Know Thyself – Socrates
Book in 3 Sentences
- The ego is a tireless function of meaning-making against endogenous helplessness
- The way we make sense of reality shapes the reality we sense
- Ego development is an expanding worldview, from simple to complex, from static to dynamic, from self-centric to world-aware
Takeaways
Continuous Personal Growth
Ego Development Theory can serve as a roadmap when we feel stuck in life. By identifying our current stage (most likely to be in one of those x.5 stages), we can better understand our situation (or which dimension of the world we haven’t seen or been able to handle) and be clear about how we can move to the next one. More importantly, being aware that growth is a lifetime journey where we are all learners on the way. It’s okay to feel stuck or even falling behind. No one is at the goal. All we need is to have the courage to move forward.
Better Relationships
Ego Development Theory helps us to understand how other people sense the world and the needs, fear, thoughts, and behaviors they may have. One thing to keep in mind. It’s a tool to understand people so we can better connect in the same channel, not a ruler to judge people or claim any superiority over others. If you think you are ahead, please offer your helping hands.
Business Value Creation
Business is about value exchange at its core. But value itself is a subjective concept that can be defined in many ways. What is precious to one person may be completely worthless to another. The different perceived values of the same item lead to the fundamental model of profitability - arbitrage, also known as buying low and selling high.
If technology is about making things happen (e.g. flying to Mars), then business is about making people’s lives meaningful (e.g. Mars may provide a better future than Earth). It does not start from your brilliant idea in the garage as modern startup stories told us. It starts with seeing people, understanding their needs, and helping them transform into better selves.
Book Notes
My notes are in the form of clipping that summarizes a book in the author’s own words. I have organized the excerpts from the book in a way that I find most digestible. Hope you enjoy it!
All quotes are from the original author.
Introduction to Ego Development Theory
Ego Development Theory (EDT) is a work completed by Susanne Cook-Greuter over the last several decades and a theory that has come a long way since Jane Loevinger’s original in 1970.
What is Ego?
The ego is a tireless function of meaning-making against endogenous helplessness
“Ego represents the striving of human beings to understand themselves and the world they live in. It is the tireless organizer, interpreter, and synthesizer of experience. Its task is to turn experience into a coherent narrative about the world. How does it do that? It does so by telling a culturally influenced story about who we are, why we are here and for what purpose.”
“Ego labors mightily to create and maintain meaning and vigorously defends against dissonant information and its deep, unspeakable sense of helplessness.”
Why Ego Development Matters?
The way we make sense of reality shapes the reality we sense
“Human development, in general, can be looked at as a progression of different ways of making sense of reality or in a sequence of stages of meaning-making.”
“A person’s understanding of power, feedback, time, love, integrity, and truth, for instance, changes with increasing development.”
“In the extreme, we can say that with each transformation we are actually entering a new reality with its own rules, laws, and language.”
“Knowing what order of perspective a person can take, helps to anticipate what they can see and process regarding both their internal and external reality.”
How Ego Evolves?
An expanding worldview from simple to complex, from static to dynamic, from self-centric to world-aware
“Growth occurs in a logical sequence of stages or expanding world views from birth to adulthood. The movement is often likened to an ever-widening spiral.”
“Each stage is a whole structural unity in itself as well as a part of a larger, more complex, and integrated way of looking and acting in the world. Each stage has its own stage-specific achievements and triumphs over earlier stages as well as its specific limitations and vulnerabilities.”
“This is best illustrated with a set of Russian dolls, each nestled within another, larger one. Thus, each new level is both a new whole with its own coherence and — at the same time — also a part of a larger, more complex system.”
“Overall, world views evolve from simple to complex, from static to dynamic, and from egocentric to socio-centric to world-centric.”
How Ego is Formed?
Cultures and languages are the soil where our egos grow
“There is no individual interior development outside a cultural and linguistic surround, nor is individual growth possible without the external context (historical, geographic, infrastructure, etc.) as it supports and constrains what is possible in the interior.”
“Socialization, it turns out, is relentless and ongoing from the day we enter the world. It begins with the earliest inculcation of what are considered desirable thoughts, feelings, values, and behavior and what is not. It continues through schooling and is reinforced at every moment via the media, commerce, and, most subtly, by the very nature of one’s native language and communication patterns.”
“Perhaps most important of all, immersed as we are in language, humans automatically participate in the delusion that symbol-mediated knowing is true understanding.”
“To become cognizant of the pitfalls of the language habit as well as its tremendous gift to humanity, is a unique feature of the most advanced ego stages.”
Stages of Ego Development
I simplified and organized the stages by the dimension of world views. If you’re interested in the original theory, read the paper here.
The development of ego falls into three phases, from pre-conventional, conventional, to post-conventional. It is an evolutionary process of the person’s relationship with society, from striving to fit in and play a role in society to questioning the status quo and reconciling with the chaos. It accompanies the natural growth process of each individual from birth to death.
The transformation between stages reflects people’s expansion in the dimensions of the world they can see. I labeled dimensions in the steps of 0.5 as I noticed the pattern that people usually feel more peaceful and self-consistent in x.0 dimensions and face more struggles when they are in the x.5 dimensions. The x.5 dimension is when they are aware of a new dimension but yet to figure out how to deal with or make sense of it.
Stages of Ego Development
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Dimension 1.5 This is the first stage at which people start to understand society. People at this stage take the outside world as a threat and feel fearful of it. The world they see is binary and their reactions are limited between fight or flee.
This usually happens during adolescence, when people are learning how to integrate their newfound selves into their families, peers, or other social groups. However, some people are still stuck in this stage in their adulthood. The inability to fit in can make them dangerous outliers in society and is likely to lead them into conflicts, violence, and crimes.
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Dimension 2.0 This is the stage where people find peace with the outer world as they discover allies in it. They still see the world in good or bad but they realize that they are safe if they can fit in social groups. This happens in early adulthood, mostly from high school to college, when people can enjoy a short period of peace before life quickly pushes them to the next stage.
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Dimension 2.5 This is the stage where people recognize a third dimension in human relationships, which makes the boundary between black and white blurred. They find good people can do bad things, and bad people can have good hearts. Not only are they confused by the many shades of gray, but also they are confused about themselves. “What are my identities?” “How do I differentiate myself from others?” They want to be different, be better. This may last from college to professional life. Most people settle down in this stage for the rest of their lives.
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Dimension 3.0 This is the target stage for much of Western culture, the definition of success, and the beginning of maturity. Most people reach this stage in their mid-age after years of ups and downs, failures and success, with the ability to see the common interest between opposite groups and the ever-changing reality across time. “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.” as Lord Palmerston (19th-century British prime minister) said.
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Dimension 3.5 This is the last stage in our discussion but should be the start of wisdom. This is the first time one will question the game social life they have played for their entire life and the awakening moment when they realize the rules of the game are artificially defined not naturally exist. Just like Neo took the blue pill in “The Matrix”. They will face a new level of chaos. Everything they have believed in become choices rather than facts.
Eternal Human Needs
The 5 stages we discussed above revealed five universal and eternal needs of humans: safety (1.5), belongings (2.0), esteem (2.5), self-actualization (3.0), and transcendence (3.5). If you find this familiar, it’s because they are very much the same as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which reflects the fundamental human paradox of wanting to be exceptional while also being afraid of being atypical.
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