Dr. Clare W. Graves

From the Historical Collection of the work of Dr. Clare W. Graves of William R. Lee, March 2001

1959

At this point, two other conceptual problems remained. There was a need to conceptualize the factors which operate within the person to determine the ethical systems. In particular such factors as need, or motives, emotional factors and cognitive factors needed to be represented, and there was a need to represent the life circumstances which trigger the inherent ethical nature assumed. Since it did not seem wise, in terms of current trends in psychological theory, to use the idea of the interaction of motivational, emotional, cognitive and experiential factors, a concept was sought within which all of these could be subsumed. It was Krech’s ( ) concept of Dynamic Systems which seemed best to fulfill this conceptual need. The need to represent triggering environmental conditions was met by borrowing the concept of the releasor from the ethologists. Thus the

model for emergent ethical theory is the thought of General Systems Theory, the Epigenetic concept, the concept of Dynamic Neurological Systems and the concept of Releasor. Utilizing this model Emergent Ethical Theory proposes the following:

That the ethical system of a man or a group of men is a

function of the dynamic system triggered by the life

circumstances in which that man or that group of men

are living.

That normally the system of ethical behavior by which a

man or a group of men lives changes in an orderly

determined manner as broader dynamic systems

are triggered by more humanly favorable life circumstances.

That there emerges an ethical thema of what is right and

what is wrong in behavior which is appropriate to each

level of dynamic emergence.

That within each thema certain specific values of right and

wrong will be expressed by one man or group of men

because of variations in the components of a dynamic

system while another man or group of men may

accentuate certain other values because of a different

arrangement in the dynamic system.

That there is a natural driveness in man to proceed from a

lower to a higher level dynamic system and thus a

concomitant natural driveness to move from a lower,

more humanly restricting, conception of right and wrong

to a higher, more humanly freeing conception of right

and wrong.

That as man moves from a lower to a higher level of ethical

behavior some values by which man judges right from

wrong are discarded as no longer appropriate to his

changed status; that some of the earlier values are

retained intact; that some previous values are modified;

and that some new, not previously existing conceptions

of right and wrong emerge as each subsequent dynamic

system emerges.

That the ethical systems by which men live may progress,

fixate at an over or underdeveloped; may regress, may

become a monstrum in defectu or a monstrum in excessu.

The movement, lack of movement, or abnormalcy of

movement is a function of the conditions which effect man’s

psychological dynamic system. Fear, for example, as it

restricts man’s cognitive field can drive him to living by

lower level ethics.

That lower level dynamics produces a more rigid ethical system
thus making it impossible for those living by lower ethics

to comprehend the meaning of living by higher level ethics.

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