Six blind men and an elephant

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SIX BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

 

Values of the blind

 

Most people know the story of the " Six Blind Men and the Elephant. "

One discovered the tail, another the trunk, while the others felt the

leg, side, tusk, and ear. Each was totally convinced he had

discovered

the " truth " based on the direct experience. Of course, each observer

was " right " about the elephant, but only about a part; none was able

to sense the whole. This can also be said about the various

political,

economic, religious, educational, child-rearing, and technological

theories of our own day. This also includes the various listings of

worldviews or Weltanschauungen, or the numerous psychological

packages, leadership initiatives, or managerial mandates that

continue to be popular, or have been discarded in societal dust bins.

The various and often heated debates heard at the United Nations, or

in national assembles, senates, and parliaments, will, likewise,

reflect these different views of " the elephant. " Rather than continue

to pit the vast array of differences against one another in an

adversarial manner, or suffer the consequences when the conflicts

surface in the form of belligerence or warfare, might it not be

useful to find a way to construct a synthesis that can explain why

each emerged, where it is useful, and how it can contribute to the

total Global Mesh?

 

WHICH OF THESE VIEWS OF THE ELEPHANT-WORLD BEST DESCRIBE YOU?

 

The World is. . .*

 

a. a natural milieu where humans rely on instincts to stay alive

 

b. a magical place alive with spirit beings and mystical signs

 

c. a jungle where the strongest and most cunning survive

 

d. an ordered existence under the control of the ultimate truth

 

e. a market place full of possibilities and opportunities

 

f. a human habitat in which we share life's experiences

 

g. a chaotic organism forged by differences and change

 

h. an elegantly balanced system of interlocking-forces.

 

 

* Question from The Values Test, Copyright NVC, Inc.

 

http://www.spiraldynamics.com/documents/Beck_SWF.htm