The third position is now identified or created. A Triad is now formed with a big arrow going from the entrenched polarity of the two original positions to the third entity. Emergence occurs in that the new, third position differs in important ways from the two original positions. Assumptions are challenged regarding the responsibility of the wife to earn sufficient money, the production of only one chair, or the inevitable trade-off between national security and citizen welfare. As I have already mentioned, higher-order conceptualization is taking place (Kegan, 1982; Kegan, 1994). This higher order often requires an openness to diverse perspectives in a collective setting (Page, 2011) and collaborative reasoning and problem solving in this collective setting (Gergen and Gergen, 2004).
Three Dimensions
There is one other feature of the Triad that is of even greater importance and is even more pervasive in our life. This Triad is the fundamental three-dimensional world which we perceive and in which we navigate. We move upward/downward, as well as left/right and forward/backward. All three dimensions provide us with clarity, direction and a deep sense of “being there” in the world we are navigating. When we are watching a two-dimensional movie, there might be a gripping moment when we feel drawn into the scene; however, it is somehow still not like “being there.” 3-D movies bring us a little closer to the “real” world, and the newly invented virtual reality devices bring us even closer. Most of all these technical devices provide evidence that we greatly appreciate the Triadic benefits of three dimensions.
And Then There Were Two: Dyadic Images
In the world of the Dyad, everything exists within a fundamental tension that never gets fully resolved. We move from nothing to two by identifying this fundamental tension and reflecting on the nature and impact of its continuing existence. There are always two senses of self that are competing for our attention [Self Psychology]. There is an inherent tension in our society’s emphasis both on individualism and the collective. Our science-fiction volumes are filled with an eternal pull exists between the worlds of matter and anti-matter. Our books on philosophy are filled with the pull back and forth between a reality-based objectivism and a narrative-based constructivism. Adolf Guggenbühl-Craig declares that a marriage is only “vital” if it is filled with deep fundamental tensions (Guggenbühl-Craig, 2009).
It should come as no surprise that Guggenbuhl-Craig is an old-fashioned Jungian. Like all his Jungian brethren, Guggenbühl-Craig is inclined to see the world as filled with dualities. Anima (feminine energy) is set against animus (masculine energy). Persona (outward projection of preferred self) is contrasted with Shadow (inward corrective on the projected self). At the most fundamental level, one’s conscious life is always in a dance with one’s unconscious life.
