What Color Is Your
Worldview?
Understanding Your Self
and Others
Dr. Rodney H. Clarken
Northern Michigan University
Presented at the Upper Peninsula Reading Association
Conference, Marquette, MI, October 14, 2005
Abstract:
• This session will explore eight major worldviews
and how they influence what we think, feel and
do. By understanding how and why we think,
feel and act differently we should be better able
to transform ourselves and those with whom we
work. Participants should leave with a deeper
understanding of development, diversity, unity
and evolution.
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Based on Clare Graves’ Theory
• “…the psychology of the mature human
being is an unfolding, emergent,
oscillating spiraling process marked by
progressive subordination of older, lowerorder behavior systems to newer, higherorder systems as man's existential
problems change.”
•
This and key points from http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/IEC/caleb.html
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Key Points, 1-2
1. Human nature is not static, nor is it finite.
Human nature changes as the conditions
of existence change, thus forging new
systems, yet the older systems stay with
us.
2. When a new system or level is activated,
we change our psychology and rules for
living to adapt to those new conditions.
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Key Points, 3-4
3. We live in a potentially open system of values
with an infinite number of modes of living
available to us. There is no final state to which
we must all aspire.
4. An individual, a company, or an entire society
can respond positively only to those managerial
principles, motivational appeals, educational
formulas and legal or ethical codes that are
appropriate to their current level of human
existence.
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Key Points, 5
5. A spiral vortex best depicts this emergence of
human systems as they evolve through levels
of increasing complexity. Each upward turn of
the spiral marks the awakening of a more
elaborated version on top of what already
exists. The human spiral, then, consists of a
coiled string of value systems, worldviews and
mindsets, each the product of its times and
conditions. In other words, new times produce
new minds.
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
•http://www.empowermentillustrated.com/SpiralDynamics.htm
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LEVELS
COLOR
THEME
FOCUS
VALUE SYSTEMS
LEVEL 1
BEIGE
SurvivalSense
"ME"
Group bands together to stay alive
LEVEL 2
PURPLE
KinSpirits
"WE"
The sense of family-tribe with time honored
LEVEL 3
RED
PowerGods
"ME"
Power-action driven, egocentric
LEVEL 4
BLUE
TruthForce
"WE"
Purposeful, absolutist, "one right way"
LEVEL 5
ORANGE
StriveDrive
"ME"
Entrepreneurial,materialistic,success-driven
LEVEL 6
GREEN
HumanBond
"WE"
Community,harmony,equality,relativistic
LEVEL 7
YELLOW
FlexFlow
"ME"
Natural processes, mutual realities; live for
mutuality
LEVEL 8
TURQU
OISE
GlobalView
"WE"
Harmony, holism, spirituality
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/IEC/caleb.html
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Eight Worldviews Summary
1 based on biological urges/drives; physical senses dictate the state of
being
2 threatening and full of mysterious powers, spirit beings which must be
placated and appeased
3 like a jungle where the tough and strong prevail while the weak serve;
nature is an adversary
4 controlled by a Higher Power that punishes evil and eventually rewards
good works and Right living
5 full of resources to develop and opportunities to make things better and
bring prosperity
6 the habitat wherein humanity can find love and purposes through
affiliation and sharing
7 a chaotic organism where change is the norm and uncertainty a
usual state of being
8 a delicately balanced system of interlocking forces in jeopardy in human
hands (adapted from http://www.spiraldynamics.org/Graves/colors.htm)
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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What we seek in life
1 survival; biogenic needs satisfaction; reproduction
2 safety/security; protection from harm; family bonds
3 power/action; asserting self to dominate others; control
4 stability/order; obedience to earn later reward; meaning
5 opportunity/success; competing to achieve results;
influence
6 harmony/love; joining together for mutual growth;
awareness
7 independence/self-worth; fitting a living system; knowing
8 global community/life force; survival of Earth;
consciousness (adapted from http://www.spiraldynamics.org/Graves/colors.htm)
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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What is rational?
1 as natural instincts and reflexes direct; automatic existence
2 according to tradition and ritual ways of group; tribal; animistic
3 asserting self for dominance, conquest, and power; exploitive;
egocentric
4 obediently as higher authority and rules direct; absolutist;
conforming
5 pragmatically to achieve results and get ahead; multiplistic;
achievist
6 responds to human needs; affiliative; relativistic; situational
7 build functional niche to do what one chooses; existential;
systemic
8 experiential to join with other like thinkers; holistic;
transpersonal (adapted from http://www.spiraldynamics.org/Graves/colors.htm)
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Transitions between levels
1. Survival/meeting biological needs/instinctive drives & urges
Awakening of a sense of dependent self in a mysterious and
frightening world where being with others means safety
2. Safety/tribal needs/adherence to ritual/obeying
chief(s)/harmony/reciprocity
Awakening of an egocentric self determined to break the
shackles of the family or tribe and become a powerful individual
3. Power/action/excitement/proving individual
prowess/shame/cunning dominance
Awakening of a purposeful self with guilt in search of meaning in
a purposeful existence and reasons why we live and die
4. Purpose/obedience to
authority/stability/rules/meaning/guilt/duty
Awakening of a pragmatic, independence-seeking self who
challenges higher authority and scientifically tests possibilities
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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5. Competition/success/making things better/autonomy/adroit
control/growth
Awakening of a sociocentric self who strives for belonging and
acceptance and needs to discover spirit, inner harmony, peace
6. Affiliation/sustainability/collaboration/consciousness/
fulfillment/sharing/connections
Awakening of an inquiring, interdependent self who no longer needs
approval yet can collaborate when appropriate with diminishing
compulsions or fears
7. Being/functionality/discovery/integralism/responsibilities of
living/connections
Awakening of experiential self who seeks ways of being that use
knowledge to restore natural harmony and balance
8. Experience of holism/accept existential realities/integration of
life energies--the open-ended Graves theory continues as new
thinking systems awaken and coping with life's existential
dichotomies activates new neuronal systems
http://www.spiraldynamics.org/Graves/colors.htm
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Clarken’s Eight Worldviews in
“M”nemonics
1.
Mammalian
2.
Magic
3.
Might
4.
Myth
5.
Mental/Models
6.
Multicultural
7.
Melded
8.
Mystic
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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BEIGE - Instinctive/Survivalistic
Basic theme: Do what you must just to stay alive (starting
100,000 years ago)
• Uses instincts and habits just to survive
• Distinct self is barely awakened or sustained
• Food, water, warmth, sex, and safety have priority
• Forms into survival bands to perpetuate life
• Lives "off the land" much as other animals
•
This and following first slides for each color level from:
http://www.wie.org/j22/beck.asp?page=1
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Archaic-Instinctual, Physiological
Satisfaction, Mammalian, Survival
Sense, “me”
• Material and physical self identity; presocial, -mental, -moral, -logical and –verbal
• First human societies, seeking power over
nature, simple hunting and gathering
• Seen in infants, senility, survival situations,
some primitive hunter-gatherer societies,
high conflict and disaster areas
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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PURPLE - Magical/Animistic
Basic theme: Keep the spirits happy and the tribe's nest
warm and safe (starting 50,000 years ago)
• Obeys the desires of the spirit being and mystical signs
• Shows allegiance to chief, elders, ancestors, and the clan
• Individual subsumed in group
• Preserves sacred objects, places, events, and memories
• Observes rites of passage, seasonal cycles, and tribal
customs
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Animistic-Tribalistic, Safe Mode of
Living, Magical, Kin Spirits, “we”
• Strong kinship/tribal bonds, symbiotic, trust vs.
mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt
• Preoperational, magical and animistic thinking
• Emotional self and punishment/obedience
morality emerging
• Seen in superstitions, rituals, athletic teams,
gangs and some tribal societies
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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RED - Impulsive/Egocentric
Basic theme: Be what you are and do what you want,
regardless (starting 10,000 years ago)
• The world is a jungle full of threats and predators
• Breaks free from any domination or constraint to please self as
self desires
• Stands tall, expects attention, demands respect, and calls the
shots
• Enjoys self to the fullest right now without guilt or remorse
• Conquers, out-foxes, and dominates other aggressive
characters
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Egocentric, Heroic Status, Might,
Power Gods, “me”
• Powerful, impulsive, egocentric, heroic; 1st person
perspective, initiative vs. guilt and anxiety, naïve
hedonism morality
• Might makes right, underlings obey for
protection
• Seen in terrible twos, rebellious youth, frontier
mentality, John Wayne, rugged individual types,
heroes, feudal kingdoms and empires
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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BLUE Purposeful/Authoritarian
Basic theme: Life has meaning, direction, and purpose with
predetermined outcomes (starting 5,000 years ago)
• One sacrifices self to the transcendent Cause, Truth, or
righteous Pathway
• The Order enforces a code of conduct based on eternal,
absolute principles
• Righteous living produces stability now and guarantees future
reward
• Impulsivity is controlled through guilt; everybody has their
proper place
• Laws, regulations, and discipline build character and moral
fiber
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Absolutist-Religious, Ultimate
Peace, Myth, Truth Force, “we”
• Mythological and concrete operational thinking,
industry vs. inferiority, conventional approval of
others and law and order morality, ethnocentric
• “one right way”
• Seen in fundamentalism, patriotism, Boy/Girl
Scouts, moral majority, codes of chivalry and
honor, ancient nations, Puritan America,
Confucian China, horticultural and agrarian
societies, rigid social hierarchies, paternalism
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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ORANGE - Achievist/Strategic
Basic theme: Act in your own self-interest by playing the
game to win (starting 300 years ago)
• Change and advancement are inherent within the scheme of
things
• Progresses by learning nature's secrets and seeking out best
solutions
• Manipulates Earth's resources to create and spread the
abundant good life
• Optimistic, risk-taking, and self-reliant people deserve success
• Societies prosper through strategy, technology, and
competitiveness
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Individualistic-Achiever,
Materialistic Pleasure,
Mental/Models, Strive Drive, “me”
• Social contract morality and formal operational thinking, 2nd
and 3rd person perspectives
• Rational, achievement-oriented, individualistic, seeks
objective scientific truth and meaning
• Science rules, use to advance interests
• Seen in liberal self-interest, materialism, cosmetics &
fashion industries, the Enlightenment, the Cold War, Wall
Street, colonialism, corporate states, Industrial Revolution,
capitalism
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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GREEN Communitarian/Egalitarian
Basic theme: Seek peace within the inner self and explore,
with others, the caring dimensions of community (starting
150 years ago)
• The human spirit must be freed from greed, dogma, and
divisiveness
• Feelings, sensitivity, and caring supersede cold rationality
• Spreads the Earth's resources and opportunities equally
among all
• Reaches decisions through reconciliation and consensus
processes
• Refreshes spirituality, brings harmony, and enriches human
development
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Relativistic, Affectionate
Relations, Multicultural, Human
Bond, “we”
• Formal operational thinking; Pluralistic, relativistic,
communitarian, networking, ecological, bonding,
subjective; 4th person perspective, universal ethical
morality emerging
• Emphasis on dialogue and relationships:
Community, harmony, equality and relativity
• Seen in diversity, politically correct and human
rights movements; collective communities; post
modernism; humanistic psychology; World Council
of Churches; socialized health care; Greenpeace;
post colonialism
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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YELLOW - Integrative
Basic theme: Live fully and responsibly as what you are and
learn to become (starting 50 years ago)
• Life is a kaleidoscope of natural hierarchies, systems, and
forms
• The magnificence of existence is valued over material
possessions
• Flexibility, spontaneity, and functionality have the highest
priority
• Differences can be integrated into interdependent, natural flows
• Understands that chaos and change are natural
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Systemic-Integrative, Respect
Self, Meld, Flex Flow, “me”
• Post formal operational thinking, universal ethical
morality, autonomous integrated self, world
centric
• Differences integrated into one interdependent
order, natural processes, mutual realities; live
for mutuality, flexible, unity in diversity
• Seen in cutting edge thinkers, visionaries, leaders
of thought
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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TURQUOISE - Holistic
Basic theme: Experience the wholeness of existence through
mind and spirit (starting 30 years ago)
• The world is a single, dynamic organism with its own collective
mind
• Self is both distinct and a blended part of a larger,
compassionate whole
• Everything connects to everything else in ecological
alignments
• Energy and information permeate the Earth's total environment
• Holistic, intuitive thinking and cooperative actions are to be
expected
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Global-Holistic, Peace Within,
Mystical, Global View, “we”
• Beyond most models of psychological
development as few examples exist for study,
self-actualization, universal holistic system
thinking, multiple levels interwoven and
interacting together
• Unites feelings with knowledge, harmony,
holism, spirituality
• Seen in Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Universal House
of Justice
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
•http://www.empowermentillustrated.com/SpiralDynamics.htm
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Some material taken from the
following web sites:
• http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/IEC/caleb.html
• http://www.spiraldynamics.org/Graves/colors.ht
m
• http://www.spiraldynamics.org/learning/faq.htm
• http://www.wie.org/j22/beck.asp?page=1
• Others sited in the presentation.
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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Contact information
Dr. Rodney H. Clarken
Director of Field Experiences and Professor, School of
Education, Northern Michigan University, 1401
Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855-5348
Tel: 906-227-1881 (o), 226-2079 (h), Fax: 227-2764
Email: rclarken@nmu.edu
Website with info on courses, papers, Bahá'í, China,
this and other presentations:
http://www-instruct.nmu.edu/education/rclarken
© Rodney H. Clarken 2005
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