What is Spiral Dynamics?
Spiral Dynamics is a map to the nature of human nature. It is a point of view and a way of thinking better about differences in leadership, learning, management, social structures, economics and virtually every other area where human coping strategies have an impact. That’s saying a lot because the perspective is a broad view of who we are and who we might become as Homo sapiens.
Spiral dynamics is a theory about human nature and development, as put forth in the book Spiral Dynamics by Don Beck and Chris Cowan in 1996. The National Values Center Inc. also owns Spiral Dynamics® as a registered trademark. The theory holds that human nature is not constant or unchangeable, but that people as a group can strategically adapt to new situations when the need arises. They do this by creating a more complex conceptual model of the world, that even while it contains the previous one, still transcends it. The reason that spiral dynamics is called this is that it aids in visualizing what the theory states, in a more simplified way. If we imagine a spiral that encompasses an ever-wider circumference as it progresses, and yet keeps the same center with each revolution, this holds many similarities to the theory explained in the book by Beck and Cowan. Each new conceptual model is organized around a system of core values that can apply both for individuals and entire cultures
Spiral Dynamics is a powerful model and predictive theory of human development and cultural evolution. Under the guidance of “Spiral wizard” Dr. Don Beck, it has emerged as a powerful new tool for understanding the complexity of human behavior. SD has been successfully employed around the globe for conceiving and implementing real-world integral solutions to social conflicts and for catalyzing individual evolutionary transformation. • Learn how this evolutionary theory and model for human development can help you understand the complex world we live in and to navigate the challenges of life in the twenty-first century. • Begin to recognize that how we think is so much more important than what we think! • Become an agent for the evolution of human society by understanding how real, integral transformation takes place in yourself and others. • Discover why so many change makers around the world are using Spiral Dynamics to solve real, complex issues—from ending apartheid in South Africa
“Spiral Dynamics is a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework for understanding human development and human systems. It unveils the hidden codes and dynamic, spiral forces that shape human nature, create global diversities, and drive social change. Developed by Don E. Beck and Christopher C. Cowan of the National Values Center, Inc. in Texas, from two converging streams of thought — primarily, Clare W. Graves’ Value Systems theory of ‘levels of human existence’ and, secondarily, biologist Richard Dawkins’ concept of ‘memes’ — Spiral Dynamics explores the new science of memetics, the study of ideas and their transmission. Spiral Dynamics shifts the focus from the WHAT of human behavior, the surface issues, ideas, beliefs, actions, and artifacts — the memes — that fragment or unify human groups, to the WHY and HOW of such behavior — the vMEMES — the core Value Systems awakened by changing life conditions and manifested as a dynamic spiral of levels of human existence. Thus, ‘Spiral D
• 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. • When a new system or level is activated, we change our psychology and rules for living to adapt to those new conditions. • 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 towards which we must all aspire. [It is here where Graves differed with Maslow and most other psychologists. Maslow, before his death, told Graves that he (Graves) was correct and he (Maslow) was wrong in thinking of human development as a closed state. • 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 the current level of human existence. Compare: Hagberg Model of Personal Power • A Spiral vortex best depicts this
