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Levels of Human Existence
A great explorer of human nature reveals his secrets.
"At each stage of human existence the adult man is off on his quest for his holy grail, the way of life by which he believes men should live.
At his first level he is on a quest for automatic physiological satisfaction. At the second level he seeks a safe mode for living, and this is followed, in turn, by a search for heroic status, for the power and the glory, then by a search of everlasting peace, a search for material fulfillment here and now, a search for personal fulfillment here and now, a search for integrated living and a search for spiritual peace in a world he knows can never be known. And, when he finds, at the eighth level, that he will never find that peace, he will be off on his ninth level quest.
As he sets off on each quest, he believes he will find the answer to his existence, and as he settles in each nodal state he is certain he has found it. Yet, always to his surprise and ever to his dismay he finds, at every stage, that the solution to existence is not the solution he thinks he has found. Every state he reaches leaves him discontented and perplexed. It is simply that as he solves one set of human problems he finds a new set in their place. The quest he finds is never ending.
"At each stage of human existence the adult man is off on his quest for his holy grail, the way of life by which he believes men should live.
At his first level he is on a quest for automatic physiological satisfaction. At the second level he seeks a safe mode for living, and this is followed, in turn, by a search for heroic status, for the power and the glory, then by a search of everlasting peace, a search for material fulfillment here and now, a search for personal fulfillment here and now, a search for integrated living and a search for spiritual peace in a world he knows can never be known. And, when he finds, at the eighth level, that he will never find that peace, he will be off on his ninth level quest.
As he sets off on each quest, he believes he will find the answer to his existence, and as he settles in each nodal state he is certain he has found it. Yet, always to his surprise and ever to his dismay he finds, at every stage, that the solution to existence is not the solution he thinks he has found. Every state he reaches leaves him discontented and perplexed. It is simply that as he solves one set of human problems he finds a new set in their place. The quest he finds is never ending.
- GenresPsychology
165 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 10, 2017
Took more notes on Grave's "Existence" than any book in recent memory. It was an exhilarating read. There are many, many parallels to current events and a cogent explanation of "how we got here" and "why here" even though its highly conflictual "makes sense as a place to be." Here is uncomfortable and volatile, but not intrinsically bad. Its safe to say that modern society has moved into a revolutionary phase between Grave's FS and GT levels and it couldn't have happened at a more opportune moment. But, those realizations and understanding should be left to readers and not disclosed here.
Grave's book is very readable. While there many references to other psychologist's theories and works, this book can be read without a deep understanding. However, the other references demonstrate Grave's breadth of understanding and deference to the great minds that came before him. It also demonstrates his grasp of psychology's socio-cultural implications, which will stretch many readers. It helps to read all the way to the end of the included paper on "values" before engaging in criticism and skepticism and even more so; just "soak" on it for a while.
My goal will be to apply lessons learned from "Levels of Existence" to my life and development and also professionally. I can see parallels to business and my social priorities; things that I want to write about and teach.
Grave's book is very readable. While there many references to other psychologist's theories and works, this book can be read without a deep understanding. However, the other references demonstrate Grave's breadth of understanding and deference to the great minds that came before him. It also demonstrates his grasp of psychology's socio-cultural implications, which will stretch many readers. It helps to read all the way to the end of the included paper on "values" before engaging in criticism and skepticism and even more so; just "soak" on it for a while.
My goal will be to apply lessons learned from "Levels of Existence" to my life and development and also professionally. I can see parallels to business and my social priorities; things that I want to write about and teach.
December 17, 2022
A book that is good for a more in-depth study of the origins of Spiral Dynamics and the Gravesian research. It has its limitations, so for beginners it is sufficient to read the article “Levels of Existence: An Open System Theory of Values” (1970) by Clare Graves, which is provided in the end of the book or can be found online.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews