These explanations cannot be understood without reference to Part XI, Chapters
27-31. For the reader who is not familiar with the earlier volumes, it is sufficient to
know that we distinguish Self-hood from Individuality. The former is a combination
of Being, Function and Will, whereas the Individuality is pure Will and so cannot be
said to 'exist'. There are four gradations of Self-hood: Material, Reactional, Divided and
True. The latter has three parts: an upper nature which is free from the limitations of
time and place, a lower nature that is the seat of our ordinary state of awareness and a
central nature which is the seat of real consciousness and the 'I' or will. These descrip-
tions will be suplemented by the treatment in Chapter 39.

+ In Chapters 42 and 43 the ontological status of past, present and future is dis-
cussed in the light of the six-dimensional geometry of Volume I. There we shall see,
using the notion of hyparxis, that though fulfilment is in the future, it is not in time.
Realization is through hyparxis, and fulfilment is in the hyparchic future.]

values, but in doing so we give substance to the Reconciling Impulse
that harmonizes the Universal and the Natural Values.

Finally, we can return to the three aims of existence as defined in the
Bhagavad Gita: sukha or joy, santosh or serenity and shanti, usually
translated as Peace. This is the cosmic peace when Existence ends its
striving and is absorbed into Being. This fulfilment is both eschatologi-
cal, that is at the 'end of time',* and also eternal, that is inherent in the
very nature of the world. But for us men, its significance is primarily
under the hyparchic condition. It is the final plunge into the depths that
takes us within ourselves to the point where Existence is annihilated and
Being enters into the void. In Sufi terminology, it is Baqa (Reality) after
Fana (Annihilation).

There are, in the progression of the Values from Contingency to
Fulfilment, three places of rest corresponding to three states of bliss.
The first is the natural joy that comes by way of harmony with the Laws
of Nature. The second is the personal serenity that is achieved through
Right Action.+ The third is the Supreme Bliss that comes with the aware-
ness of Fulfilment—the Beatific Vision of the just man made perfect. The
three states of bliss are not mutually exclusive; the perfect man can enjoy
each and all of them. But they are not the aim and purpose of his exis-
tence, which is to bring all values to realization in the Domain of Harmony.

For convenience we shall set out the Dodecad of Values in a table
showing the three tetrads.

14.38.5. The Harmony of Value
The entire scale of values is contained in the Dodecad.
We can re-examine the situation as a whole and seek for an inter-
pretation of Value-activity throughout the Creation. For this we shall
have to establish a general tetrad with the activity flowing from four
independent sources. The simplest way of doing this is to take account
of the property of the systematic structure of the dodecad, whereby
each value in the progression is connected with one of the first four
systems. The first member of each group is a monad, the second a
dyad, the third a triad and the fourth a tetrad. When these are grouped
into four triads we obtain:

We shall suggest an interpretation of these four triads without going
into detailed discussion of the considerations that lead up to it. In the
first place we shall expect to find four Coalesced Values, each containing
the principle of its own dynamism. This gives each group the independ-
ence needed to make one term of a tetrad, and also corresponds to what
we are looking for: sources of activity.

14.38.5.1. BEAUTY

The ground state of the tetrad should come from the coalescence of
three values: Contingency, Hope and Transcendence. This we interpret
as Beauty. This perhaps unexpected result arises from three considera-
tions. First, beauty requires spontaneity and therefore contingency is
appropriately the receptive impulse. Second, beauty has a transcendent
quality that gives to Nature more than Nature has. Third, beauty is not

instrumental. It does not belong to the moral virtues nor to the dis-
criminative values. Recollecting that in the scale of values, Hope arises
out of Joy, we can see why it should be the reconciling impulse in the
triad of beauty. It gives beauty its power to evoke the longing, not so
much to possess it, as to realize it eternally.

The connection between Beauty and the Monad is no less important
than its triadic constitution. Beauty is a whole which does not depend
upon its internal connections. It is its own universe. We do not seek
to analyse beauty as we should a more complex and more concrete
structure. It is a triad of monads. By its triadic constitution, it is com-
plete. By its monadic character it is universal. Thus, we see the integrity
of beauty in both its aspects.

The transcendent term in the triad connects Beauty with the Univer-
sal Values. It is given full expression in the words of St. Thomas:
ex divina pulchritudine esse omnium derivatur—from the Divine Beauty
comes the very being of all things.* Plato treats Beauty itself as trans-
cendent: 'Beauty absolute.' He makes Diotima say 'ever existent in
uniformity with itself, and such that, while all the multitude of beautiful
things participates in it, it is never increased or diminished, but remains
impassible, although they come to be and pass away.'+ We should be
inclined to say that Diotima is not speaking of beauty itself but the
affirmation of Beauty which fits her description admirably.

At the other extreme, we have a philosopher like Descartes ascribing
the enjoyment of beauty to an 'agitation of the animal spirits'. Here we
would say that he is referring to contingency, the receptive element in
Beauty. The nature-philosophers and nature-poets like Wordsworth
are well aware of the contingency of Beauty, its fragility and elusiveness.

One of the problems in the interpretation of the experience of beauty
is that of bringing together the beauty of Nature and that of artistic
creation. These, together with other manifestations of the beautiful,
arise from the six triads that prescribe the dynamism of beauty. The
reconciling impulse of hope, which can be taken as potentiality for the
experience of beauty, gives it the Kantian quality of 'purposiveness
without purpose'. There is an openness towards the beautiful in Hope
that makes the pursuit of beauty an end in itself.

We have used the expression Coalesced Value for each of the quali-
ties discovered through the interpretation of the four triads. Beauty is
the first and least concrete of the Composite Values.

[* St. Thomas Aquinas, On the Divine Beauty and its Source in God, Edn. Palma,
1864, VII, Ch. 4 (V).
+ Plato, Symposium 211.]

14.38.5.2. GOODNESS

It requires no argument to show that Goodness is a coalesced, instru-
mental value, the compendium of all the virtues. It is not so easy to see
that it is a triad formed from the three terms Conflict, Need and
Holiness. If it is to occupy the second position in the tetrad of complete
values it must have a dyadic character. We shall consider these questions
together.

Goodness arises out of conflict. The Will is set before the choice of
right and wrong.

'Behold, I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that
I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: choose
thou life that thou and thy seed may live.'*

Right action is a virtue only when it issues from the womb of conflict.
It is the struggle of 'yes and no' that distinguishes goodness from
natural Tightness. On the other hand, the virtuous action is dictated by
the sense of holiness—it is done for the sake of the Holy. This would be
true even if there were no religious or even theistic faith. When man
struggles with himself to do that which, according to his own belief,
serves that which is Holy, his action is good. He does it to satisfy a need.
He would suffer distress if he were to fail. Thus Need establishes, as
we have already seen in Section 14.38.3.2, the moral virtues.

This triad exactly fits our requirements:

Affirming Impulse Holiness The sense of the Holy

Reconciling Impulse Need         The moral virtues

Receptive Impulse Conflict The choice of right and wrong.

These three values, and only these, combine to give the Coalesced
Value which is Goodness. This helps us to understand a puzzling
question. We observe that a moral person is not necessarily a good per-
son and we wonder why. This triad shows that the moral person who is
not filled with awe and reverence in the presence of the Holy, has not
the affirmative impulse to be really good. Also the moral person who
automatically performs right actions—by a conditioning of the Reac-
tional Self—without experiencing the anguish of conflict and the struggle
of choice, has no foundation upon which Goodness can be established.
On the other hand, neither anguish nor awe can make a good man, unless
he has the moral virtues.

The dyadic character of goodness should be evident from the dyadic
nature of each of the three terms of the triad. Goodness is based upon
[* Deuteronomy 30, 19.]

the dyad of right and wrong, but it goes much further. An essential
characteristic of the good man is that he does not feel himself to be
good. It is the almost universal testimony of saints that they see them-
selves as the worst of sinners. Thus:

'But my original and inward pollution—that was my plague and my
affliction. By reason of that, I was more loathsome in my own eyes than
was a toad; and I thought I was so in God's eyes also'.* We need not
extend ourselves in quotations to prove the point that there is a full
complementarity between the objective value, Goodness, and the sub-
jective state which is the sense of sin.

The dyadic nature of Goodness is seen also in the impossibility of
satisfying it. No one can feel that he is good enough. This comes from
the affirmation of holiness. 'There is in the soul something which is
above the soul. Divine, simple, a pure nothing; rather nameless than
named ... This spark is satisfied only with the super-essential essences'.+

The dyadic character of Need colours the instrumental character of
Goodness. We are driven to act by awareness of this strange value, Need,
which contradicts itself, for we cannot be aware of need unless we have
the taste of what we lack. Need itself is prior to morality and yet it is
the source of the virtues. 'God, wishing man's intelligence to be exer-
cised everywhere, in order that it might not remain idle and without a
conception of the arts, created man with needs in order that his very
need should compel him to discover means for providing himself with
food and shelter.'++

In the tetrad of coalesced values, Goodness occupies the place of
the feminine instrumental value. The transition from Beauty to Good-
ness is brought about through the perception that not all is beautiful
and that beauty is not enough.

14.38.5.3. mercy

The second coalesced, instrumental value takes us into the triad and
therefore to relatedness. The defect of simple, or we might even say
'mere', Goodness is that it lacks dynamism. It does not suffice for the
purpose of establishing a relationship with others nor does it give under-
standing, unless it is able to undergo the transformation that leads
out of self into others.

We have given the third coalesced Value the name of Mercy. It is

[* John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

+ Meister Eckhart, Sermons.

++ Origen, Contra Celsum, quoted by A. Toynbee, A Study of History, Vol. I, p. 291 n.,
to illustrate a passage in which he seeks to show that the dyad of need is the initiating
factor for the 'Challenge and Response' by which Civilizations grow.]

formed by the triad: Love-Concern-Discrimination. The derivation is
almost self-evident. Mercy is the affirmation of Love transforming
Concern into action through Discrimination.

Mercy gives us the counterpart of Goodness, and the two together
are the instruments for the Realization of Value. Acting upon the
ground of Beauty, they transform Existence towards its own fulfilment.
The inadequacy of Goodness without Mercy is expressed in the words
of the psalmist, quoted so effectively in the Gospel: 'I will have Mercy
and not sacrifice.'

The relational character of Mercy cannot be over-emphasized. The
triad that connects Love and Concern through Discrimination leads,
in action, both to the manifestation of Love (expansion 1-2-3) and to
the transformation of Concern (concentration 2-1-3). These two triads
teach us that Mercy is the key to Discrimination—the outcome of both
these triads. 'Love and do what you will' said St. Augustine expressing
the transformation of love into discrimination through concern, and the
concern of the Good Samaritan through love into an understanding of
the true meaning of the commandments.

We see here also the true role of the virtue of discrimination. It
summons concern to ensure right action (order 3-1-2) and it calls upon
love to give freedom (3-2-1).

Mercy is beyond goodness; but it cannot take its place. The two are
sources for the Universal Value-activity by which the world is trans-
formed. This is to be remembered, for in our discussion we have treated
Mercy as a human virtue only. Mercy also 'droppeth as the gentle rain
from heaven' and enters human experience from the Realm of Universal
Values. Without it we could not exist at all. Mercy, like all the complete
values, is a coalescence of the natural (Concern), the personal (Dis-
crimination) and the universal (Love), but it is not confined in its action
to any one of the three spheres. All existence is pervaded by the quality
of Mercy, though we men can recognize it only in anthropomorphic
manifestations.

I4.38.5.4. TRUTH

We come now to the triad composed of the three goals of human and
universal striving: Joy, Serenity and Fulfilment. We must ask ourselves
what can give complete and imperishable satisfaction on all the levels
of experience. We look for the integration of the part in the whole, an
integration so perfect that nothing that the whole possesses will be
lacking in the part. This integrity must be realized in the natural
order as bliss, in the order of self-hood as the union with Individuality,

and in the universal order as the Beatific Vision or union with God. No
word seems better suited to express this triple fulfilment than Truth.

As the highest member of a tetrad, we should have a four-term
system, which means that there should be the systemic attribute of
creative order and the nature of an activity. Can we say that Truth is
activity? We have no less an authority than St. Thomas Aquinas for
regarding Truth as an act; indeed as the supreme act by which potential
becomes real. The realization of Truth is fulfilment for the finite crea-
ture. For the Universe, we may well imagine that its fulfilment is in the
realization of its own integrity—that is Ultimate Truth. But Truth is
not a static condition, a terminus in quo, where all activity ceases. It is
of the very essence of Truth that it is a perpetual creation. Only thus
can Truth conquer Time. There can be no end to Truth, for this would
mean that ultimate Truth is finite, to be reached by finite means. If we
accept that Truth is infinite, then it must be an activity that never ends
and yet is always complete. Truth, as the theologians say, is eternally
present in the mind of God. But it is also won eternally through the
act of Creation by which the world is perpetually renewed.

We can now pause and look at our tetrad:

From this simple scheme, if we include the realization of Truth as
the ultimate goal of existence—which can be interpreted as Union with
God and Eternal Beatitude—it is possible to construct a comprehensive
ethical doctrine, which will give full weight to all that is of value in
human experience.

14.38.6. The Realization of a Value

Realization lies in the systematic structures that we have glanced at
in Chapter 37, but not attempted to examine with the care they merit.

We shall try to remedy this by taking a concrete example: the realization
of beauty in sound. The particular case will be that of the training of a
professional singer. The process divides without difficulty into three
parts corresponding to the terms of the triad.

Receptive term—Contingency—the accident of a good natural voice.
Reconciling term—Hope—training directed towards an aim not at
first clear.

Affirming term—Transcendence—the Art of Music as a value beyond
the person.

We shall trace the development of the three terms with the help of
the Enneagram symbol; we have:

Receptive Process—the Voice. This is an accident. So is the combina-
tion of conditions that make it possible for the voice to be trained. We
are before the Value of Contingency.

Reconciling Process—the Training. This starts with no fixed objective
but with a sense of possibility. The teacher at first is there merely to
teach. Only later does the teacher accept the pupil. The personal
element thus starts from the Value of Hope.

Affirmative Process—the Art. Beyond the understanding of either
pupil or teacher is the integrity of the musical art. Nevertheless, this
is what draws them both on to seek for the ideal. The value is that of
Transcendence.

THE FIRST PROCESS-THE VOICE

Initial Step. The process starts with the growing awareness of the
girl that she has a 'promising voice'. She sings for her own pleasure,
but neither knows how to sing nor does she recognize quality in sound.
Her parents observe that she has a voice. Friends suggest that the 'child
should be properly taught'. Vague and fanciful stimulations combine to
produce the picture of the girl as a future prima donna or famous film
star. Inconclusive proposals and wearisome discussions finally lead to
an audition by a recommended teacher. At this point, the goal seems
nearer than the first step.

Stage One. We now enter the enneagram at point 1. The girl is given
a series of trial lessons. The teacher tests her capacity for work and her
natural taste and understanding of music. She thinks she is making
progress but nothing has yet changed for her. The decision of the teacher
to accept her as a pupil does not turn upon what she can do now, but
upon whether he sees a prospect that she will take the work seriously.
Looking at the enneagram, we see that the teacher goes from i to 4
before he allows the pupil to go from 1 to 2. In doing this he enters the
enneagram at the point 3 and the second process is initiated.

Stage Two. Acceptance of the Pupil. The plan of action is decided.
The family agrees to foot the bill. The teacher has yet to make the girl
realize what it means to produce a sound intentionally and consciously.
It is only when she begins to see for herself what it means to work at
singing, as distinct from singing for pleasure, that the process of learning
really gets under way.

In the beginning, her very progress appears to be a set-back. Spontan-
eity has gone. There are no more 'songs', no pretence at doing the great
arias for her voice; but exercises, practice and repetition are now given
form in the particular method followed by the teacher. This is how the
teacher feeds back from 4 to 2. We have the first half of the six-pointed
figure.

1.  The Voice.
4. The Work.

2.  The Method.

This stage may continue for a long time, and is bound to lead to phases
of bewilderment, discouragement and even doubt in the teacher as well
as to phases of progress and hope. A definite feature of this stage is the
complete dependence on the teacher. The girl's ear is not trained nor
has her taste developed. She cannot yet recognize when she has pro-
duced a true sound.

Stage Three. When the girl first begins to hear her own voice and is
able to criticize herself, she enters the third stage represented by the
number 4 in the symbol. The teacher has also made a step now. That
which he had foreseen as merely possible—in the Value term of Hope-
is now beginning to appear. The girl finds that she can work. At first,
she has no more than momentary glimpses—a single phrase sung with
full awareness that it is as it should be. Henceforward, all other singing
compared with that, will appear cheap and meaningless. As the experi-
ence begins to come more often, she also becomes aware that she does
not know how it is done. Nothing that either she or her teacher can do
at this stage will help her. She knows, for the first time, what the art
of singing can be, but it is beyond her to achieve it.

THE SECOND PROCESS-THE TRAINING

Our attention now returns to the teacher. At this point, everything
depends upon his integrity. The student may be on the point of
abandoning her studies or she may wish unconsciously to deceive her-
self that she has gone forward. The teacher is tempted to make things
easy. He can show her tricks for producing beautiful sounds without
knowing how. If he is lacking in either taste or scruples, he will encour-
age her in the belief that she has overcome her difficulties, and is on the
way to becoming a singer who can appear before the public.

If the teacher is honest and knows his business, he must return to
stage two (point 2 on the symbol) and from there look ahead and make
an assessment of what the voice can really become (point 8). Only with
this prevision can he take his pupil on to point 5. Thus the enneagram
shows us the two paths—one of realization in time (1-2-3-4-5), the
other of the eternal pattern (1-4-2-8-5). As in the example of the
kitchen already examined in Section 14.37.8., the ground is now
prepared for the stage of real progress.

Stage Four. This corresponds to the moment when the food is put
into the oven to cook. It is the stage of maximum distress. The fifth
point is always that of greatest tension.* The repeated effort to make true
sounds does not yet give control; but it does show the pupil how she
must work. She begins to feel the proximity of the third process—the
Art of Singing—and she must make sacrifices: of her own vanity, of her
independence, her self-will and even of the beliefs she has acquired as
to what sounds are and what music really means in the life of man.

At this stage, she acquires respect for her own work. It is no longer
to satisfy herself alone, but to serve her art, that she puts out her efforts.

[* Cf. Gurdjieff All and Everything p. 754. There it is referred to as the 'Harnel-Aoot'.]

Now we must go back to the teacher. At this stage his role again
changes. He no longer can do it all by himself. The pupil must hear
good singing. She must mix with real artists. If he insists jealously in
keeping her to himself, he fails to make the step in his own work. For
him, also, there is a stage of self-doubting and helplessness. He must
turn to his art and re-awaken in himself the sense of awe and wonder
that the true musical sound arouses. In short, he must come into
intimate contact with the third process which enters at the third point
of the triangle—point 6 in the symbol.

THE THIRD PROCESS-THE MUSICAL ART

Music is not a thing in itself, but an experience and an activity. The
musical art is inspired by an ideal—independent of place and time-
that is the perfect sound. Although the ideal is timeless and eternal,
its realization is not. Of all the arts, music probably comes nearest to
the determining condition of hyparxis. Its power is in the vibrations of
sound, in rhythm and in the melodic transformations—all of which
are based upon recurrence. In past ages, men have again and again
sought in music for the secret of the heavens. Lacking in objectivity and
imperfect though their researches may have been, there was and will
always be a core of truth in this search. Music, as the beauty of sound,
proceeds from a transcendental affirmation that is beyond all self-
hood. Music in nature does not differ, in any essential way, from music
in art. The thrush and the nightingale, the bull, the stallion and the
lion are all artists re-creating in sound the cosmic affirmation which
brought them into existence. From the time that earth first received its
atmosphere, the music of wind and waves was there, a thousand million
years before life had ears to hear it.

No such musings may enter the minds of teacher and pupil, and yet
the Transcendent Beauty of Music is there to lead them on and also
to unite them. The immediate impact of the Art of Music must be on
the teacher. His is the responsibility for ensuring that she will awaken
to its call. Then they go on to the next stage together.

It is a very remarkable property of the enneagram that the only step
which coincides with time and eternity—that is on the way round the
circle and by way of the six-pointed figure—is that from stage four to
stage five. As they move, the Art of Music moves with them; it has
received one more soul within its hallowed precincts. This is how
the art lives and moves on, and this also is how it conquers time. It
touches the little drama of the girl's singing lessons lightly with the touch
of a feather from its wing. It moves on; but the situation is transformed.

Stage Five. Outwardly there is no spectacular transformation. The
work goes on, but the motivation has changed. Music is now the master,
and the teacher is only the elder brother who has trod that path before.
The 'art of singing', hitherto no more than an empty phrase or the
expression of an emotional attitude, is now a significant reality. And
yet the art remains something beyond and unattainable. There is nothing
for it but more hard work and the rare moments of truth.

Gradually there emerges in the consciousness of the singer a clear
understanding of her own limitations. She begins to see for herself
what she will be able to attain. Gone is the spontaneous satisfaction of
producing sounds subjectively pleasing but objectively false. Far, far
away is the prospect of attaining the true spontaneity of the master of
the art. The art has now acquired a holy quality, and she knows what it
is to be wedded to the Muse. She now faces a new commitment. Her
singing cannot be for herself alone. She has learned how to sing, but
knows only too well that she cannot sing. She can no longer go forward
by study alone. She must profess music and share it with others. To
remain an amateur is to be untrue to the art.

We are now at the point 7 of the enneagram. As we said before, the
art of music has gained a new soul. The teacher has nearly accomplished
the task he undertook. The singer can measure her strength and her
weakness; she knows her power and how to use it. But she must live
through the anguish of exposing her weakness and her strength together
to the merciless judgment of the world. This stage is fraught with many
perils. She knows enough to hold her own—her technique and her voice
will carry her through—but only the Art of Music can take her into the
inner circle of those few musicians who are artists first and singers
second.

Stage Six. For the artist, this is the completion of her transformation.
What was initially a mere fact—a natural voice—has now become a
value—the beauty of song. External conditions no longer matter; spon-
taneity has returned. She knows Joy in her art, Serenity in her con-
science as artist, and Fulfilment in the purpose of her life. These three,
as we have just seen, are the triad of Truth. She now sees Truth as the
goal of her endeavour. Even Beauty is now but the ground from which
she must rise. Since Truth is for ever unattainable for the finite soul,
the quest turns into the longing for the Supreme Value. New hopes and
new sufferings enter her life. The moments of Truth—even relative
Truth—come rarely. The world does not know her struggles nor why
she must work as she does. The invisible, soundless beauty of truth
draws her on and she knows not whither she is bound. A new cycle that

must be represented by a new enneagram begins. It is the cycle of the
Search for the Soul. Here then we must leave her and return to her
teacher.

At the point 8 teacher and pupil part company. He returns to the
starting point 1 to begin again the cycle of teaching, when he can find
a pupil who may be capable of making the step from 1 to 2, that is to
say of accepting the task of working for her art.

The third process has passed through two stages only: the vocation
of the student to her art, and the contribution she makes in her profession
to the art of singing. If it is to go further in her company, she will enter
upon a cycle of creative activity leaving behind her an enduring legacy.
Such activity goes beyond the person of a single artist, for it concerns
the World of Music in which all men consciously or unconsciously have
their place.

The examples we have taken may seem artificial, but when judged in
relation to the wider applications of systematic and structural principles,
they suggest that values are not isolated qualities; but elements in a
total scheme that is no less real for being non-factual. Values are not
subjective experiences produced causally by our emotional impulses:
but a Domain of Reality which penetrates into all possible experience.

The realization of Value is not the same as the actualization of Fact.
Nor is the structure of values the same as the structure of facts. Between
the two lies the Domain of Harmony, which is both the domain of real
action and also the domain of realized being. From now on until the
end of the present work, our investigations will be conducted almost
wholly in the Domain of Harmony. We have to study man and history
and neither the one nor the other can be understood otherwise than as
Realization. Man is what he realizes himself to be and History is what
the world realizes itself to be. Within this universal self-realization we
have to meet and try to understand situations that go beyond the
resources of Systematics because they exemplify relevances that are too
complex to be reduced to systems and structures.* Nevertheless, the
systems and structure of Values remain valid and will be implicit in our
formulation of the goals and the stages of human and historical striving.

[* These more complex relevancies are discussed in Chapter 41 and 43 where the
relevancies of societies, symbiosis and history are introduced.]

Part Fifteen
SYSTEMATICS AND ANTHROPOLOGY

Chapter Thirty-nine
ANTHROPOLOGY

15.39.1. The Complexity of Human Nature

All Existence presents itself to us as an organized complexity.
We ourselves are no exception to this rule. Every attempt to give an
account of human nature in simple terms is bound to fail, because our
complexity is the very condition of being what we are. The complexity
is not functional only, but involves different levels or layers of being-
experience and different patterns of will, fate and destiny. Conse-
quently, no account of man in functional terms alone can possibly be
adequate. Every discipline of natural science, of aesthetics, ethics and
history is involved in the understanding of human nature. We should,
therefore, not speak of human anatomy or physiology, of human psy-
chology or sociology, of human art, creativity, religion or history as
separate disciplines; but only of Anthropology or the Science of Man.
This great Science cannot be adequate unless it takes the entire organized
complexity of human nature into account. Anthropology can thus be
defined as the Study of the Total Structure of Man together with his
world.

There is no way to simplify the picture that will not result in losing
sight of elements that are necessary for our understanding of human
nature. Not only are we complex, but we are complex in many different
ways. There is a complexity of physico-chemical materials and reactions.
Another, quite distinct, complexity resides in our biological functioning.
Our psychic nature is complex. We also have a bewildering complication
of external relationships with the rest of the universe, and these relation-
ships are reflected back into our own nature. None of these complexities
can be neglected because they all interact in such a way as to constitute
yet another and even more intractable set of complications.

There is much about man that we all know, and there is also much that
is known to those specialists who have trained themselves to deal with
some particular aspect of human nature or department of human life.
We tend to overlook the extent and diversity of these special insights that
come from dealing with man under special conditions. Parents, teachers,
athletic trainers, physicians, psychologists, employers and servants, and

those who deal with people in the mass—all learn something special
about man that is difficult to communicate to non-specialists. There are
also more subtle insights vouchsafed to writers, poets, musicians, paint-
ers and men of the religious life. Besides these again, there is the tradi-
tional knowledge gained through thousands of years and preserved in
schools whose task it is to make this knowledge available at moments
when great changes take place in the life of man. Such knowledge re-
quires translation into the idiom of the age, and the present chapter is,
in part at least, an attempt to do so for a tradition that has existed in
Asia since or before the time of the Sumerian culture which is more than
five thousand years old. Yet, even if all this knowledge, old and new,
could be combined, there would still remain much that we do not yet
know, and probably also much that man will never know about himself
and about the reason for his existence.

This universe of knowledge about man must be allowed for in its
entirety, if we are to understand how things are with us. The prodigious
complexity of the situation can be seen from two elements alone:
knowledge of man as a biological and as a social phenomenon. The
mechanisms of organic heredity, growth, regulation, nutrition, protec-
tion against disease are so complex that no physiologist can hope to
master more than a small part of one field. When we regard the entire
human race, we find that the diversity of peoples and the irreducible
uniqueness of each individual person set before us not one problem
but millions of problems.

There are two ways of dealing with complex, or multivariate situa-
tions. One is to simplify, taking the situation apart and applying a
technique of examination and analysis that will allow us to formulate
working hypotheses and suggest lines of action. This is the recognized
procedure of natural science, and it has proved immensely successful
in extending our practical knowledge, and markedly unsuccessful in
showing us how all the pieces are to be put together again to form a
living whole. The second way is to start from the totality, accepting
complexity as an irreducible element in the situation, and then to
search for an organized structure that will enable us to examine it as a
whole. We shall endeavour to follow the second procedure, recognizing
that we cannot hope to know the structure in any absolute sense, for
this would require that we should be able to see with the vision of the
Creative Power by which the totality was brought into existence and set
upon the path of evolution that has led frdm remote antiquity to the
Present Moment, and from the present moment to a future that is
hidden from us. Absolute knowledge of what man is, would imply

absolute knowledge of why he is. Whereas we can only guess at some
partial notion.*

Although we can have no expectation of attaining to a complete
knowledge of man, it is nevertheless indispensable to attempt the task
of constructing an adequate anthropology. In spite of progress in almost
every field of human endeavour, we continue to rely upon outdated and
in some respects obviously false notions of what man is. For example,
we all accept evolution as a valid explanation of human origins; but we
do not deal with man as an incompletely developed being.

Although we have learned that our knowledge of the world is in-
evitably coloured and even shaped by what we ourselves are, natural
scientists continue to regard their disciplines as avenues towards
objective, true knowledge of the world. Although theologians have
realized that the traditional notions of man as having a single undivided
will, and therefore responsibility for all his acts, are untrue and most
dangerously misleading, they continue to build upon this false anthro-
pology. Politics and jurisprudence deal inconsequentially and con-
fusedly with human problems because they lack an adequate account of
man's nature upon which everyone is agreed.

In short, no department of human knowledge is in a more lamentable
state of muddled ignorance than the science of man himself. No task is
more urgent today than the construction of an adequate anthropology,
which means the science of total man and not one that is confined to
some limited features of human psychology and behaviour.

15.39.2. Man and his Worlds

Man is nothing in isolation. He is what he is, by his participation in
the cosmic process of which he is an infinitesimal particle. Not one of
his multifarious affiliations is irrelevant for understanding his nature.
Consequently, the procedure customary among students of man-
namely, the practice of excluding from anthropology all man's con-
nections except those of his animal body (physical anthropology) and
those of his primitive human relationships (social anthropology)—can-
not possibly lead to an adequate account. This is one reason why so-
called 'applied anthropology' has proved hitherto to be an almost
sterile activity.

[* L. L. Whyte in his The Unconscious before Freud (1960), appears to have come to the
same conclusions as we are putting forward here. On pp. 183-4 he writes: 'In mid-
twentieth century, nothing is simple or self-evident, for we have become aware of the
web of complexity of which all existence is part. Our need today is not for simplicity,
clarity or certainty here and now; we have learned that that is too much to ask. Things
are complex, and what the mind needs to find is some order in the complexity . . .']

cannot simply build up a totality from all the data provided by the
special disciplines. This difficulty is common to all attempts to arrive at
knowledge of any total situation. The total situation is structured and
the structure falls to pieces if its integrative principles are removed and
only the content is left.

We have introduced and developed Systematics as the best way to
study structures without losing touch with their integral character.* This
is of special significance in the study of man, whose very nature is to
combine different levels and different systemic attributes. We must,
therefore, develop a new anthropology which will keep constantly in
mind the integrity of the total man. Only in this way can we hope to
form some idea of what man really is. As the greater part of man's
nature is not accessible to observation and experiment, and much of it
lies outside the field of consciousness, we have to rely upon structural
principles to build from the known to the unknown, and this will be
true to an even greater degree than in the study of natural processes and
general laws.

We start with the hypothesis that total man is an organized whole:
the known and the unknown fitting into a single coherent structure.
This structure will correspond to the various systems; but it is not at
once obvious how far we have to go. Man is more than a dyad: for his
nature is certainly three-fold. He is also to be understood as an activity,
so the tetrad must be worked out. We must also seek for his significance
as a pentad. Beyond this, we enter the concrete realm of actual occasions:
particular men and women and the events of their lives, human societies
and their history. These further stages go beyond anthropology and take
us into the Human Drama of private and public history. This will be
reserved for the next two chapters. Meanwhile, we shall attempt to set
up a structure in sufficient detail to account for all the many features of
human nature.

First of all, then, we must form some idea of the content of the

[* Cf. L. L. Whyte, loc cit.]

'This is a

UNIVERSE OF CONTRASTS

grouped into
COMPLEXES OF RELATIONS

with aspects of

ORDER AND DISORDER

including

CHANGE AND TENDENCY'

This comes very close to the structural principles inherent in the dyad, triad, tetrad
and pentad of Systematics.

human monad. This can best be done by considering the way man is
affiliated to various regions of existence or 'worlds'.

15.39.2.1. THE WORLD OF ENERGIES

We believe that all processes on every scale and on every level are
transformations of energy. Man is certainly concerned in the trans-
formations of energy both as a generator—that is a producer of higher
energies—and as an engine—that is an instrument for converting
energy into work.

There are twelve principal kinds of energy in three groups of four:
mechanical, vital and cosmic* All twelve have some relevance for
understanding man and his destiny. Let us start by considering only the
four mechanical energies: dispersed energy or heat (E12); directed
energy (E10), including that of motion; cohesive energy (E11) that in-
cludes all interactions; and plastic energy (E9) that endows bodies
with the power of retaining their identity while undergoing change. Our
physical body is a complex system of energy transformations. In this
respect, it does not differ from what happens throughout the universe,
in the galaxies, in the stars, in and at the surface of planets, in all life
on our earth and elsewhere, in all material objects down to the atoms
and sub-atomic particles—though these last do not include the cohesive
and plastic energies. We are only beginning to have some idea of the
complexity of the process whereby energy transformations that occurred
millions of years ago in distant galaxies may affect our lives today, and
single quantum jumps can make monsters of our children.

We men are concerned, at every moment of our existence, in the
transformation of energy. Our life process and our psychological activity
are involved as much as our bodies. It is an inescapable condition of
being what we are. There is, however, more to it than a general involve-
ment in the cosmic process. As Gurdjieff put it, 'Man is a cosmic
apparatus for the transformation of energy.' This implies that his
personal destiny depends upon his success in performing a specific
task, and this involves the liberation of energies,+ beyond the needs of
the general cosmic process.

[* Cf. Chapter 32, Vol. II, The distinction between generators and engines is also
discussed in this chapter. Cf. Also the author's Energies—Material, Vital, Cosmic,
Coombe Springs Press, 1964.

+ Cf. Chapter 35, Vol. II, p. 312, "Essential man transforms energies consciously —
by his labour and intentional sufferings—and the results . . . lead to the transformation
of his own spirit..."]

I5.39.2.2. THE WORLD OF MATERIAL STRUCTURES

Energies, as such, have no structure. They are agents or means of
doing work. The simplest structures we meet within our experience are
things. A thing is any material object having recognizable form and
function and some degree of permanence. Things form the immediate
material environment of human life. Our bodies are material objects
made of the same chemical elements, held together by the same forces,
as the other material objects with which we have to deal. In this aspect,
the human body is a system of engines for the production of useful work.

The most important quality of all material objects is that they are
inert, without capacity for independent action. This means that their
structure does not go beyond the dyad. They are mutually exclusive:*
one thing is not another thing.

Here a very remarkable and seldom remarked property of man is to be
noted. As man comes to know the world primarily through experience
of things (including living things), he tends to deal with everything as if
it were thing-like. In other words, he tends to treat everything as if it
were a dyad consisting simply of what it is and excluding what it is not.
This dyadic reaction enters into our perceptions, our feelings and
especially our thoughts. It has determined our forms of language and
it leads to the two-term logic developed by Aristotle and his followers.

These and many other consequences flow from the fact that we be-
long to, and live in, the world of things.

15.39.2.3. life

Though there are living as well as non-living things, life is totally
different from thinghood. Everything that lives is both more dependent
upon, yet also freer from, its environment than inert bodies. It is more
dependent, for life depends upon exchanges of energy and materials.
Living things must eat and breathe and react sensitively to what happens
round them. In return for this dependence, life is free to realize itself
upon a level different from that of thinghood. Things are neither
dependent nor free; life is both free and dependent. Thus, life forms a
special world within the universe, a world governed by different laws
from anything else. In Vol. I, we came to the conclusion that this
'middle world'—the Autonomic World as we called it—must exist
everywhere in the universe because it performs a necessary function as

[* Thinghood in Vol. I was ascribed the fourth category of quadripotence, but:
'Quadripotence is the ableness-to-be what one is; but only at the price of what one is
not. Such is the nature of every material object' (p. 349).]

the link between inert Hyponomic matter and cosmic Hypernomic
purposes.

We men belong to this world of life. We depend upon other life for
our own life. We must eat food which, whether of animal or vegetable
origin, comes to us from the world of life. We also have to pay our debt
to life as our living organism returns to the earth from which it came.

The world of life is immense and only a small part of it is directly
relevant to man.* In the ten years that have passed since the first
volume of this work was published, scientific opinion has largely come
round to the view that life is probably present in some form throughout
the universe. This would mean that there is an almost infinite realm of
life of which we know nothing today and can never know more than a
small part. Even if, by some at present unimaginable feat, man could
travel to other stars in our Galaxy, there will remain galaxies so distant
that they will have ceased to exist before a messenger travelling with the
speed of light could reach them.

Nothing about us is so obviously important to us as the fact that we
are alive. Yet what life is, what it does and what it is for, remain a
mystery.

15.39.2.4. THE WORLD OF SELVES

In Vol. II, we defined self-hood as 'a complex entity in which Will,
Being and Function are related in various ways'.+ We are not concerned
here with the Systematics of selves—that is with the structure of the
self-hood in man with its four 'selves',++ but rather with the world
composed of, and inhabited by, this special kind of structure. It is usual
to speak of man as an 'intelligent being'; let us take intelligence as the
common characteristic of all the different kinds of self. Intelligence is
more than life. It adds a new dimension to our constitution.

Our sensations and feelings, our mental processes, our various
powers such as attention, choice, understanding and, in general, all our
psychic functions, are situated in the world of self-hood—or as we often
call it our 'inner world' or 'mind'. It is very unlikely that these powers
are confined to man, for we find evidences of intelligence in even simple
living things; but, as we find it in ourselves, it seems to be distinctively
human.

[* Cf. Vol. II, pp. 275 and 336-7.

+ Cf. Vol. II, p. 154. Self-hood is discussed in chapter 23-31 and in the author's
A Spiritual Psychology, Hodder & Stoughton, 1963.

++ These are discussed in detail in A Spiritual Psychology and later in the present
chapter.]

We may suppose, even if we cannot verify it, that the kind of structure
that is associated with self-hood may be present in larger and more
permanent units than man. In this sense, we may speak of Higher
Intelligences. Some philosophers believe that we are bound to postulate
a Supreme Self, and we know that the Vedanta teaches that Atman and
Brahman are identical, i.e. that all selves are one with the Supreme
Self.

For the purpose of defining the human monad these beliefs are not
relevant. We may take it as very probable that there is more intelligence
in the world than we know, and this would mean that there are non-
human selves. There may also be powers latent in man that have not
yet developed, and also minds different in their nature and working
from what we find in man.

Whether known or unknown, whether actual or potential, there is an
immense world of intelligence in which we men have a substantial
stake. We cannot understand man without giving full weight to the
importance of the world of selves and his participation in it.

15.39.2.5.   motives                           

Our motives are our response to values. Our values define for us a
world of motivations. We may assent or not, but the values that move us
remain. We recognize them and we accept or reject them. We cannot
invent them; but we may or may not accept them, and in this we
participate or fail to participate in their objective realization.

Values are not energies, nor things, nor are they living or intelligent.
They are not subjective experiences—though some philosophers have
supposed them to be so—it is motives that are subjective.

We have concluded in the last chapter that there are twelve basic
Values with which we have an immediate and significant connection.
There are natural, personal and cosmic values: and all of these together
determine for us men a world in which we have a part and without
which we should not be what we are. It is the world of motives, purposes
and obligations: but it is not the world of objects or actions and therefore
cannot be included in any of the first four worlds.

15.39.2.6.   HISTORY

We have considered five worlds, all of which we touch in our im-
mediate experience. They are 'here and now' in the Present Moment.
There is another world that influences our lives, but is not here and
now: this is the world of significant events, or the world of history.

We shall come in Book V, to the study of history and shall not pause

here to discuss it. The only point of importance for the human monad
is that we must remember that we should not be what we are—indeed
we should not be human at all—without past and future. We have a special
connection with the past through selective memory. Both as in-
dividuals and as a race, we remember important, significant events and
not everything that has happened: that would be manifestly impossible.
We also have a necessary connection with the future. We cannot con-
ceive 'being' without a future. All our intuitions of significance are
bound up with the hope of persistence in a continuing present that is
integral with this present in the sense that we 'belong' to it. Moreover,
we are not interested in 'mere' persistence in the sense of conservation
of the quantity of matter and energy of which our bodies are made, but
with the significant—that is historical—persistence.

The world of significant events to which we belong is that which has
left its traces here and now, and which we expect to continue. This is
what we mean by the world of history, and it will be agreed that it is to
be distinguished from any of the five preceding worlds.

15.39.2.7. THE NON-RATIONAL WORLD

In all experience, there is an unaccountable irrationality. This is not
an illusion due to the incompleteness of our knowledge. The more
accurately and completely we come to know situations the more certain
does it become that there is always an element that cannot be reduced
to knowledge. This spontaneous element is quite different from Value,
which, though not knowable as Fact, is nevertheless rational, consistent
and recognizable.

The non-rational element eludes sense perception and it cannot be
explained in terms of energies and actions. The irrational is so deeply
engrained in our experience, that we find it most in evidence when we
are closest to ourselves. The very essence of experience itself is irrational.
A rational account of the world can be given without taking experience
into the picture, and yet without experience there would be no world
for us. Will is irrational and unaccountable. Philosophers have tried
on this account to dispense with consciousness and will as meaningless
concepts—and yet they remain as real, as inescapable and as irrational
as ever.

The non-rational world is not a meaningless chaos, but its meaning
is not expressible in factual or logical terms. We can call it the World
of the Spirit and say that spirit has neither number, nor measure, nor
place, nor time: but when we have said all this, we are left with the

conviction that there are 'laws of the non-rational' that escape us only
because our will is too weak to come to terms with it.

This incomprehensible world is limitless spirit, which seeks to be
united with the rational, the limited. This union is the 'Spiritualization
of Existence' which was the theme of Chapter Thirty-five. We men
certainly belong to the world of the spontaneous and irrational working
of the spirit. It is the seventh world of our human monad.

Thus, within many different worlds, man lives and has his being.
In himself, man is a complex structure that includes his physical body,
his animal life, his human functions, his states of consciousness, forms
of will and his potential for creative activity. This structure enters the
present moment, lives, experiences, acts upon its environment, grows
old and dies. What it was before the body was formed, and what it will be
after the body dies, are questions not be to answered within the limits of
the first six worlds. If there are answers, they must come from the
world of spirit. What man is in himself and what he signifies has been
partly answered in Vol. II in terms of Self-hood and Individuality.*

15.39.3. The Ambiguity of Human Nature

Man's dyadic character is self-evident. More than any other being
we know, or suppose to exist, man is involved in the two Domains of
Fact and Value. The ambiguity is equally inescapable whether we
believe man to be of natural or supernatural origin. If he is merely a
product of material transformations, his sense of value is inexplicable.
If he is a product of supernatural creation his subjection to material
laws seem unreasonable. This ambiguity must be given full weight in
any acceptable anthropology.

We can restate it in terms of the distinction, made in Vol. II, between
Essence and Existence.+ There are two ways of looking at man—one is
to see him as what he consists of, and the other to see him for what he is.
By the former, which we call his existence, he participates in the
world process, he has a place in it and a function to perform. By the
latter, which we call his essence, he is an unique something that is
unknown and unknowable because it is not a fact, and unlimited be-
cause it is a mirror in which the infinity of all the world is reflected. We
reached the proposition Existence is poorer in its content than
Essence.++ We must now go further and say that we have a contrast of

[* Cf. Chapters 28 and 29, Vol. II.

+ Cf. Vol. II, Chapter 25 and especially section 4, pp. 23-30.

++ Ibid., p. 24. In the passage cited existence is identified with fact and essence with
value. This is too restrictive.]

finitude and infinity. Man as a part of existence is an actual fact that
cannot be other than what it is. Man as an essence is a Being and as
such can grow or diminish. He can hold his own with the universe or be
swallowed up by it. Existence stands between the limits of Life and
Death. Essence is held within different limits—between Reality and
Unreality.

Man contradicts himself. This is a well-known and ever-present
dilemma. Our hold upon existence is precarious and yet it is all we know.
Our essence is secure, but we cannot know it. And yet we are deeply
aware of the division in our nature. We are aware of a two-fold anxiety
that is our chief concern, and yet we are so divided and so contra-
dictory, that we cannot comprehend it. It separates into two mutually
exclusive fields. One is centred upon the inescapable needs of our
existence. It can be called restricted anxiety, for it not only remains
within the knowable worlds, but within the areas immediately adjacent
to man himself. The second is the total anxiety directed to the mystery
of the Whole. We all experience this total anxiety. We may turn away
from it to the restricted concern of our every-day existence; but it
remains as the unresolved contradiction, in which our essence makes
itself felt.

It is, in some ways, right to associate existence with Fact and essence
with Value. Fact is what we can know through existence. Value is what
we judge and assent to by virtue of our essence-quality. Nevertheless, we
must be careful not to regard these as identities. Existence is not con-
fined to Fact; Values enter it and transform it. This we have seen in our
study of the essence-classes,* where we also found that Value takes
hold upon reality by its association with Fact.

The two sides of our human nature are inseparable; like Siamese
twins, the price of parting them is likely to be the death of one or the
other. We must accept the complementarity of the two terms of the
human dyad and learn to live with it. We experience our two-fold
nature as if there were two opposing forces acting upon us. There is a
centrifugal action that draws us both outwards to the great worlds, and
also inwards towards the inaccessible depths of our own essence. There
is a centripetal action that holds us to the immediate tangible present
moment in which we live. Each makes an uncompromising demand
upon us. Existence is still precarious, essence is not yet realized. Limited
in his capacity for action, unlimited in his thirst for experience, man

[* Cf. Chapter 35, Vol. II, on p. 287, we find: 'The property of Spirit is to harmonize
existence and essence, and this requires not only the spiritualization of Existence but
also Realization of Essence.']

must accept the incompatibility of his two natures, not as a weakness, but
as the very condition of his reality. He must get beyond the dyad; but
he will only be able to do so if he consents to remain in it. If he seeks to
ignore it, he loses his hold upon Reality.

The dyad of natures is a projection into the human situation of a
dualism that is universal and inherent in the nature of existence itself.*
It is projected in its turn into the structure of human beings. The two
sexes form a dyad which reproduces the fundamental division. It is
generally true that man is centrifugal and tends towards creative activity
that takes him out of the immediate and actual. Woman is generally
centripetal, tending towards conservative action rooted in the actual.
Men tend to be visionary and women realistic. These distinctions are
blurred by the comparative rarity of complete men or complete women.
The majority are a mixture of the two characters. This is not a defect,
for both natures are present—one active and the other latent—in all
human beings. The complementarity of the sexes—their complete
mutual dependence and their equally complete contradiction of natures
—must be accepted. The contrary view that the difference is physio-
logical only, which many people hold today, is totally false. But equally
false is the belief that the male sex is superior and entitled to dominate
the female. Complementarity implies equality but not identity. The
equality of men and women consists of their equal need for one another.
Neither man alone nor woman alone can be a complete being. This
obvious truth in the physiological sense—in the act of reproduction-
is no less true in all other domains. Men and women think and feel
differently, understand differently, judge differently, and neither think,
feel, understand or judge objectively except in combination. The
paradox consists in that, being opposite in nature they must disagree,
and yet their disagreement is the condition of mutual understanding.

The harmony of the dyad consists in acceptance of the contradiction
together with awareness of complementarity. This must be the basis
of the union of the sexes—for only in this way can a complete human
structure be erected. The sexual nature of man is a consequence of the
two-fold nature of man himself. It is different from the sexuality of
animals, though it is foreshadowed in the monogamous mating of
certain species. The difference comes from the deep need in man to face
and accept his own contradiction. He cannot be satisfied with what he is,
and yet he cannot abandon what he is. He cannot attain what he aspires

[* Cf. Chapter 34, Vol. II, on Creation. The Principle of Creation is partition and
blending. Without this two-fold action the organized complexity of all Existence could
not arise.]

to, and yet he cannot cease to aspire to it. Through the distribution of
the contradiction between the sexes, a force unique in its quality comes
into being. It can be described as a marriage of essence and existence
whereby their separation is overcome without their distinction being
destroyed. Among the consequences of this union is a transformed
situation regarding space and time.

The human dyad is manifested in the sexes; it is also present but
unmanifested within every human self. It is a truly human charac-
teristic because the self-hood of man is poised between essence and
existence, drawn equally towards the two poles. The acceptance of this
hazardous and poignant situation is the first condition for recognizing
the Self as potential Soul, bearing within it the seed of Individuality.

15.39.4. Man as Triad

Man as concrete reality must participate in the fundamental triad of
Function, Being and Will.* Each of these three elements has its charac-
teristic structure, and, since they are different substances which cannot
be reduced to any common term, it is impossible to give a consistent
account of human nature unless their contributions are kept distinct.
This does not mean that we can keep them separate for all three enter
into every possible kind of experience. For example, we experience the
reality of the human organism as a functional mechanism and a mode of
being; but we are also aware that it manifests a will to live and fulfil its
nature. Again, we can recognize that thought proceeds from acts of
will that may be strong or feeble; but that thought is also a function and
that it is conditioned by the state of our being.

Although the basic triad enters into all experience, it does not give
rise to the structures which hold experience together. These are more
complex than triads, so that their study will lead us into higher-term
systems. Meanwhile, we can examine the three elements as they enter
our experience.

15.39.4.1. THE ELEMENT OF BEING

All experience is contained within the Present Moment. This is the
only immediate and irreducible certainty. The present moment is not a
dimensionless point, but a finite region of experience that never changes

[* Vide Supra, Vol. I, Chapter 3, p. 55, The Elements of Experience. 'Experience itself
is not homogeneous: it has elements differing in their essential nature—namely, the
elements of function, of being, and of will. All three elements enter into any possible
experience.' Function is the knowable (Section 1.3.3.). Being is inner togetherness
(Section 1.3 .4.). Will is understanding in its subjective aspect and law in its objective
operations (Section 1.3.6.).]

inasmuch as it is always present and yet always changes inasmuch as
it is in a state of flux. It has a content that comprises three main types
of experience that we can call immediacy or the here and now, traces or
memories, and expectations or awareness of what is not present.
The present moment is continually changing not only in content, but
also in extent and duration. We are aware of it as the total immediate
experience. We do not know who or what 'we' are in this content, but
we do know that 'something' is the locus of this total but limited experi-
ence. We shall use the word Mind to denote this something.*

We can distinguish three modes of experience in the mind. We call
these automatic, sensitive and conscious and we shall identify them
with the three energies previously described by the same names: auto-
matic energy E6, sensitive energy E5 and conscious energy E4. These
can be regarded as the energies of our ordinary human experience and
their combination in a state of comprescence is the 'ordinary mind of
man'. Other non-human types of experience may arise from other
combinations of energy. In this sense, we may postulate minds of animals
and even plants. In man also, we can postulate 'mental regions' each
of which experiences a present moment, not necessarily connected with
the others.

In this way, we can picture 'mind' as a region of experience of the
present moment that not only expands and contracts, varies in content
and state, but also subdivides and recombines. All these fluctuations
enable mind to be aware that it is not the totality of possible experience.
It becomes aware of 'other minds' and also can interpret the traces or
memories left by contents that are not 'here and now'. Needless to say,
this work of interpretation is possible only because of the functional
powers of sensation, thought, etc.; but we can distinguish mind from
the powers and instruments by its simple and decisive property of
giving us the experience of immediate presence here and now.

The mind itself is capable of transformation. It can degenerate and
lose its coherence and it can also develop towards a stable structure.
Within the fluctuations of the present moment, an unvarying core of
experience develops that enables the mind to recognize its own identity.
Further coalescence leads to a stable energetic structure that we shall
identify with the notion of Soul. Thus soul evolves out of mind and
mind evolves out of the present moment of experience by the interplay
and coalescence of energies.

We may suppose that soul is not a fixed condition, but a structure
capable of further development. This will enlarge the region of the

[* These notions will be developed in Vol. IV, Chapter 42, The War with Time.]

present moment of experience and also bring in energies of a higher
order, starting with the Creative Energy E3.

All the concepts introduced in this sub-section: energies, present
moment, traces and expectations, mind, soul, transformation, and
evolution belong to the element of Being. This agrees with the
notion of Being as relative and capable of transformation discussed in
earlier chapters—and especially the description of Being as together-
ness.

15.39.4.2. THE ELEMENT OF FUNCTION

Awareness of function comes after awareness of mind. This is evident
from the observation of new born and very young children in whom
there is evidently experience and hence, by our definition, mind; but
no awareness of their own functions. It is not to be inferred that func-
tions are secondary and being primary. Functions can exist with little
mind and even, perhaps, with no mind at all. Thus an axe or a spear
has a function, but we should hesitate to allow it a mind. It has 'being'
inasmuch as it can persist in the present moment of one's awareness but
its being is little more than the material structure which performs the
function.

We can, therefore, start our description of function in man with the
material structure relevant to him: that is, his physical body. This body
has limbs and organs and all of these have well-defined functions. We
know them by the way they influence our awareness of the present
moment. This suggests the distinction between material functions, vital
functions and psychic functions. The material functions consist, firstly,
in providing a quasi-rigid yet flexible and adaptable structure associated
with the present moment of awareness. The material structure consists
of a number of mechanical devices (levers, rigid members, semi-
elastic and plastic connecting elements) and engines for the transforma-
tion of energies (metabolic and respiratory systems, nerves and muscles).
These in turn are regulated and maintained by bio-chemical structures
and vital processes. These very complex, interlocking functions are the
subject matter of anatomy, physiology, bio-physics and bio-chemistry.
They all depend upon energies in the range from the dispersed energy of
heat (E 12) to the vital energy (E 7). We can recognize a progressive
integration of functions from the separate mechanisms towards the
organism as a whole. At some point, an integrative function comes into
play and produces three main types of psychic function that are experi-
enced in the mind.

The psychic functions fall into three groups, according to the type

of experience that accompanies them, namely sensation, feeling and
thought. These make use of the bodily mechanisms in several ways.
Thus we have:

Inner Sensation Instinctive vital processes of the body.

Outer Sensation Perceptions, Movements and bodily action upon

other bodies.

Feelings                Emotions, likes and dislikes, desire and aversion.

Thoughts               Mental images and signs.

Traces and Memories.

Expectations.
Sex                       Connection between two bodies and minds.

Fig. 39.2. The Psychic Functions

These various groups of functions are coordinated by brains or
Centres of function that are connected with the nervous system, the
blood and the organs of perception and action.

Each of the functions has the power to produce 'states of mind'. We
shall designate as powers the three main connections between the
functions and the mind.

Sensation has the power to produce the experience of Presence.

Feeling has the power to produce the experience of Force.

Thought has the power to go outside the present moment by connect-
ing us with perceptions, traces or memories, expectations and mental
images. These functional activities collectively give the power of
Direction.

The functions can be more or less coordinated in their activity
according to the energy by which they are activated. We have:

Vital Energy E7. The functions work below the threshold of the mind
and are coordinated only by their construction.

Automatic Energy E6. The functions are at the lower threshold of
the mind. They are coordinated by habitual patterns.

Sensitive Energy E5. The functions are in the centre of the mind.
This is commonly called 'conscious functioning'. Coordination is by
sensitivity.

Conscious Energy E4. The functions are at the upper limit of mind
where the world of life touches the world of universal energies. The
conscious energy has the power to integrate all the functions in the state
of self-awareness or I-consciousness.

Beyond this point, we can postulate two further levels of functioning
possible for man; but only when mind is transformed into soul. When

the Creative Energy E3 enters the present moment, there is an awaken-
ing of what we shall call Higher Personal Reason. This power is the
highest that can be exercised within the present moment of the human
person. Its chief use is in revealing to the mind the total present, or
Destiny, of the individual. This requires the awakening of the soul.
Until this awakening is accomplished, the Higher Personal Reason
manifests indirectly as Conscience.

The highest degree of functional integration comes from the Unitive
Energy E2 which connects the Personal Individuality with the Cosmic
Individuality. The limitations of mind are transcended and the Higher
Objective Reason takes the place of the powers of presence, force and
direction which are related to it as the body is related to them, i.e.
as instruments.

15.39.4.3. THE ELEMENT OF WILL

In its simplest expression, Will is the active element in the triad
Function-Being-Will.* This is little more than a definition: something
makes the world go and we call that something 'Will'. There is, how-
ever, an important hypothesis implied here, namely: that not only all
the world but each separate part of it is moved by its own will and that
all the partial 'wills' are fragments of the one Total Will.+

The primary experience of Will in man is of multiplicity. Even within
the present moment, we observe separate wills—associated with different
functions, conflicting wills of the several centres, changing wills of
memories, habits and expectations. This can be expressed by saying
that man has not one single undivided 'I', but many TV constantly
changing, entering and leaving the present moment of experience like
actors coming on and going off the stage.

Closer observation shows that these incessantly changing wills are
grouped into more or less permanent 'will patterns'. These can be
called personalities when they are associated with stable memories of
the past. When they are unconscious and consist of traces rather than
memories they are called features.

Some personalities are so persistent as to lead to characteristic patterns

[* Cf. Vol. I, p. 55, 'Everywhere there is an impelling factor—that is, will—whether
it be a directive intention or only the automatic operation of external "influences".'
Again, ibid. Section 1.3.5. 'Will as the active element.' P. 61, 'Will, therefore, is
seen to be not only the universal active element but also the particular active element in
every recognizable whole.'

+ This has been discussed in Chapter 27, Vol. II. Cf. the nine postulates of the Will,
pp. 83—4. Also the notion of self-limitation of the Will introduced in Vol. I, pp. 149—51.
We can now see that this self-limitation creates the multiplicity of Present Moments,
all contained within the Total Present.]

of behaviour. They begin then to occupy definite regions of the mind
and acquire their own stable energy patterns and other properties of
mind. In pathological states these will-patterns can lead separate lives
within the same bodily organism, so that the mind becomes divided into
mutually closed regions each with its own present moment. The various
schizophrenias are the commonest manifestations of this condition.

Even in relatively normal men and women there is no unity of will
until the mind develops into a soul. There are, however, specific com-
binations of will and being that produce the Self-hood.* The four
selves: Material, Reactional, Divided and True Self, represent different
modes of coalescence of the Will with the energy patterns of the organism.

The undivided state of the Will, personal and yet free from existential
limitations is called the Individuality. The Personal Individuality is
regarded as a direct self-limitation of the Essential Cosmic Will and
therefore different in nature from the 'existential wills' coalesced with
the personalities and selves, + The Will in man can be said to be dispersed
in fragments in his changing present moment and also concentrated and
unified in his Personal Individuality that can enter his present moment
only when he acquires stability and permanence.

Thus, each of the three elements of man's experience are associated
with his present moment in a very great variety of forms and structures.
To understand these we must pass from the triad to the tetrad which
enables us to study man in his activity as an agent of order and purpose.

15.39.5. Man as Ordering Agent

Man can be regarded as a cosmic apparatus for the creation of order.
His life depends upon the ordering of chemical substances and energies
and his activity depends upon the ordering of sense impressions and
mental images in the mind. His self-realization depends upon the order-
ing of the mind itself to enable it to serve as the vehicle and instrument
of his Individuality.

Since the tetrad is the system that governs all ordering activity, we
shall expect to find in the tetrad a means of expressing the nature of
man as maker of things and transformer of energies. In doing this,
we leave the triad of Function, Being and Will and come to the four
sources which are distinguished as Ground, Goal, Direction and
Instruments. ++ In order to make the operation of the tetrad clear we shall

[* This has been very fully discussed in Chapters 29-31, Vol. II.
+ For the distinction between Individuality and Self-hood, see Chapter 29, Vol. II.
++ Cf. Chapter 37, supra, section 14.37.5. Where the tetrad as principle of order and
activity was discussed.]

consider the basic ordering activity of all living organisms. The ground
of the process is foodstuff and the goal is the more highly ordered state
of the body. The metabolic system is the instrument and the instinctive
centre or brain is the direction.

The ordering process separates the raw foodstuff into more highly
ordered proteins and finer energies and less highly ordered waste pro-
ducts and coarser energies. It does not violate the second law of thermo-
dynamics, which we can formulate in our own terms to read: 'In the
absence of an ordering process, the present moment changes towards
greater disorder.' We connect this tendency for the present moment to
lose its order with the passage of time.* The essential point here is that
the ordering process cannot operate without direction. This is where life
differs from non-living matter that cannot direct its own transformations.
The directional term of the tetrad cannot be assimilated into the instru-
mental term. In the study of functions made in the last section, we
concluded that there must be some point at which the functions are
directed by a centre or brain. This is present in rudimentary forms in
the simplest animals and, in man, it is provided by the Instinctive
Centre that directs the metabolic process through the integrative work
of the nervous system and the blood.

We shall now pass on to ordering processes on the level of mind and
the self-hood. The four selves are all necessary for human activity and
yet it is the highest or True Self that is the goal of our transformation.
The Material Self is the ground of our activity and it is also the most
'time-like' of our four selves: it must draw continually upon its en-

[* Cf. Chapter 42, Vol. IV. Time can be regarded as a destructive agent that breaks
into the present moment to disorder it. Man as an ordering agent is 'at war with time'.]

vironment to maintain its order. Hence it is dependent upon material
objects and material forces. Nevertheless, it is also the raw material of
our ordering activity. The instrument of transformation is the Re-
actional Self that normally occupies the centre of the mind and works
with the sensitive energy (E5). We like and dislike and by our use of the
forces engendered by our pleasure and pain experiences we can bring
the mind into a state of order, whereby the conscious energy (E4) is
liberated to enable the True Self to become conscious of its own nature
and responsibilities. This activity cannot be directed by the Reactional
Self which is dependent upon the stimulations that enter the present
moment without its own choice. Nor is it at this stage directed by the
True Self which is 'asleep'. We must, therefore, look to the Divided
Self as the source of Direction and this agrees with the view that the
Divided Self is the seat of the Personal Ego* or Psyche of man. This is
the source of our urge to fulfilment by the attainment of harmony.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, the Divided Self seeks to bring
order into the Present Moment.+
We can represent the situation by the usual symbol:

We can also represent the ordering activity of man in terms of the
four energies Automatism (E6), Sensitivity (E5), Consciousness (E4)
and Creativity (E3). These correspond to four levels of functioning. In
sensitive experiencing, one centre dominates; with conscious energy
the centres can work independently. We can also say that the Material
Self corresponds to zero freedom, the Reactional to one-fold, the
Divided to two-fold and the True Self to full freedom.*

15.39.5.1. THE FOUR SOURCES OF MAN'S ACTIVITY

All activity takes place within the present moment, but not all of the
activity is actual. The actual is the ground term of the tetrad in which
the automatic energy changes according to cause and effect. It is the
material world of our sense experience. The creative energy is not
limited by the conditions of actuality; it is spontaneous and unpredict-
able. At the same time, it has its own pattern and therefore its own laws.
We shall call it the ideal. The two operational terms in human activity
will be called the theoretical and the practical. The four terms are
four properties of man that are more or less effectual according to his
state of development. The six first-order connectivities or interplays+
are the key to understanding man's role as an agent of order in his
various worlds. We shall designate the sources by the initial letters as
shown in the diagram of Fig. 39.6.

[* In Gurdjieff's terminology, the man in whom the True Self dominates has 'his
own law of Triamazikamno' within him.

+ Cf. Supra, Chapter 37, p. 47 for the nomenclature of the Tetrad.]

Though all ordering activity must derive its meaning from the state
towards which it is striving, this goal is not in sight. It is a pattern, or
ordered structure, to be realized; it cannot be defined within the limits
of the existing situation, because there are always unknown factors that
in the course of its realization will enter from other worlds. It is also
subject to—or rather, enriched by—the element of spontaneity in the
dynamism of the situation. In other words, there is an Ideal that cannot
be fully known or defined and does not exist as actuality. This ideal is
not the aim which the actors set before themselves,* which may be
unrealizable and in any case can never be achieved without compromise
—but the eternal reality of the situation that influences everything that
goes on, even though the actors are imperfectly aware of it.

The Actual term is not just the state of affairs at the start of the
activity. It is the constantly changing process that is going on in time
and space. Just as the wood from which the bed is made remains wood,
although it is being worked upon by the carpenter, so does the actual
situation remain actual, although it is being transformed by the instru-
mental influences.

The Theoretical term includes knowing what to do and how to do it,
and using this knowledge to make the adjustments required. There is,
however, more to it than just the craftsman's ability, as in Aristotle's
example of the carpenter making a bed. The theoretical term acts
within man himself. Upon its working depends his ability to criticize
himself and make right judgments upon his own work. It can do this

[* Aristotle's distinction between final and formal cause turns upon the same point.
Our ideal is much the same as Aristotle's 'first entelechy'.]

only if it connects him with the different worlds to which he belongs.
The theoretical term must certainly keep aware, as far as possible, of the
goal of the activity, but it must also direct the instrument and take
account of the actual situation as it constantly changes.

The Practical term includes more than the instruments of man's
activity: his functional powers, his bodily organism, his strength and
ability. All these are included, but there is also, in one sense, the activity
itself. Not only the carpenter's hand and eye and his chisel and work
bench, but also the act of carving and cutting the wood are part of the
practical source.

15.39.5.2. LEVELS OF ORDER IN MAN

We have three 'levels' in the tetrad given by the upper and lower
points I and A and the horizontal line PT. The latter is the scene of the
activity that we call the stream of consciousness or 'conscious life'. In
reality it is rightly so called only when there is a separation of the
conscious and sensitive energies.*

In his normal state, man cannot hold these two apart, and his con-
sciousness merges into his sensitivity. When this happens, he loses the
power to see himself and watch his own activity. The theoretical source
then dries up and man is dominated by the Material and Reactional
Selves. The separation of consciousness and sensitivity is, therefore, the
key to the right working of the tetrad. This separation is called by
Gurdjieff 'self-remembering'. In the admirable psychology of the
Greek Fathers as preserved in the Philokalia, it is called neepsis or
sobriety, and is said to be the condition sine qua non of successful prayer.
It is obtained by the practice of sati patthana or mindfulness which is
the principal spiritual exercise of the Theravada Buddhists. Indeed, this
separation is universally recognized to be a necessary condition, but
few know how to attain it.

The ordinary state, then, is one in which the separation is absent or
weak. Nevertheless, the line PT is always present. It is experienced
either as a single state of awareness or as two clearly separated states
within the mind. This latter is the normal state of the True Self of Man;
but its 'presence' is located in the Divided Self. This has a two-fold
nature+ equally poised between the essential and existential triads. It is
aware of essence by consciousness (E4) and of existence by sensitivity
(E5). This state is painful so long as the Divided Self interprets its own

[* We deal with this as 'mind' in the next sub-section below.

+ Cf. Vol. II, p. 187. 'The Divided Self is a dyad ... (it is) the source of the inner
forces that act upon the automaton . . . the Divided Self is dependent upon the]

experience as the reality. When it sees that it is only an instrument
and becomes conscious of T, then the 'end merges into the form', as
Aristotle would say; or, we should put it, the True Self becomes the
ruler of the Self-hood.

Study of the tetrad as a whole shows us that even in the Man who
has come into his own True Self, the stream of experience or aware-
ness remains within the region bounded by the Divided and Reactional
Selves. The True Self is not experienced for it is the seat of experience-
just as the eye does not see itself because it is the seat of seeing.

15.39.5.3. THE STRUCTURE OF HUMAN ACTIVITY

In the conduct of practical affairs, the theoretical and practical
sources must work in harmony. In any given situation, a variety of
instrumental factors are present. In most of these, the practical and
theoretical overlap. This can be represented by points along the line
PT. Two rules for right action can be deduced from the properties of
the connection between Theory and Practice:

1.  The right balance between theory and practice is secured by
subordinating both to the ideal to which the activity is directed. Neither
is to be an end in itself.

2.  Theory and practice should be clearly distinguished. Theory is for
seeing clearly, not for doing. Practice is for action, not for knowledge.

We must now pass to the vertical line IA which comprises all the
needs, causes and purposes for which the activity is undertaken. The
lessons to be learned here are:

3.  The needs of the actual situation must be considered separately
from the ideal towards which the activity is directed.

4.  The actual situation is to be evaluated on its own merits; only in
this way will the tetrad be strong.

Once again, we may take the example of the singer. The girl learning
to sing must know musical theory and the teacher must have practical
experience. Only the impartial assessment of the girl and her voice, and
periodic reassessments of her progress, will keep the activity upon a
realistic foundation. On the other hand, there must not be any com-
promise with the ideal dictated by the canons of the musical art.

If we interpret the line IA in terms of energies we have the contact
of creativity and automatism. This is probably the explanation of

(from the last page)[forces generated by its own dualism. If a complete equilibrium between the dual
natures could be established, these forces would vanish and the Divided Self would
then merge into the True Self.' This is reminiscent of Aristotle's account of the Final
Cause which merges into the Formal Cause when equilibrium is established. 'The final
is for the sake of form and that is its aim and its reason, not the reverse.' (Physics.)]

spontaneity in action. The creative energy sometimes bypasses both
consciousness and sensitivity and sets in motion a sequence of actions
that astonish the self. When we ask ourselves: 'However could I have
said this or done that? It was far beyond my understanding at the time,'
we may suspect an action along the line IA. As this cuts across the line
PT of the 'conscious mind', we cannot follow the operation.

The connection between the True and the Material Self is also
represented by the line IA. Here we see the right connection in the
Material Self as our contact with the immediate ever-changing actuality.
The Material Self is aware of needs, but tends to interpret them as
aims. When it succeeds in doing so, it usurps the position of the True
Self, and very soon imaginary or invented needs are set up as the ideal
for which all activity is undertaken. This is the state of the 'fallen self,'
referred to in Chapter Thirty-one as the Nullity.*

Now we must pass on to the four external connectivities:

1.  I-T. Respect

The connection between the Ideal and the Theoretical ensures the
preservation of values. It gives the activity a sense of purpose. It can
be formulated as Respect for Truth or Justice, or Love of God. It is the
working of conscience.

Gurdjieff+ declares that conscience has been preserved from degenera-
tion because it has entered into the subconscious. He makes it clear that
the 'subconscious' referred to is the supra-conscious level of creativity.
This would imply that conscience in its true operation is a spontaneous
and creative response to the reality of every situation.

When the consciousness is absorbed into the sensitivity, the con-
science loses touch with the mind. This is its usual state in man. Con-
sciousness of conscience transforms theory into understanding of what
is right and true in every situation. Conversely, the breakdown of this
connection turns theory into mere knowledge of what and how.

2.  I-P. Faith

The connection between the Ideal and the Practical is the source of
strength and determination in action. It shows itself as Faith. Since it
is associated with creativity rather than consciousness, Faith appears in
action rather than experience. This is why it so often happens that the

[* Vol. I, p. 188. The sections in Chapter 31 dealing with the conditioned will should
be re-read in the light of the ideas developed in the present section. The six negative
laws are of special interest as suggesting the inversion of the cross. The actual becomes
the ideal in 'self-love', and the ideal becomes the actual in 'imagination'.

+ Cf. All and Everything, p. 359.]

man of faith is not aware that he has faith—he only knows that he can
do what he must do.

In dealing with the natural order, the connection I-P gives confidence
in the rationality and significance of Nature. It is faith in the reality of
a Natural Order within which we can walk and work in safety. Yet
another description of this line would be, practical wisdom in the
conduct of affairs.

3.  T-A. Curiosity

This is often manifested as Curiosity. Need and theory together lead
man to search. T-A is also the seat of the discrimination, that enables
us to assess our needs and make right use of our resources.

4.  P-A. Skill

Practicality and the ability to work efficiently are given by this
connection. It ensures Skill in the use of our abilities and is usually
associated with interest in experimentation.

Seen as a tetrad man is an activity. Under this aspect, he is more
than the combination of Function, Being and Will, for he is the very
Activity in which the three are unified. When we study man as a tetrad,
we learn how he works and what he is able to do. It can therefore serve
for the assessment of human abilities and for the classification of human
types.* Again, the tetrad shows us how man can be organized into
societies for the accomplishment of every kind of task. It is, thus, a link
between the inner and the outer organization of human life.

15.39.5.4. THE MIND AS ORDERING ACTIVITY

One of the decisive tests of an anthropology is its ability to give an
account of mind that will satisfy the conflicting requirements that it
must be shown as intimately linked to the body and yet effectively
connected with the worlds of value and spirit. We shall now see if our
scheme will pass the test.

The mind is not the body nor any part of it; i.e. it is not to be identi-
fied with the brain. It is also not an immaterial 'ghost' of the kind
criticized by Ryle.+ The difficulty largely disappears if we take mind
to be an activity and therefore to be studied as a tetrad. The position of
this tetrad in the scale of energies gives the clue to the status of the
mind. It lies in the region between the Vital and the Cosmic Energies

[* To which Jung's theory of types is a first approach.

+ Ryle, The Concept of Mind. All Ryle's criticisms must be faced and fairly met before
any account of mind can be regarded as satisfactory.]

The mind is not like a material object with a well-defined configura-
tion, but rather is it an ever-changing flux of energies. This flux is
experienced as the fluctuations of awareness between insensitive
or automatic, sensitive, conscious and supra-conscious or creative
states. Nevertheless, the mind does have its limitations and is bounded
at its lower limit by the transition from sensitivity to automatism and
at its upper limit by its inability to penetrate into the region of true
creativity. In this way, the mind appears to be divided into three parts,
sub-conscious, conscious and supra-conscious, and yet it is found that
these divisions are not fixed or insuperable.

The role of the mind as the transitional activity between the vital
and cosmic energies,+ is made possible by the coalescence of sensitive
energy (E5) to produce the sensorium or perceptual instrument. This is
like a screen upon which images are projected from both the higher and
the lower energy levels of the mind.

The mind acts as a link between the two tetrads of energy—vital and
cosmic—by participating in both. It is brought into action by automatic
and creative impulses and it responds by a combination of sensitive im-
ages and conscious judgments. This gives us the tetrad of mental activity.

In this diagram, there are three levels: the upper point is the apex of
mental activity where pure creativity occurs and the lower point is the
base where mind collapses into mechanical automatism. The central

[* A striking parallelism can be recognized between the status of mind between the
eighth and ninth energies (sensitivity and consciousness) and that of the biosphere be-
tween the eighth and ninth levels of existence (selves and planets). Cf. Vol. I. Table on
pp. 221-3.

+ In a less accurate but more usual terminology, we can say that the mind stands
between 'matter and spirit'.]

Mind can be transformed in such a way as to acquire a stable struc-
ture. It then becomes soul. This transformation belongs to the theme
of the next chapter: we can, however, at this stage recognize that the
mind as precursor of soul is able to link two worlds because of its unique
place in the scale of energies.

The limitation of the tetrad consists in presenting us with a picture
of activity from which the actor himself is lacking. The four selves are a
tetrad, but to be a man we must have the 'I am' that holds them to-
gether. This is true even when the 'I am' is usurped by the false self or
egoism. The tetrad is, like all even-term systems, non-centred. To
find man at the centre, we must pass from the tetrad to the pentad. This
will reveal to us the Spirit of Man, by which he is more than an activity,
because he is endowed with potentialities that give him a significant hold
upon Reality.

15.39.6. The Human Spirit

We have just studied the structure of purposeful human activity
directed to the creation and maintenance of order. Purpose implies
significance. Importance and significance are derived from the reality
of Value, but their entry into the world—their realization—depends
upon an act done within a context of Fact. This act does not consist in
the initiation of an activity nor in its completion; it is not, properly
speaking, accomplished in time and space. The true act that makes the
world real is a creative transformation within the being that performs it.

It has a focus, which is the point of significance: it is there, in that
moment, that the commitment is made.

Our next task is to place this focus of significance within the structure
of our human nature. The degree of significance attaching to any activity
will then be seen as something more than the activity itself. Significance
is a more concrete, a more substantial element of reality, than activity.
Activity passes away, significance remains. In Chapter Thirty-five, we
said that we seek for 'a property that includes sameness, difference,
relatedness and subsistence, but goes beyond these by opening a door
whereby existence can, without losing itself, nevertheless be more than
itself.'* We found this property in the systemic attribute of the pentad
which can be described as significant potentiality. We connected
this with the notion of Spirit as the link between Essence and Existence
that transforms both and makes them real.+

The search for human significance can be described, then, as the
search for the Spirit of Man. This must be the focus at which the mean-
ing of human life is concentrated. We want the Spirit of Man to be
something more concrete and more definite than it has been for us
hitherto.

The cruciform symbol for the tetrad++ strongly suggests that there
must be a special significance in the central point where the line of
Motivation from the Actual to the Ideal intersects the line of Instru-
mentality between the Theoretical and Practical. The first idea that
suggests itself is that the 'man himself must be there. This is not
tenable because the tetrad is concerned with sources of activity, not
entities, and we must conclude that the central point of the tetrad
determines the focus of harmony of the activity. If it is rightly adjusted
inwardly and outwardly, and if the motivation strikes a just balance
between the actual and the ideal, then the activity will have its 'centre of
gravity' at the mid-point. This will be true whether it occurs within
the self-hood of one person, or within a group, a family, a society, the
government of a country or in an historical event. We do not find, by
this procedure, the significance of the event, but only its degree of
rightness.

That is why we have to pass on to the pentad. We shall no longer
have the four terms and a central point, but five independent terms
each of which contributes an element of significance to the situation as a

[* Vol. II, p. 286.

+ The word Spirit is introduced in Section 13 .35 .1. to which reference should be
made.

++ As it is shown in Fig. 39.4 with the six connections joining the four sources of
activity.]

whole. There is an intricate pattern of significance, and each of the five
points can be regarded as a point of concentration or focus of signifi-
cance. According to section 14.37.8, the focal points in any pentad are:

5. Upper Outer Limit. The highest level for which the entity has a
direct significance.

Master

4. Higher Part. The maximum deployment of the potentialities in-
herent in the entity.

Higher Nature
3. Centre. The intrinsic character by which the entity is what it is.

Ipseity

2. Lower Part. The minimum deployment of the powers of the entity
consistent with retention of its identity.

Lower Nature

1. Lower Outer Limit. The lowest level which directly affects the
nature of the entity as such, by providing it with the elements of its
construction.

Nourishment

These five terms combine to determine all that can be said of the
significance of the entity by virtue of what it is, where it is, whence
it is and why it is. We shall make use of the five-point symbol already
introduced in Chapter Thirty-seven.

We shall consider the five nodal points in turn. They are to be under-
stood as 'extremities' and the content of the system is given by the
regions rather than by the focal points which serve to show limits
rather than the typical situation.

The life of man is based upon and within the biosphere. Man has an
effectual exchange with all that lives on the surface of the earth. From
our study of essence classes,* we concluded that man depends upon the
biosphere in two ways: green vegetation, as the prime source of vital
energy, and the germinal essence, as the source of sensitivity. Man is
dependent upon green vegetation for the maintenance of his existence,
and upon the germ for the realization of his essence. It seems then,
that there is not one single mode of significance for man, but two con-
tradictory principles. This is as we should expect; because, as we saw
earlier, the contradiction in the human dyad cannot be resolved or set
aside. Man's finitude and infinitude, the conflict between his existence
and his essence is at the very root of his being, and must of necessity
assert itself when we come to assess his significance.

We shall have, therefore, to construct two pentads, one to represent
the essential man and the other the existential man. The distinction can
also be expressed as Man as Individual and Man as Self.

15.39.6.1. The Nourishment

The Nourishment of the Essential Man is given by the Germinal
essence and the vital energy concentrated in the germ.

The germinal essence class comprises all that part of the life of the
biosphere which has the urge towards Individuality. In the germ this
urge is potential only, but it distinguishes the germ from the plant. The
first is dynamic and the second static in nature. The essential nature of
man seeks realization and cannot be satisfied with a vegetative existence.
The primary urge is unconscious and undirected; it is very close to
Aristotle's principle of privation, by which everything is drawn to
realize its own form. We can describe this focus of significance as the
search: this evidently corresponds very well with the characteristics of
the germinal essence, and also with the significance of the man destined
to attain Individuality.

The nourishment of Existential Man is given by the Vegetable
essence and the constructive energy concentrated in the plant.

His characteristic significance is the longing for existence, as the
vegetable seeks to plant its root firmly in the ground from which it
draws its sustenance, and to hold on to its place in the sun from which
it draws its energy. This is a good picture of the basic significance of the
man whose aims are centred in the Self-hood. He is a transformer of
energy like the plant and he is a builder in his world. His aims come
from the need to 'have and to hold'. Such a man looks for security

[* Chapter 35, Vol. II.]

outside himself and since he cannot repay what he has received from
life, his position is false. He appears to think and act as a man, but his
significance is that of an animal, whose contribution to the world process
is unconscious and involuntary. This places his limit of outer significance
in the vegetative processes of life. So long as he is alive, his significance
cannot fall lower than this: to exist at the expense of the life around him.

15.39.6.2. THE HIGHER AND LOWER NATURES

The maximum deployment of the human potentialities consists in
man's fulfilment of his cosmic duty to order and regulate the regions of
existence entrusted to his care. This corresponds to the Demiurgic
Intelligence.* The lower nature of Essential Man is his instrument for
adaptation to the circumstances of earthly life. This comprises the vari-
ous psychic functions and their powers. When man is fully developed,
these powers are exercised by the lower selves and do not therefore
interfere with the higher purposes pursued by the Individuality.+

The Divided Self can be looked upon as the existential dyad in man
and as a kind of projection on to the plane of existence of the fundamen-
tal dyad which gives him his unlimited possibilities, but only limited
power to realize them. We can, therefore, take the Divided Self as the
seat of the upper and lower limits of significance of the Existential
Man. He has the potential for transformation that is given by the posses-
sion of human form. He is not a true man yet, but he has the possibility
of becoming one. This basic possibility is the foundation of his existential
significance. So long as he has not reached the True Self, this possi-
bility is the upper limit of his inner significance. We can equate this to
the higher centres of function. At the other extreme, we have the driving
force that makes him seek for satisfaction of his natural urges. This can
be called desire. It is the libido, the urge of the subconscious, the
hidden motives and animal passions that are at the root of his animal
nature. These motives and passions have their own pattern that corre-
sponds to the character.++

We shall consider next the higher outer limits of the two kinds of
men, and return to the focus of intrinsic significance last of all.

15.39.6.3.  THE MASTER

The Essential Man aspires to Individuality which represents for him
the Reality that is his end. As we saw in Chapter 35, the Cosmic

[* Cf. Chapter 35, Vol. II, Section 13.35.13. The theme will recur with greater and
greater insistence as we work through the history of man's life on the earth.
+ This will be explained in the next Chapter.
++ Cf. A Spiritual Psychology, pp. 116-21.]

Individuality is the true Master of man. Man cannot reach higher than
this, and the fulfilment of his destiny consists in Union with the Cosmic
Individuality. The term Cosmic Individuality is used here to avoid
theological questions; but it must be understood that we cannot describe
the highest limit of Man's significance in existential terms. The Cosmic
Individuality is Supernatural by definition, for the Laws of Nature hold
only as far as World VI, whereas we associate the Cosmic Individuality
with the pure Triad of World III where there is no limitation upon the
Cosmic Impulses. We have tried to reach our conclusions without
preconceptions or reliance upon traditional knowledge or Revealed
Religion, by applying consistently the method of Systematics. This has
led us to the conclusion that the higher significance of Man as an essen-
tial being is not only beyond human nature, but beyond all Nature. This
was already implicit in the human ambiguity with its contradiction of
finitude and infinity within the single structure—Man. We can now say
—as in Chapter 35—that the highest destiny and significance for Man
is that he can be 'food for the Cosmic Individuality'.

Now we must return to the Existential Man, whose centre of gravity
is in his self-hood. Without Individuality, he cannot become an independ-
ent being in the Cosmos. He, therefore, tends to seek his fulfilment
within the limitations of existence. His inner limit of significance is in
the completion of the Self-hood, and therefore his outer limit must lie
beyond Self-hood. As he is not orientated towards Individuality—
which requires the subordination of Self-hood—he must seek signifi-
cance in some other way. In our study of Essence Classes,* we placed
the Demiurgic Essence in the vacant place in the series between Man
and the Cosmic Individuality. The notion of Beings who are limited in
their powers, but are nevertheless of a higher order than Man, is totally
foreign to current modes of thought, and it may be even less acceptable
to the reader than that of a Supernatural Individuality. It seems, how-
ever, that the evidences are mounting up in favour of some such con-
ception of the World Order. Now that we have some idea of the vast
extent of the Universe and the small scale of human existence compared
with, say, a galaxy with its hundred thousand million stars, we can no
longer reject as absurd the idea that there may be intelligences far higher
than ours, which are nevertheless finite, and therefore fallible.

A simple, but unverifiable, way of defining the purpose or Master of
Existential Man is to say that he exists for the benefit of the Demiurgic
Powers. The form of language can be modified, but the same thing
said, if we take it that Man limited by existence can be significant for

[* Chapter 35, Vol. II, Section 13.35.13.]

Nature only, and for that part of Nature, moreover, that is commen-
surate with his own size. A very restricted version would say that Man
is dust and returns to dust, or that he is a physico-chemical complex and
that his significance is limited by the transformations that this complex
can undergo.

We must also take human experience into account. This amounts to
saying that man consists at least of body—i.e. the physical mechanism—
and mind—i.e. the sensitive complex in which his experience is located.
Man who is no more than this can only be significant in an environ-
ment of similar constitution. But would this, in any real sense, be
significant? If we are to allow that the word significance must refer
to some aspect or constituent of reality, then we must go further and
say that Existential Man must be significant for a Natural Purpose, in
at least as strong a sense as we should use the word in everyday language.

This roundabout approach brings us to the notion that there must
be some useful purpose to be served by the lives of people even if they
are not on the way to Individuality. This is a very important notion
indeed. It is part of a far more general notion that everything that exists
serves some purpose and it is very near to Gurdjieff's doctrine of
Universal Reciprocal Maintenance.*

15.39.6.4. ipseity

The two destinies of man are different in their essentials, as will be
clear from our next investigation which leads us to the focus of intrinsic
significance. We start with the premise that every being has a centre or
core at which his dominating motives and concerns are concentrated.
This we shall call the Ipseity to combine both Self-hood and Individu-
ality within a single expression. We cannot verify this for animals and
plants, but we may suppose that the whole being of a tiger is concen-
trated upon being a good tiger, or that of a rose on being a good rose. At
least, we cannot imagine that either has any urge to become other than
it is. It is, however, said, probably with truth, that animals very close
to man, as horses and dogs, are attracted to the human race by a sense of
lacking something essential, + If it is so we can understand the longing
for human companionship where they feel the hope of completion.
With men there is also a central longing; but it is not easy to recognize
because it is seated in those parts of the Self-hood which seldom enter
our awareness. We are vaguely aware that there is something we hold

[* Referred to in Vol. II, p. 289, footnote. It is one of the main themes of his book
All and Everything.

+ Cf. Fritz Peters, Boyhood with Gurdjieff, London 1963, p. 78.]

more precious than all else and would sacrifice anything to preserve.
When this Ipseity is threatened, all our forces are mobilized in its
defence. It is not the instinct of bodily self-preservation, which belongs
not to the self-hood but to the organism, and works through the auto-
matism and can be disconnected when there is a strong flow of sensitive
energy, as when intense excitement makes people careless of their lives.

There is a more deeply rooted need that lies at the heart of existence,
and this is the need to have and to hold a place in the scheme of things. This
is the crux of the matter. The Self-hood is rooted in existence, and if it
loses hold on this—and it is something deeper than life itself—it is
lost. We cannot, therefore, adopt a moral attitude of disapproval to-
wards existential self-love. It is only when the True Self awakens that
it can begin to recognize that there is a Reality beyond existence itself
and that in that Reality there is no need to 'occupy a place'.

This is, no doubt, why illusion or ignorance, avidya, is regarded in
Buddhism as the source of all man's suffering. There is an important
truth here. Man who lives in the state described under the tetrad, where
consciousness and sensitivity are merged so as to make objective self-
awareness impossible, cannot stand back from himself and see that there
is, within himself, a higher nature that does not depend upon an existen-
tial support. Such a man is dependent upon what he receives from out-
side if he is to learn that there is another Reality that he can aspire to.
But such learning cannot easily outweigh the thirst for existence that is
rooted in the Self-hood. Unless a profound inner change occurs, which
breaks down the barrier between the lower and higher parts of the Self,
the best that can be achieved is the 'good life'. Thus the Self or Ego can
live in very different ways. Its behaviour can correspond very closely
to that which would come from the Conscious Individuality if it were
present; but it can also degenerate to such an extent that a destructive
egoism is firmly established in the focal point of intrinsic significance.

We can now formulate the two central conditions.

The Ipseity or central significance of Essential Man is Individuality
which is purely Will: this is Man as Individual. The Personal Individu-
ality* can never be satisfied with mere existence. Its longing is directed
towards integration with the Universal Individuality and ultimate union
with the Cosmic Individuality. The craving for separate existence is
stilled and replaced by love of Union. When the step is taken, it is
called the Death of Egoism. This is the passage from an existential

[* Called in Vol. II, Chapter 28, the Complete Individuality. This had proved to be a
misleading term and Personal Individuality, though apparently tautologous, is to be
preferred.]

dependence to an essential independence; it is a transformation of
Ipseity. The Existential Man depends upon a body for his activity. The
Essential Man can produce for himself the vehicle and the instruments he
requires. Individuality can project itself into existence; but Self-hood
cannot penetrate into the essential state unless and until it is completely
subordinated to the Individuality. It then becomes the vehicle and
instrument of the Individuality.

The two conditions of the Self-hood enable us to define the two
destinies. The existential self can only be an instrument. If it does not
become the instrument of its own Individuality, it will be used by the
Universal Individuality through the Demiurgic powers. Such a destiny
can be blissful and free—but it is not Reality. It can also be wretched
and constrained—but that also is not Reality. Reality for the Self can
be achieved only by the completion of its 'inner triad', which comes when
the Personal Individuality is established at the focus of intrinsic signi-
ficance. In simple language this Ipseity is called I AM—where 'I' means
the Individuality and 'am' means the Self as its vehicle and instrument.

We can now complete the two pentads by calling the Ipseity of the
Existential Man Egoism. We must not forget that there can be 'good'
egoism as well as 'bad' egoism. The good egoist acts rightly and does
not incur blame or painful consequences; but he does so for his own
'salvation' or 'security', which simply means that his main concern is to
strengthen his hold upon existence.

Before going further we shall represent the two pentads by means of
the Symbol of Section 14.37.8. as shown in Figs. 39.10 and 39.11 on

P. 154.

The upper outer limit or Master of Essential Man is the Cosmic Indi-
viduality. The highest and most complete expression of human signi-
ficance and potentiality is Union with the Cosmic Individuality.* The
corresponding end of the Existential Man is to be merged into the
Demiurgic Intelligence. We can approximately interpret the distinction
by reference to two parts of the soul.+ The lower vehicle of the soul can
attain to such a degree of intelligence as to become the Instrument of
the Demiurgic Will, whereas the higher vehicle of the soul can attain
such a degree of purity as to become the abode of the Cosmic Individu-
ality. If the development has been limited to the existential nature, then
the soul cannot pass beyond the limitations of existence and must
remain dependent upon a will other than its own. This is why the

[* Which we shall, at a later stage, interpret as Union with Christ.
+ The structure of the soul is discussed further in Chapter 40. Cf. Section 15.40.5.
on the transformation of Being.]

Demiurgic Intelligence appears in the lower diagram as the upper
outer limit; whereas in the perfected, essential man, it is shown as part
of his own nature.*

The lower limits are derived from the study of Essence Classes. The
basic difference between the two states is that Existential Man remains
as he is (vegetates) and Essential Man transforms (germinates).

The inner limits correspond to man's potentiality in his natural and
his transformed states respectively.

The Ipseities are more difficult to interpret. The Existential Man, if he
were untainted by egoism, would be a 'natural human soul'. On account
of Egoism, his self-hood is tainted and he has become 'unnatural'. For
this reason, Fig. 39.7. does not represent the normal condition of the

[* The account of the evolution of man in Chapters 45-47 gives an historical inter-
pretation of this situation.]

Existential Man, but his condition as he arises and lives on the earth
today.*

We shall conclude this sketch of the Spirit of Man by a brief examina-
tion of the ten connections in each of the pentads.

The structure of the Soul of Essential Man is given by the triangle
I, II, III. The self-hood of Existential Man is marked by the focal points
A, B, C.

The four links that radiate from the Ipseity of Essential Man sym-
bolize his cosmic role as a bridge between the natural and supernatural
realms. In him are fulfilled the germinal stirrings of nature and he
himself is consummated in the Cosmic Individuality. His soul embraces
the entire range of activity from the material world (material self) to the
Demiurgic Intelligence that guides the destiny of Mankind,+

The four corresponding linkages of the Existential Man show him to
be limited by earthly conditions. He has no Personal Individuality and
his Ipseity can exist only as part of the World Soul.

There remain the two cross-linkages II-V and I-V, and B-E and
A-D for his untransformed brother.

The link II-V shows how man who has achieved Individuality can
draw directly upon the energies by which life evolves. II-V shows how
man made one with the Cosmic Individuality is freed from the problems
of the self-hood. He has no conflict of loyalty or understanding for his
will is attuned to that of his Source.

The corresponding links with Existential Man symbolize his depend-
ence upon external nature and his inability to be responsible for his
own life, ++

15.39.7. Will as Coalescent Agent

We have treated Will as an irreducible element of experience that
makes itself felt in relationship, i.e. by way of the triad. We have also
associated it with Individuality on all levels and with the Self-hood
which we defined as 'Will involved in existence'. We have not, however,
attempted to bring the various aspects of will into any coherent scheme

[* The 'Normal Man' is called by Gurdjieff 'Man No. 4' who is free from the combina-
tion of Egoism and therefore has a natural true self. But he has not yet attained Indi-
viduality and therefore cannot be called 'essential' or transformed man. The historical
event of the advent of human egoism or the 'fall' is discussed in Chapter 47.

+ The scheme of seven levels of history developed in Chapter 43 gives a more
comprehensive picture of man's role in the cosmic realization.

++ This will not become clear until the final chapters of Vol. IV, where the transfer
of responsibility for human evolution from the Demiurgic Powers to man himself will
be seen as one of the keys to understanding human history.]

of explanation. This we shall now undertake for the purpose of our
Anthropology without entering into the even more obscure problem of
non-human will or wills.

We shall not abandon the primary notion of Will as the principle of
relatedness; but we shall distinguish between essential and existential
operations of the Will. This will give us two triads or a hexad that can be
represented by the symbol, introduced in Chapter 37, of the seal of
Solomon: consisting of two interlocking triangles.

Will in its ultimate nature is not only One, but transcendent, and
wholly incomprehensible to any finite understanding. In this sense,
Will does not and cannot enter into our anthropological scheme. We
must therefore start with the Cosmic Individuality, the Logos or Word
of the Supreme Will. This is the Head and Corner Stone of both
universal and personal Will. From that the Universal and Personal
Individuality are distinguished in human nature. This gives the three
terms of the Essential Will.

Over against this Essential Will stands the existential or incarnated
Will that can be regarded as the reflection or reversal of the Essential
Will that comes from the Source. The best way of understanding this is
to picture the Will as fragmented so that as particles of will enter into
all that exists. This fragmented will in man is attached to all his passing
and changing moods, states, impulses and even the various functions
and sub-functions. Thus there are wills of seeing, of hearing, of touching,
of thinking. There are wills associated with every emotional state and
impulse, every thought and idea. These fragmentary, and mostly
transient, wills can be called 'I's', because every thought, every emotion,
every instinctive impulse says 'I'. This multiplicity of 'I's' is the ground
state of man's personal life. The more lasting 'I's' we called 'personalities'.

There are two ways in which the I's' are integrated: one is in the
four selves and the other is in the true I or Ego which is the existential
counterpart of Individuality. We thus have a second, existential, triangle
that is the inverse of the first essential triangle. The two can be repre-
sented with the help of the six pointed symbol (see Fig. 39.12.).

According to this scheme, all human wills have a common apex in the
Cosmic Individuality. We have seen many reasons for believing that the
Cosmic Individuality is the Logos, the Word, the Reconciling and
Creative Act of the Supreme Will that is the Source of Being and
Existence. This identification of the Cosmic Individuality with the
Second Person of the Christian Trinity can only be tentative and we do
not yet presume to affirm that it is so. The identification is, however, in
accord with all mystical theology which affirms that the will of the

perfected man is wholly merged into and made one with the Will of
Christ, This perfect Infinite Will cannot act within existence without
a vehicle and the Universal and Personal Individualities represent two
finite modes of will-action that complete the essential will-structure of
man.*

The inverted triangle has its lower apex in the multiplicity of material
forms that enter into the life and experience of man. Multiplicity of
Wills is the antithesis of the Unity of Will at the summit. As the Cosmic
Individuality is born of the Supreme Will, so does the multiplicity of
Wills arise by generation out of the complexity of nature. Within the
existential triad, we have the true 'I' and we have the Self-hood with its
own complex structure. Each of these represents one of the characteristic
will modes of Man.

According to the scheme thus summarily presented, everything that
exists has its own will and this will is its affirmation of reality. Inanimate
objects have no reactional freedom and they can only will to be what
they are at a given moment of place and time. There are such totally
passive 'wills' in man also, but they do not belong to anthropology since
they are common to all material objects. Each of the many 'I's' in man
has at least a momentarily reactional freedom. 'I want', 'I' think' may
stand for a transient unintended impulse—but it may also issue in actions
that will affect the whole man. A partial will when it manifests cannot
be distinguished from the entire will and this is why we refer to the
multiplicity of wills as a multiplicity of 'I's'. Since, in general, only one

[* In Chapter 41, we shall find that the three highest levels of human perfection,
Saints, Prophets and Messengers, are to be understood by reference to the essential
triad of three Individualities v. infra, pp. 224—5 and 268—73.]

of these is in the present moment, we have the illusion of a single
operative self or 'I. We have neither permanence of will nor continuity
of consciousness; but, for different reasons, we have the illusion of both.
This is the chief reason why man does not easily grasp the reality of his
situation.

Before we leave the hexad, we must consider its bearing upon the
forms of human behaviour and human types.

The operation of will in terms of the hexad is to bring about events.
This is expressed in the systemic attribute of coalescence.* We shall
discuss the terms of the hexad in the form of the six triads already
discussed in Vol. II.+ These six triads when referred to man and his
nature give us both the characteristic behaviour patterns and the princi-
pal types of human beings.++

15.39.7.1.  man as A person. Identity 2-3-1

This triad shows us that the centre of the person is the inner spon-
taneity of the mind. The initiating factor is in sensation or presence.
Thus, we recognize a person by his 'presence', but we are influenced by
the 'force' which resides in his feeling. What we do not perceive is the
spontaneous activity of his mind, but this is what makes him a person
able to combine spontaneity of ideas and images with a direction in life
based on memory and foresight—all of which are properties associated
with the intellectual centre. The man in whom this triad is well estab-
lished makes himself felt in society. He is said to 'have a strong person-
ality'.

15.39.7.2.   man as a member of society. Interaction 1-3-2

Once again, the power of thought is the hidden link. The feelings as
the affirming impulse are the initiating factor in social relationships,
but they must be directed by the mind and also receive the flexibility
and adaptiveness that comes from the intellectual centre. The external
manifestation is in presence. It is through sensation (both passive and
active) that we enter into our social relationships, but the driving force
is feeling. The quality of the interaction depends upon the level of
awareness, but the man in whom this triad is strong is aware of a strong
link with his fellow men. He enters easily into relationships with people
or with things according to the level of his self-hood.

[* Vide supra. Chapter 37, Section 14.37.9., where the nomenclature of the hexad
is given on p. 79-

+ Especially in Chapter 29 where they are related to the Individual Will.

++ These are the second order connectivities of the triad expressed in terms of function.]

15.39.7.3. man as governor. Order 3-1-2

The power of thought confers governance. When it is allied to the force
of feeling, it gives a man power over his environment, human and
natural. His presence is dominant. Receptivity may take the form of
grasping, or the love of power, and it may also manifest as the wish to
serve and to help others. This depends upon the quality of energy
present and the level of the self-hood. It will be evident that the Triad of
Governance will operate very differently in the man of the True Self and
in the man dominated by one of the lower selves. Nevertheless, the power
is always the same: it comes in the first instance from the ability to see
what others cannot see. This is conferred on the man whose power of
thought can be the initiating factor in his relationships.

15.39.7.4.   man AS free agent. Freedom 3-2-1

Freedom comes from spontaneity—that is, the power of thought-
issuing as the force of unconditioned feeling through the mediation of
presence. The man who can 'see' himself and others is able to enjoy
the freedom of spontaneity. But it is not a true freedom unless it is
made concrete in sensation. There can be a fictitious freedom of thought
in isolation from feeling and presence. This is identification,* the state
in which a man has lost touch with himself and with his environment
and is absorbed in his own dreams. The positive freedom is character-
ized by a spontaneous dynamism which can initiate any of the six
relationships: this is the secret of dynamic choice or the power to evoke
a new situation.

15.39.7.5.   man AS creator. Expansion 1-2-3

Through his feelings, man has three kinds of contacts: (1) that with
the surrounding world, (2) that between the sexes and (3) that with
Individuality and so with Higher Worlds. These correspond to three
modes of feeling experience: reactive, sexual and positive. There is a
creative dynamism whenever the feelings and sensation are in harmony.
The three creative activities are (i) in successful action, (ii) in procrea-
tion and (iii) in the transmission of influences from the Higher Worlds.
In each case there must be a right presence. This unusual notion
means that the organism with the appropriate receptive instruments
must be in tune with the influence that enters through the feelings. The

[* Cf. Vol. II, Chapter 31, Section 9. Freedom in the Lower Worlds. The negative
triads described in this chapter should be studied in connection with each of the six
relationships.]

creative act is manifested through the power of thought or vision. This
is 'conception' in all its possible meanings.

15.39.7.6. man AS evolving SELF. Concentration 2-1-3

The human organism is a field for the growth of latent powers, instru-
ments and vehicles. It can respond to the forces liberated in the feelings.
When the affirmation of feeling evokes the right response in the organ-
ism, there is a concentration of energy or a raising of potential,* This
is the evolution or transformation whereby the power of thought is
transferred from one stage or level of self-hood to another until the True
Self is awakened and prepared for union with the Individuality.

The coalescence of concentration with expansion transforms the
man's connections with his own present moment. By the manifestation
of spontaneity and freedom in his relationships with others he becomes
a channel for the transmission of creative influences. This brings us to
the subject of human societies which we shall study later in Chapter 41.
It would be possible to carry our anthropology further by considering
man as a heptad exemplifying the seven qualities in varying combina-
tions. The following chapters, however, will take our treatment much
further in a more appropriate context.

15.39.8. A Structural Anthropology

We shall end this chapter with a summary of the anthropology devel-
oped in this and earlier chapters. To give the summary and structure,
we shall present it in terms of the first six systems.

The scheme outlined in this Summary makes no claim to complete-
ness. Our purpose is to show that it is not possible to set up an adequate
anthropology without taking account of the different modes of existence
and experience that correspond to the series of multi-term systems. The
complexity of human nature cannot be evaded in any attempt to under-
stand ourselves and our place in the world. This complexity would be
unmanageable if it were not the manifestation of an organized structure,
every element and every connection of which has its place and its
contribution to make. Man can be understood as a whole and he can be
understood in no other way.

Chapter Forty
THE HUMAN LIFE CYCLE

15.40.1. The Total Present

Every human being is the coalescence of several distinct elements
coming from different, independent sources. Until they come together
the particular human being does not exist. We shall assume that the
coalescence is made at the instant of conception—at least as regards
the distinctively personal elements. From that instant, we can identify
a particular human being with its own bodily, psychic and spiritual
potentialities. At some other instant the conjunction of these elements is
dissolved and the human being, as such, ceases to exist. Between these
instants is comprised all the timelike experience of that particular human
being and we shall refer to the whole period as the Total Present
Moment. It will be noted that we specified 'timelike' experience;
because according to our scheme, existence is not confined to processes
in time, but includes eternal or timeless consciousness and acts of will
made possible by the determining condition of hyparxis. The Present
Moment when divided into parts appears as a succession of events 'in
time'; but when it is seen as a totality it is a structure every part of
which co-exists. When this structure is regarded as an action, it appears
as a cycle entering into itself—like the symbol of the serpent devouring
its own tail.

As our own common experience is generally confined within the small
region that we can embrace in a single act of will, we experience life
neither as a total structure nor as a complete cycle, but as a series of
events following one another in succession. In this way, we can speak of
the 'seven ages of man' and regard the transition from one age to another
as a kind of death and rebirth, or even as a gradual surrender to ultimate
death and dissolution. As we shall see in this chapter, the human situa-
tion is far too complex to be assessed in terms of the simple alternatives
of life and death, for there is more than one way to live and more than
one way of dying.

Man as formed at the moment of conception has certainly the poten-
tial bodily organism determined by the union of male and female gametes
and he certainly has potentialities for psychic development of a more
subtle nature and different origin. There is a sense in which we must

distinguish between the existential man and the essential. We must also
distinguish between self-hood and individuality. And we must recognize
that every life has a potential for transformation in which acts of choice
and decision are involved.

Again, the Present Moment is compounded of the basic elements of
Function, Being and Will. Each of these diversify the already highly
structured situation. Man requires and acquires a very complex func-
tional mechanism. His will, starting from the undivided Personal
Individuality is fragmented into literally innumerable large and small
'wills'. His Being extends over many different levels and gives rise,
perhaps, to the greatest difficulty in understanding his nature; for it
hides a large part in the unconscious reaches of the vital and material
regions and cuts off the higher nature in the supra-conscious regions
that we studied in the last chapter. There we took man as a timeless
structure. In the present chapter, we shall follow the course of events
from conception to final dissolution, treating man as a temporal pro-
cess.

It would be manifestly impossible, within the span of a single chapter,
to deal adequately with the life cycle of man in all its depth and variety.
We shall therefore be compelled to present an outline or summary and
to do so, moreover, without much supporting evidence or even an
explanation of the way in which our conclusions have been reached.
Some come from ancient traditions—particularly those of the Middle
East—some from modern psychology and anthropology, others again
from the application of Systematics and seme, finally, from the results
of investigations which for the past twenty years have been in process at
the Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and the
Sciences. If the result appears to be dogmatic and lacking in scientific
reserve, this must be attributed, in part at least, to the need to cover
more ground than the available space will allow. Also, some of the con-
clusions are more speculative than others, and this will be noted in the
appropriate places.

15.40.2. The Sources of Man's Totality

The life cycle of a man is interesting because it is dramatic. It raises
and seeks an answer to the question of the purpose of life and of man's
success or failure. These are not general questions to be studied as
anthropology. The drama is not a matter of the values to be realized,
but of the will and the power to realize them. It concerns the Domain of
Harmony or Realization and it concerns man's place within the Uni-
versal Drama. This place is both private and collective. The present

chapter refers to the personal drama and the next will deal with the
social drama of human life.

As we used the expression Total Present Moment to describe the
cycle of man's existence, we shall use the word Totality to refer to the
content of that existence as well as of his essence This will serve par-
ticularly to draw attention to man's potential for transformation from
self to Individual. The monad is the whole man in terms of his nature
and condition as a human being, and the Totality is the whole man in
terms of his nature and condition as a potential individual. The Totality
of a man comprises his Functional activity, his Being and his Will, each
taken both existentially and essentially. It includes the 'invisible' man
as well as the 'visible', the potential as well as the actual, the infinite
essence as well as the finite existence.

We have assumed that the Totality begins to be formed at the moment
of conception and during life it acquires additional content. It is, how-
ever, certain that at least some part of the Totality is in existence prior
to conception. This is obviously true, for example, of the genetic consti-
tution inherited from the parents and of the physico-chemical materials
out of which the organism is made. Nevertheless, there are good grounds
for taking the moment of conception as marking the coalescence of the
basic constituents of the Totality of the human being.

Taking as our starting point the twofold division of Essence and
Existence and the threefold division of Function, Being and Will, we
shall have six sources of the human Totality. The six constituents which
come from them will be briefly described with the minimum of explana-
tion, leaving to the next section an account of their operation.

15.40.2.1. ESSENTIAL FUNCTION

This seems to be a contradiction in terms since function is knowable
and essence is unknowable. The point is that there is an invisible pattern
in human life which includes individual men and women and determines
the 'right' course of their lives. It is a functional pattern inasmuch as it
requires action for the performance of a task. It implies that each one
of us has a place in the scheme of things that consists in fulfilling a
particular duty.

The notion of 'pattern' is neither causal nor purposive. If it is to be
expressed in terms of the determining conditions, we should say that
it is eternal rather than temporal in its form and hyparchic in its
content. This means that the content consists in the degree of ful-
filment that each human person is able to attain in his or her life. This
degree of fulfilment is not itself the 'Essential Function' which is no more

than the complex structure of activity that falls to be accomplished and
may be accomplished more or less adequately by each one of us.

There is, in the Essential Function, place for adaptation and creative
enrichment. This varies from one person to another. In this way, the
life of the individual is linked both to its own destiny and also to the
total pattern of events in which it has a part to play.*

15.40.2.2.   ESSENTIAL BEING

We shall use the term Soul-Stuff to designate the raw material of
future being that is drawn into man's Totality at the moment of con-
ception. The soul-stuff of man is a complex of energies which make it
possible for him to be a centre of experience or a mind.+

The word 'soul-stuff' is used to indicate that man is conceived with the
potentiality for forming a soul. This potentiality resides in a mass of
energies that enter the Totality at conception and remain with it through-
out life. In their 'raw' state these energies have no organized structure,
but they belong to the range which makes experience possible. In man,
the soul-stuff probably consists mainly of the sensitive (E 5) and con-
scious (E 4) energies. The source of the soul-stuff is the repository of
the common experience of mankind. We shall call this the Soul-Stuff
Pool. Its nature will be elaborated in the next section.

15.40.2.3.   ESSENTIAL WILL

Every human totality is unique because it is the seat of an autonomous
Individual Will. In Vol. II, Chapter 27, we reached the conclusion that
there can only be one Supreme Will, but that this Will can and does
part itself into separate wills by the act of 'Self-limitation'. When this
act is repeated, it leads the Supra-essential Supreme Will into the
limitations of existence when it becomes the Universal Will—what we
call the Universal Individuality. Nevertheless, it remains essential and
therefore not existing. The Universal Will by further self-limitation
enters into separate beings as the Personal Individuality. This is the
third essential constituent of the Human Totality.

The description just given agrees with the intuitive insight of innum-
erable mystics and philosophers that there is in man a 'particle of
Deity', a Divine Spark that links him to the Infinite.

[* The element of creativity that lies in the hyparchic future will be discussed in
Chapter 42 below.

+ Gurdjieff uses the term 'essence' to stand for this part of man's totality. It is at
one and the same time the pattern of his possible experiences and the basis of his mind.
We shall not adopt this use of the word essence to avoid confusion with the use of
'essence' as the counterpart of 'existence'.]

We shall assume that the Personal Individuality is always linked to
the Totality although, in undeveloped men, not 'present' in time and
place. The Personal Individuality is probably the same as the 'Spirit',
in the traditional triad of Body, Soul and Spirit, though this latter con-
cept is one of the weak spots in most religious anthropologies. We may
hope to understand the whole situation better if we can grasp the notion
of Will as authority that can be exercised only when provided with a
vehicle in which to act and instruments with which to operate. These are
present in the Totality as Soul-Stuff and the organism; but they have to
be developed before they can play their part. The notion of a Will that
is both 'disembodied' and 'unconscious' and yet vested with 'authority'
is by no means easy to grasp. It plays an important part in the picture of
the human totality that we are seeking to construct.

15.40.2.4.   EXISTENTIAL FUNCTION

This is the organism with its centres of functioning described in the
last chapter.* The source of this part of the Totality is heredity. It is
transmitted by the parents at the moment of conception.

15.40.2.5.   EXISTENTIAL BEING

The source of existence must lie within Existence itself. External
influences acting upon the Totality produce a pattern that is the existen-
tial counterpart of the soul. This is called the Personality.+ The person-
ality begins to form at the moment of conception under the influence of
the psychic states of the two parents. It is not completely formed until
the psyche ceases to assimilate influences from the external world.

15.40.2.6.   EXISTENTIAL WILL

There is a mode of willing for each of the four selves. The Material
and Reactional Selves are formed by the action of the environment and
are not truly characteristic of the man. The Divided Self contains a latent
behaviour pattern that is properly called the Character and this pattern
attracts corresponding external conditions that are called Fate. Since
the character is part of the existing man—i.e. not part of his essential
reality—we can say that the Existential Will goes back to the character.
This is true in spite of the fact that the personality can produce patterns

[* Cf. Section 15.39.4.2.

+ Cf. Vol. II, p. 185, where the Personality is represented as the existential part of
the Divided Self. The division there made into Personality and Psyche is not so far-
reaching as our present scheme which refers not only to man as a self but also to his
total nature.]

of behaviour quite different from those of the character. Thus we can
associate character and type as the pattern of dominant manifestations
of will imposed upon the new Totality by the synchronous pattern at
the moments of conception, birth and other critical stages of life.* The
source can be called the 'World Pattern'.

The six constituents coalesce in a hexad and can be represented sym-
bolically as in Fig. 40. 1.

15.40.3. Conception, Gestation and Birth

The life-cycle of a man is a complete event and according to system-
atic principles it should be a hexad. This indicates that the six constitu-

[* The word 'synchronous' is used as in Vol. II, Chapter 26, to designate an order
independent of time. Cf. also Vol. II, p. 183, for the connection of existential Will and
the Self-hood.]

ents should coalesce from the moment of conception and remain to-
gether until the cycle is completed. On this view, man is, from start to
finish, a complete six-term Totality and his life cycle is a complete six-
term Event. The totality and the event are inseparable. Man is what he
is, and he is his life-cycle; anything less than this totality is only part of
a man. Thus a man at a given moment of his life is only a cross-section
of his totality and therefore only an abstraction. This must be constantly
borne in mind, to avoid the mistake of regarding his past and future as
less relevant to the human totality than the state that happens to be
'actual'.

At conception, man is almost wholly potential. This is obviously true
for his existential nature—body, personality and character—which have
yet to be actualized. The actualization will come about in time and
space subject to the laws that govern all existential processes. The essen-
tial nature of man—soul-stuff, personal individuality and destiny—is also
potential at the moment of conception and has to be realized. The laws
of realization are quite different from those of existential actualization.
They belong to the Domain of Harmony. Nevertheless, the two processes
are not separate. The determining conditions of eternity and hyparxis
make it possible for essence and existence to interact and finally to be
united in the harmony of a Perfected Human Individual.

All this is foreshadowed at the moment of conception. The attraction
that draws the parents together is evidence of an energy field that is
predominantly formed of the sensitive energy (E 5). This field is shared
by the parents and the gametes destined for union. As the ovum is
fertilized it concentrates round it its own energy field which is the soul-
stuff of the new human totality.

The primary role of the parents is to transmit a pattern of hereditary
influences carried by the genes and the body-building combination of
nucleic acid derivatives. This is the germ of the functional mechanism
that will gradually develop by growth and differentiation to produce the
organism with its centres of function. We shall assume that the entire
process of hereditary transmission is effected through this 'functional
factor'.

This implies that the soul-stuff is not influenced by heredity. This is
only partially true, since it is concentrated within the field of energies
shared by the two parents whose characteristics may influence its con-
tent. There is, however, a more direct way in which the parents influence
the soul-stuff. There is a common field of experience in the sexual act.
The intensity of sensation during it makes it almost certain that the new
totality is then directly influenced by the state of the parents. There is

ample, though indirect, evidence that this is so. The phychic state of
young children reflects that of the parents at the moment of conception.
The result is to impregnate the soul-stuff with the tendency towards
certain kinds of experiences. Thus a state of jealousy in the father at the
time of the sexual act will produce in the soul-stuff a tendency to suspi-
cion, possessiveness and insecurity. Fear in the mother will result in
nervousness in the child, often accompanied by digestive troubles.

There is little doubt that the connection has been recognized in the
past and accounts for the traditional injunctions to ensure that children
are conceived only when the parents are in a state of psychic purity. An
immense and largely unnecessary burden is placed upon the parents
themselves who find themselves obliged to deal with the psychic dis-
turbances of their children—caused unwittingly by their own heedless-
ness at the time of sexual union. Conversely, parents whose union takes
place in states of serenity and mutual confidence enjoy the benefits in
the relatively undisturbed states of their children.

Nevertheless, these parental states at conception have only a relatively
superficial influence upon the soul-stuff. We have said that the source
of the soul-stuff is also the repository of the accumulated experience of
mankind. It can be called the 'atavistic legacy' of countless generations
of men and women through whom the 'mental' energies of sensitivity
and consciousness have passed. Just as there is a perpetual circulation
of the chemical elements through living bodies,* so must there be a
circulation of these finer energies.+

We have introduced the term 'Soul-Stuff Pool' (SSP) to designate the
hypothetical reservoir in which the soul-stuff is collected, and from
which it is drawn each time a new human totality is conceived. The
SSP is not a new conception; it is probably the source of the reincarna-
tionist beliefs that have been and still are so widely held in the Far East.
In Ibsen's Peer Gynt it is vividly pictured in the episode of the button-
moulder, whose ladle is replenished with the soul-stuff of all those men
and women who have failed, during life, to achieve Individuality.

It can also provide a satisfactory basis for Carl Jung's theory of the
'Collective Unconscious', which he describes as the common pool of

[* It is estimated, for example, that all the oxygen in the atmosphere passes through
living bodies in the transformations of photosynthesis and oxidation approximately
once a century.

+ Consciousness belongs to the tetrad of Cosmic Energies. (C/. Vol. II, p. 230-1)
and is not localized in place and time. It can also be said that consciousness belongs to
man's essential, rather than to his existential nature. Nevertheless, we are assuming that
consciousness is 'engaged' in the human sensitivity to produce a pool of 'mind-stuff'.
This idea with be fully explored in Chapter 45 'The Advent of Mind'.]

experiences and memories accumulated by humanity over the ages. Any
such theory must meet the question: 'Where and in what medium are
these memories and experiences stored?' The SSP satisfies all the re-
quirements of such a theory especially in dealing with the difficult
question of explaining how the individual psyche draws upon the
'Collective Unconscious' for its content.

The SSP also gives a reasonable account of the theological doctrine
of Original Sin. It is difficult to imagine that there could be an hereditary
transmission of a psychic tendency common to all people. All the evi-
dence is against any suggestion that moral qualities are genetically
transmitted. Morally and mentally defective parents do indeed transmit
their defects, but the mechanism is not that of functional inheritance, and
its exceptional character shows how improbable it is that there can be
any universal 'hereditary taint'. This argument has often been used to
discredit the doctrine of Original Sin, and from our point of view seems
valid enough. Sin is a psychic, and not an organic, defect and if it is
transmitted at all, it must be through the soul-stuff.

Here we must return to consider the properties of the soul-stuff. It
can also be called 'mind-stuff' because it is the material out of which
the mind is formed.* The sensitive energy, for example, not only
receives images but stores them in the shape of memory. It is, therefore,
wholly plausible to suppose that the personal mind and the collective
human mind—within the SSP—are made of the same material.

This material is coalesced in the human totality at conception and is
dispersed again at death or possibly some time after death. When it is
dispersed it returns to the SSP, but in doing so it carries with it the
memories of the completed life—or at any rate those memories that
are so deeply imprinted as to survive the disintegration of the Totality.
The Soul-Stuff Pool, in this way becomes a repository of the experiences
of mankind. We are further supposing that it will not consist exclusively
of sensitive energy, but also of some consciousness. Little by little, the
SSP will take shape and we may hazard a guess that it is destined even-
tually to become the Great Soul of Humanity, when mankind will have
reached such a stage in its evolution as to acquire the characteristics of
an independent being.

Three comments should be made upon our account of the SSP.
Firstly, we suppose that the SSP is not yet the 'World Soul'; but a

[* Strictly speaking, only with the addition of creative energy (E 3) does one obtain
a true soul-substance. The spiritual transformations involved in attaining Individuality
require the action of the Unitive Energy (E 2). This is elaborated in chapters 46, 47
and 48 of Vol. IV.]

soul at an early stage of formation. This would mean that it is not yet
the vehicle of a single undivided Will of Man. There is, indeed, no
evidence yet in human life of the operation of such a Will that would
unite all humanity in a common purpose. The mass of soul-stuff
available on the earth could attach itself to some divided, imperfect will
or group of wills and so fail to integrate itself into the Universal Purpose
or Destiny of Mankind. This could be interpreted as 'disobedience' and
its fruit would be the impregnation of the Soul-Stuff Pool with the
results of the conflicting and defective purposes of a multitude of
Personal Wills. Such an account of Original Sin will need careful and
extensive development to make it theologically acceptable and scienti-
fically plausible, but it does at least suggest a perfectly natural explana-
tion of the only too-obvious tendency of the human psyche to exhibit
an incomprehensible perversity in front of the serious problems of life.*

Secondly, we have the vexed question of 'former lives'. It is unlikely
that a belief so widely held by so many millions of people for thousands
of years as the doctrine of reincarnation can be wholly without founda-
tion. We must distinguish between the 'indeterminate' reincarnation of
classical Buddhism and the 'determinate' theories that have gained
currency in the West. It seems clear from the early Buddhist scriptures,
as also from the Upanishads of about the same date, that in the first
millennium B.C. a doctrine very like our Soul-Stuff Pool was current in
India. There was no suggestion of reincarnation of individual selves—
for the Buddha denied the existence of any such thing in man.+

The 'endless cycle of lives' does not refer to individual selves, but to
the mass of humanity burdened with the consequences of action or
Karma. There is nothing in this inconsistent with the theory of a
Soul-Stuff Pool; but it does suggest that within the Pool, the soul-stuff
may be in varying states of coherence or 'Self-hood'. We can suppose
that strongly formed selves that have not achieved Individuality will
persist in the SSP and may sometimes be drawn back into a new human
totality. This would account for nearly all cases where evidence in favour
of reincarnation seems to be convincing, without invoking the 'deter-
minate' theory according to which complete selves pass from life to
life. This latter theory is not in the least plausible and leads to all the
well-known absurdities of the 'I was a priestess in Atlantis', or 'I am
the reincarnation of Confucius', type.

[* The problem is taken up again in Chapters 46 and 47.

+ The Avatman or non-self theory - Anatta in Pali—that is repeated over and over
again in the Pitakas seems to contradict this, but only apparently, for Atman is not a
personal self and Atman is not involved in samsara or the "cycle of lives".]

Thirdly, we must distinguish between Conscious Energy as Cosmic
and the same energy when associated with a particular mode of Exist-
ence. In the scale of energies of Chapter 32,* conscious energy (E 4)
is assigned a place in the tetrad of Cosmic or Universal Energies. There
is an immense consensus of affirmation among mystics that man can
break out of the limitations of personal consciousness to participate in
the 'Cosmic Consciousness'.+ The Soul-Stuff Pool, though vast com-
pared with the content of an individual soul, is still a limited entity and
its consciousness is more in the nature of 'Self Consciousness' than
Cosmic Consciousness. We may suppose, but it is only a surmise, that
eventually mankind will develop so strong a World Soul as to be able
to participate in the Cosmic Consciousness and so become aware of the
unity of all Existence. This will come only when many 'conscious souls'
have made their contribution to the awakening and integration of the
Soul of Mankind.

We have devoted much space to the soul-stuff theory chiefly because
it must be carefully stated to avoid misleading suggestions.

We have now to deal with the question why a particular portion or
quantum of soul-stuff should be attracted to a given conception. It
seems likely that two conflicting influences operate. The first is that
which we have called Fate. Around this notion there is another cluster
of theories and beliefs connected with the word 'Astrology'. The basic
hypothesis of astrological theory and practice is that the character and
life-cycle of a human totality is profoundly and even decisively influenced
by the constellation and motions of the planets, sun and moon at the
moments of conception and birth. Here again, we have beliefs that have
been accepted and lived by for thousands of years and can therefore
scarcely be totally groundless. Our study of the Laws of Synchronicity, ++
combined with the extended framework of reference given by the
dimensions of eternity and hyparxis, gave us grounds for concluding
that there should be a similarity of eternal patterns within a given region
of space and time, and that there could be an interaction between patterns
through the properties of hyparxis. Applying these conclusions to the
formation of the Human Totality we may suppose that at the moment of
conception there is a synchronous organizing influence that acts upon
the soul-stuff to imprint upon it a specific pattern or structure. This will
determine, or at least strongly influence, both the 'character' of the new

[* Vol. II, Section 12.32.6., pp. 230-1.

+ The classic work in this field is Dr. Bucke's Cosmic Consciousness, published in
1901. In this, he cites numerous instances of the transition from intense but personal
consciousness to the supra-personal Cosmic Consciousness.

++ Cf. Vol. II, Chapter 26 and especially the Law of Common Presence.]

human being and also his 'Fate'. This agrees with the astrological
dictum: 'Fate is an accident of Birth'.

The second factor that acts upon the soul-stuff is the Destiny. This
also is a pattern, but it is essential and belongs rather to the Domain of
Values than that of Fact. Nevertheless, Values do exert an influence
upon factual actualization through the medium of consciousness. It is
probable that Destiny is connected with the Creative Energy (E 3) and
is transmitted to the soul-stuff through Conscious Energy present at the
moment of conception.* If this action were not interfered with by the
other influences at work, it would produce a soul complex exactly
corresponding in its qualities to the task to be accomplished by the
human totality in question. In such a case, the sixth constituent of the
Totality—the Personal Individuality—would be able to enter into the
soul-stuff from the moment of conception.

Such 'specially prepared' souls probably come into existence at rare
intervals in order to perform tasks of great significance for the human
race. They are not necessarily 'immaculate' for the soul-stuff of which
they are made is drawn from the SSP which carries the atavistic taint of
past human activity,+ It should, however, be remarked that nothing in
what we have said is inconsistent with the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The soul-stuff theory allows
the possibility of a perfectly untainted quantum of soul-stuff being drawn
into a conception associated with an uniquely high destiny.

In all ordinary cases, the Personal Individuality must wait until the
soul-stuff has been purified, developed and organized to produce a
vehicle with which it can be united. The 'waiting state' is not in any
form of existence. The Individuality is not in space and time. It is not
even in the unperceived dimensions of eternity and hyparxis. It can
best be described as a state of essential potency. Its connection with the
new totality is real, but not yet realized. We have no means of verifying
that the connection is made at the moment of conception, but on system-
atic grounds this appears to be likely.

We can now sum up this prolonged study of the genesis of a human
totality at conception. There are:

1. The fertilized ovum with its potentiality for development into a
human organism. It is the bearer of the functional powers and instru-
ments.

[* Cf. In Chapter 42 we will discuss the place of destiny in the hyparchic future and
how a man makes contact with it.

+ There may be cases of true reincarnation. This could be, for example, the ex-
planation of the reference in Matthew to John the Baptist: 'If ye will receive it this is
Elias which was for to come.']

2.  The soul-stuff brings with it from the SSP traces of:

a.   The total human experience (the Collective Unconscious).

b.  Personal experiences and memories (indeterminate reincarna-
tion).

It also acquires the personal imprint of:

c.   The pattern of Destiny.

d.   The pattern of Fate.

e.   The influence of the psychic state of the parents.

3.  The Personal Individuality.

These three can be described as the Body-Soul-Spirit of the human
being, but we must understand that the soul-stuff is only the potentiality
of a soul and that the Individuality is the spirit of man only as a possi-
bility to be realized. The stage is set—but the action has not started.

Much happens during gestation, but we cannot spend time upon this
phase of development beyond noting that the connection between the
soul-stuff of the foetus and that of the parents is very close. This applies
to both parents and places a special responsibility upon the father to
ensure that his psychic states exert a good, and not a harmful, influence
on the soul-stuff of the future child.

The period of quickening—in the fourth month—probably coincides
with the interpenetration of the growing organism and the soul-stuff.
Until this moment the foetus is not properly speaking 'alive', but from
then onwards it begins to have sensitive experience.

Birth is not only the separation of the body from that of the mother
and the drawing of the first breath. It is also the definitive fixing of the
soul-stuff, which, up to this moment, is only partially drawn into the
body of the unborn child. This is, no doubt, the reason why horoscopes
are based upon the moment of birth rather than that of conception.*

The moment of birth, and the taking of the first breath, marks the
start of a process of energy transformations which makes possible the
development and exercise of the functional powers. It is at this moment
that the soul-stuff begins to take the form of a Self.

15.40.4. The Formative Years

The Self is the precursor of the Soul. The soul-stuff cannot become
a soul until it has undergone a transformation which enables it to make
coalesce the existential and the essential natures of the human totality.
For this to be achieved, there must be an effectual contact with the
different worlds of self-hood, from the Material World up to, and

[* Although Indian, and other Asiatic Schools of astrology, recognize that conception
is the all-important moment for the determination of the future character and fate.]

including, World XXIV—the World of the True Self where existence
and essence are balanced.* The development of the selves is a process
in time and it takes time. This time lasts normally from birth to man-
hood and is referred to in the heading of this section as the 'Formative
Years'.+

Together with the formation of the self-hood proceeds the develop-
ment of the bodily functions++ and the acquisition of the knowledge,
skill and experience necessary for dealing with the world external to the
soul-stuff and its bodily organism.

We must now turn our attention to the most important question: that
of the Will. This is seated in the Personal Individuality; but since this
lacks an integral vehicle and coordinated instruments, it cannot exercise
an integral authority within the Totality. Since the Will cannot remain
idle, it projects itself into the various sub-totalities within the Whole.
In this way, there arise a number of subordinate and more or less
independent 'Wills'. This results in the 'Multiplicity of I's' that charac-
terizes the ordinary man.§

There are two ways of explaining how a single Will can act as if it
were a multiplicity. One is to suppose that the unity can be broken or
parcelled out so that each fragmentary will is a reproduction of the whole.
The other is to suppose that the single will, without losing its unity, can
'project' itself into a multiplicity of separate centres, each of which
then has a degree of independent 'authority'. It is probable that the
truth lies in some combination of these notions, and that man as a
totality reproduces the act of self-limitation whereby the Supreme Will
projects its freedom into the creation.||

[* Cf. Vol. II, Chapters 27-31 but especially Section 11.30.1., pp. 154-5. 'Self-
hood is susceptible of many gradations and as such is able to bring Individuality into
the realm of existence.' Again (p. 158) 'The proper world of men as a finite self is
World XXIV.'

+ Gurdjieff in All and Everything uses the term 'Preparatory Age', and says that it
lasts with men until about 21, and with women until 18 years of age.

++ Section 15.39.4.2. for description.

§ This will be recognized as the doctrine of 'Many IV expounded by Gurdjieff and
Ouspensky, and confirmed by the findings of analytical psychology. This doctrine is
an obligatory part of any 'new anthropology' worthy of the name. The old view that
man is, and should be treated as, an individual, runs counter to all that we know and
can observe in human behaviour.

|| This formula resembles that of Vol. II, Chapter 27, where the Supreme Will is
said to act by 'projecting into existence some measure of its own freedom' (p. 71). We
set down as the 'Principle of the Operation of the Will in the Existing Universe', the
statement: 'At all levels of Existence there is the possibility of free initiative, but only
within the limits of superior laws' (p. 71). Again among the Postulates of the Will
(p. 84), we find Postulate 8. 'Every World is characterized by a set of mutual exclusions
that are a consequence of the level of Being of the entities comprising the World.']

The Personal Individuality enters the human totality at the moment
of conception and 'makes man in the Image of God'. It does so by
endowing him with the essential attribute of an Individualized Will that
is not limited by the conditions of existence. It is, however, only given
to man as a possibility.* In order to become real, it must not only
acquire a vehicle and instruments, but also become conscious of itself
and its own nature and origin, before it can fulfil its Destiny.+ As
creation proceeds by partition and blending,++ so does the self-creation
of a man require that his single will and undifferentiated mass of soul-
stuff should be divided into separate parts, so that each can develop the
required properties before being welded into the Complete Man gov-
erned by a single Individuality.

The process of separation begins at birth when the soul-stuff begins
to experience the difference between 'inner' and 'outer'. We can observe
in new-born children sounds, gestures and expressions that indicate
consciousness of the Essential Reality and other sounds, gestures and
expressions produced by the states of the physical organism such as
hunger, pain and satisfaction. Soon the latter are augmented by reac-
tions to sense impressions. Then comes the recognition of differences in
the external world: food and non-food, mother and non-mother. There
is thus, almost from birth, a fundamental partition of the will. One part
goes out into the external manifestations and is fragmented among all
the different stimulations and reactions. The other part draws in behind
the awareness and eventually forms the 'higher unconscious' or supra-
conscious self.§

The first and most pressing requirement of entering into existence
in association with a physical body, is the power of adaptation to the
conditions of the material world. The first four years of life are mainly
devoted to the development of the functions required for this adaptation.
These are situated in the instinctive and moving centres and include
the coordination of sense perception, motor skills, language and the
recognition of material objects and their use. With these powers and
skills there forms in the soul-stuff a primary organization which is the
beginning of the Material Self. The legitimate and necessary role of
the Material Self is to enable man to exercise authority in the material

[* Individuality within Existence is strictly speaking an impossibility and therefore a
transcendental Act is needed to make it a possibility.

+ Cf. Vol. II, p. 326. In a deeper sense, man is created as a complete triad and
therefore reproduces in himself the pattern of that Perfect Will that has created all

worlds.

++ Cf. Vol. II, Chapter 34, pp. 262—3 contains valuable ideas, but is in need of revision.
§ This is the origin of Conscience or the 'Higher Wisdom' in man.]

world. The affinity between the Material Self and the material world
almost always causes a weakening in the link between the soul-stuff and
the Personal Individuality. This explains why we can observe in young
children the strange combination of immaturity and authority which
makes us say: 'In some ways they are babies and in others they are the
same as we are, or rather, of no age at all.' This ceases when the self-hood
acquires its necessary links with the external world.

The will is dispersed in the soul-stuff in transient and disconnected
impulses. There is no power of attention, no sustained interest and only
rudimentary 'I-feeling'. Appearances are deceptive. Evidences of
intelligence and foresight are taken as indications of a thought process
such as is present in adults. Strong reactions are mistaken for emotional
states. The confusions are due to the fluctuating states of consciousness
that are even more marked in young children than in later life. The
momentary liberation of conscious energy (E 4) can permit functions
to work even though the corresponding instrument is still undeveloped.
This can be ascribed to the organizing power of the conscious energy
that produces from the sensitivity (E 5) temporary structures that may
produce startling effects and then dissolve again into the general mass
of soul-stuff.

Between the fourth and fifth years of life (earlier in girls than in boys)
the Reactional Self makes its appearance with parallel development of
the Emotional Centre. This marks a further stage in the withdrawal of the
Personal Individuality from contact with the Soul-stuff. The distinction
of Essence and Existence degenerates into the dualism of like and dislike,
pleasure and aversion, approval and rejection and all other forms of
'Yes and No'. There is also a marked strengthening of the Personality.
The reactions of the child are no longer entirely spontaneous or in-
stinctive, but now more and more 'picked up' from the environ-
ment.

The Reactional Self develops very differently in different children.
In some, it is very weak and the sensitivity remains attached to the
Material Self. This state of affairs may persist throughout the formative
years and the outcome is a person wholly identified with the material
world and insensitive to the finer gradations of experience. In other
children, the Reactional Self develops rapidly and occupies a central
place as the source of almost all motivations. Usually Reactional Selves
are also 'emotional types', but this is by no means inevitable. There can
can be Reactional Selves whose predominant function is instinctive
(self-indulgent, lazy people), moving (active sporting types with
exaggerated automatic loyalties and likes and dislikes, but little true

feeling), and intellectual (pedants, fond of arguing, attaching extreme
importance to being in the right or knowing everything).

Since the development of the selves depends upon experience, a
special responsibility rests upon teachers to ensure that the child is not
exposed to influences that will produce a fixation of one of the lower
selves. Excessive attachment to material objects and physical sensations
—factors that strengthen the Material Self—must be counteracted by
emotional stimuli, particularly in the sense of giving the child confidence
in people and the assurance of being loved. A tendency to over-develop-
ment of the Reactional Self must be rectified by a well-regulated life and
firm discipline, administered with impartiality and gentleness.

The years from four to seven, mark great advances in communication
from person to person. Not only is there an intense interest in the use of
language (usually extreme talkativeness) but a growing discernment of
the reality of people as people, with experiences like those of the child
himself, or herself. This indicates a structuring of the soul-stuff in such
a way as to make reflection and self-knowledge possible. Dreaming,
including day-dreaming, fantasy-building, story-telling are all symp-
toms of an awakening of self-hood in the soul-stuff.

The chief need from seven to twelve is for security; that is, the
assurance of a place in the world. This can be ascribed to the presence
in the soul-stuff of links with Destiny, the essential pattern in the
Human Totality. Since no understanding of Destiny is yet possible and
contact with the Personal Individuality may have become very tenuous,
the child looks outside itself for assurance that it has a place. Failure of
communication between parents and children during these years can
have lamentable consequences. With breakdown of communication,
comes loss of confidence, with loss of confidence, the Self draws into
isolation and the Personality takes over almost the entire direction of
the behaviour. The years from nine to twelve or fourteen are of special
importance for they normally belong to the development of the Divided
Self. The Divided Self is characterized by 'higher' and 'lower' parts
corresponding to the essential and existential influences that act upon it.
In place of reactional behaviour, which has no moral quality, there
ensues a phase of 'good' versus 'bad' behaviour with a distinct moral
flavour. The sense of responsibility begins to emerge; but is confused by
the persistence of reactional and material characteristics.

The years from seven to puberty are important for the development
of the functional powers. Many automatic skills (speech, reading, writ-
ing, arithmetic and manual skills of various kinds) are easily acquired
by the simplest procedures of repetition and stimulus-reinforcement. As

a whole, the primary stage of education should be directed to the
achievement of these aims:

1.  Easy communication, confidence in relationships.

2.  Behaviour based upon perceptions of right and wrong: that is,
upon the proper development of the Divided Self.

3.  Full development of the powers associated with the moving and
emotional centres.

4.  Knowledge and skills that can be learned with the powers so far
developed, i.e. those which do not need the intellectual centre, which is
still undifferentiated.

The tendency in most educational systems is to over-emphasize the
'learning' element in primary education and to neglect the development
of the functions or powers. The great educational reformers of the
nineteenth century from Pestalozzi to Dewey recognized the importance
of adapting education to the natural stages of development and saw that
more emphasis should be laid upon the right balance of the three major
groups of functions—sensation, feeling and thought. Yet, there is still
too little recognition of the importance of developing the powers of the
mind and not only its content. Many unnecessary facts are learned which
could be found when needed, and this overloading of the sensitivity
retards the development of the powers which, once properly trained and
coordinated, enable an immense range of activities to be accomplished
successfully. The efforts of educational reformers to achieve a better
balance are frustrated by the pressures of an ill-informed society that
demands examinations, grading, classification—all based upon know-
ledge and skill alone and the neglect of the deeper realities of the child's
nature.

We come now to the first great climacteric in the human life-cycle:
the age of puberty. This should be the time of the birth of the True
Human Self when consciousness and sensitivity are separated in the
soul-stuff.* Owing to the tendency to underestimate the capacity for
development within the psyche (the soul-stuff partially organized) and
to overdo the pressure of external 'educational' procedures, most
boys and girls reach puberty with an over-developed personality and
almost unformed self-hood. This condition accounts for the striking
immaturity of boys and girls in modern industrial societies compared
with those of the same age in traditional Asiatic communities. From the
standpoint of the Material Self the situation appears to be advantage-
ous because there is a rapid development of the external powers of
dealing with the material world. But at the present time (seventh decade
[* Cf. Chapter 39, Section 15.39.5.2.]

of the twentieth century) serious hazards are involved. The rapid
technological advances of the century have so increased productivity,
that success in dealing with material situations has become far less
important than the ability to deal with social problems. The world needs
a greater proportion of people who have strong growth of the higher
parts of the Self and the educational effort should primarily be directed
to achieve this aim.

The critical period for this growth is the seven years after puberty.
At the present time, education is devoted largely to the acquisition of
skills that can be tested by examination for the purposes of selection in
subsequent careers. The earnest endeavours of educationists to redress
the balance in favour of a greater emphasis on the higher functional
powers beat helplessly against the inertia of a society still dominated
by Material Selves.