# The Four Primordial Perspectives, or Four Quadrants >[!info] >The Four Primordial Perspectives, or Four Quadrants, as they are known in [[Integral Theory]], are the 4 basic views that any [[Holons|holon]] can be looked at through. >[!tip] >This is the part of my system that has really had no major edits from its "official" Integral Theory version - so if you are interested in the full breakdown, check out [A Brief History of Everything](https://a.co/d/c83kppU), [Sex Ecology Spirituality](https://a.co/d/4pWAb5x), [articles on Integral Life](https://integrallife.com/the-four-quadrants-a-guided-tour/), or [YouTube](https://youtu.be/bc5V_YXvGC8?si=c_DqWdJ_nMS39Dxq) [videos](https://youtu.be/ZcbIt6t6lQQ?si=4U5auPDfshq0gP_p). # Some of Wilber's 4 Quadrant Maps ![[4 Qudrants.gif]]  # Part 1: Interior & Exterior In Integral Metatheory, and inherited by the Ancestor System, we understand the [[universe]] to be made up of [[Holons]], that is, whole / parts. Holons are wholes, that are *parts* of even bigger wholes - like how atoms are part of cells are part of molecules, and so on.[^1] The idea is that as wholes, all holons have an interior dimension and an exterior dimension. At the lower levels of complexity, like for atoms, this is hard to get our head around, but its easier to understand for more complex holons, like plants, animals, or humans. Put simply, these beings (and all holons, although the less complex ones are harder for us to imagine) have a **subjective**, ***interior* experience**. They have an interior dimension to their being. They have a subjective experience they can feel. Some social animals and all humans can communicate these states via expressiveness to one another. But there is no amount of external observation, or even external communication, that can completely convey the totality of the subjective experience of another being. To get any sort of picture at all, we must ask them, "How are you doing?" Their heart rate or parts per milliliter of cortisol in the blood can give us OBJECTIVE information about them, but their interpretation of it may be different than ours (someone enjoying the stressful experience of a horror movie vs someone who doesn't - cortisol bloodwork would look similar.) Put even more simply, all holons have a consciousness. At the animal level and above, we might call this a psychological dimension to their being. All holons also have an **objective**, ***exterior* dimension**. They have physical forms, that can be objectively witnessed, measured, and physically interacted with. This is easier to see up and down the whole stack of complexity, from atoms to cells to bodies. Due to the dominance of the [[3 - Modern|Modern]] worldview, this exterior dimension is commonly thought of as "really real" while the interior dimension is considered to simply be a hallucination, illusory, or simply not actually "real." Using philosophical language, we could say interiors and subjective experiences are not part of the Modern [ontology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology) - the framework of what is real.[^2] However, from an [[5 - Integral|Integral]] perspective, both the interior AND exterior dimensions of every holon are considered to be "really real." They are correlated, not-separate, but also not reducible to one another. In investigating them, we should look at them on their own terms, instead of trying to understand all subjective experience through nuerochemicals or explain all illness as mental. Medications can help change around things in your physical body that change your mood. But they can't excavate believe systems that are making you anxious / depressed / ashamed. Each of these domains needs to be investigated using their own methods, while also seeing that they are both real, and two sides of the same coin, within and without, inside and outside, interior and exterior. Very simply, we can call the interior the Mind, and the exterior the Body. # Part 2 : Individual & Collective But wait, there's more ;) Because holons are wholes themselves AND parts of larger holons, you can look at them individually as the *wholes* that they are AND you can look at them as the *parts* they are of larger collectives. Let's make this simple and just take the example of you reading this right now. Right now, we can look at you as an individual, or as part of a collective. As an individual, this would mean looking at your interior and exterior. How are you feeling right now? What thoughts, emotions, sensations are arising in your consciousness? What was you favorite moment of the past week? What's the best thing about your mom? What [[Archetypes|Archetype]] do you feel the most connected to right now? Those are questions that are querying subjective experiences in your Individual Interior, your psyche (that's what the rest of the system is talking about mostly btw, stuff going on in there). Only you can answer these questions. No other answer is valid. You can look at your body and see your exterior. How tall are you? What's your blood type, your heart rate? How many steps have you walked today? What color are your eyes? What are you doing right now, what's your physical body positioned like? These are all objective questions about your individual exterior, body, or physical form. They can be validated by other observers. That's whats going on in your interior and exterior from an individual perspective. As a whole/part, a holon, there is also the collective dimension you are immersed in, with its inside and outside. We can think of the inside of the collective as the "field," or in less Ancestor terms, the culture. What is the intersubjective feeling in the space around you? How does it feel to be a part of the "We" you are currently in? Maybe there are no humans around, in which case the We-space would be arising between you and the other entities nearby, the room, plants, animals, the earth. If there are people nearby, what does it feel like to be around them? What is arising between you? How does it feel to be in relationship with them? Think about the field generated when being around your best friend. Then think about the field generated if you were to see your ex. Different, right? A different you appears in each scenario, given the field. Different fields have different energies, prioritizing different [[Archetypes]], [[Intelligences]], and being made up of different mixes of [[Stages]]. You are also definitely in a country right now. That country has a culture, a story about itself and the world. That story would be categorized as part of the interior of the collective, too. That belief creates a unique field. Any group of I's come together to make a We. Just like there is a feeling of what its like to be you, to be "I" or "Me," there is also a feeling, an interior experience, of what its like to be "We" or "Us." The We-feeling or We-space of you and your close friends probably feels pretty good. The We-feeling of you and that person you got put on a group project with that you didn't resonate with probably felt pretty uncomfortable. Those are fields - vibes, in common language. That's what we're talking about when we say the interior of the collective. Now, there is also the EXTERIOR of the collective. This is the the social system you are in. The government structure, the laws, the economic system you are operating in. It also includes the physical environments and systems this social system has constructed, like the building you are in and the technology you are reading this on. The social system is the exterior of the collective field in the same way your behavior is the exterior result of your individual feelings. Given our stories, our beliefs, our shared views, we build different things, create different systems of governance, technology, living environments, etc. This is what we are talking about here. Before humans got here - and continuing below and around the concrete of our cities - the things seen from this perspective would be the natural ecosystems. The complex systems of biology bustling on every biome of the planet. These are the collective exteriors, the Systems, of lower levels of complexity. Humans have introduced cultural systems that transcend and include these natural systems, using them for our own intentions (often disastrously, but hey) in the same way new layers of the nervous system (in the physical form, the individual exterior) transcend and include the previous nervous systems, and can control them. # Part 3 : Quick Summary So, let's tie this brief overview together. You can look at your holon through all Four Primordial Perspectives right now. You can notice your subjective experience, what's going on inside you (individual interior). You can notice your objective body, what it's doing (individual exterior). You can notice the fields, or cultures you are enveloped in. The one of the room you're in, the building, the block, the city, the country, etc. Each one has its own flavor (and its own readout in the system, in terms of archetypes, stage of development, etc). You can notice the systems you are participating in right now. The legal system, the market, the government through taxes, maybe even your job, etc. You can notice the built and natural environment systems (neither of which are static nouns but in fact living verbs) all around you. How are your lights on, how is the water coming to the tap? Who's paying for the police that patrol the streets. These are the systems of the collective exterior. You can notice all four perspectives. All here, all the time. And all are evolving... The idea is that when thinking about anything really, a person, a company, a nation, a relationship, we should consider all these perspectives. When thinking about how to improve your sleep, there are answers from all four perspectives. You can change your attitude, your identity about when you go to sleep (mind). You can meditate to take more control of your attention to resist late night distraction (also mind). You can take melatonin 30m before bed (body). You can stretch and breath deeply to wind down the nervous system (body). You can create different norms with your friends about sleep patterns so you don't stay up as late together (culture). You can change the lighting, the temperature of your room, your mattress, get a new eyemask, etc to improve your sleeping environment (world). This is just one example - many more of which can be found in Wilber's [A Theory of Everything](https://a.co/d/ak2YVwB) where he breaks down how the model is used in many real world applications to great effect. But once you install this software in you, you will start to see the world very differently, having a much more educated perspective about how you, other people, culture, and the world at large functions. The perspectives themselves are just a map. A tool to make sure you're including as many views as possible when thinking about things. Their usefulness comes from you using them in your own life to understand how everything fits together. And when understood at a larger scale in culture, will resolve many disputes between the perspectives as each claim to be "finally true" - like the scientists who claim only the physical world is real, the spiritualists who claim only the interior world is real and everything else is an illusion, the deep ecologists who only see the "web of life" and disregard all cultural development, etc. The four perspectives give us a map that allow us to see how "everyone is right," how all human knowledge fits together and evolves together. This is a brief overview, so if interested, I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the resources listed above, or doing some of your own research on "Ken Wilber's Four Quadrant Model." # A Note on Perspective Dominance In the spirit of the Ancestor System's tactical focus as something that can be used as a map for personal development and healing, you may be thinking, how does this relate to my journey of growth? The answer is simple: similar to the [[Archetypes]] and [[Intelligences]] of the system, while we have access to all four perspectives in each moment, we all seem to have a preference ranking of them. Everyone has a perspective they are most comfortable in, most native to, and then a ranking of the other 3 from most comfortable to least. In the same way with the other elements of the system, it is usually pretty easy to get a general idea of what this ranking may be for you and some close friends. In [[Ari Nazem|my]] case, I would say my main focus is on my own inner world (the Mind, or individual interior - not surprising given I've spent the last few years mapping it, resulting in this). My secondary would definitely be Culture (collective interior) as I love being in collective fields, myths, traditions, rituals, and am fascinated by pop culture and what it reveals about the deep beliefs of the culture. Then would probably be Systems, then Behavior. I am very Interior perspective leaning, I tend to think what's going on inside is the most interesting. For example, in an airport, I might be looking at the people walking by and intuitively guessing what's going on inside them (mind). I'll also probably be noticing the overall vibe of the place and what cultures are alive in it - modern, postmodern, etc. I have friends however, who are interested in how the X-ray machine works (physical form), or how the system of the plane landing schedule happens, or how flight pricing works (systems). In terms of growth, the exercise would be to try and take your two least dominant perspectives more and train making more space for them in consciousness. # The Four Quadrants in Integral Theory In Integral Theory, these four perspectives to look at a holon are referred to as "The Four Quadrants" because they are represented on a 2-axis map (as seen above) which creates 4 zones. They are often referred to in shorthand in the community by their position on the map. The **Interior** dimensions are the **Left-Hand** side. The **Exterior** dimensions are the **Right-Hand** side. The **Individual** dimensions are the **Upper Quadrants**. The **Collective** dimensions are the **Lower Quadrants**. Specific quadrants are usually referred to in speech as Upper/Lower Right/Left, and in writing as the abbreviations UL, UR, LL, LR. UL - Upper Left : Individual Interior, or Mind UR - Upper Right : Individual Exterior, or Body LL - Lower Left : Collective Interior, or Culture LR - Lower Right : Collective Exterior, or World The idea in Integral Theory is that evolution is occurring in all Four Quadrants simultaneously. You can see me refer to this without explicitly talking about the Quadrants when I talk about the parallel evolution of the Mind (UL, psychology) and Body (UR, biology) on the [[Evolutionary Drives]] for example. Less relevant to this wiki, given its primarily Individual Body-Mind (upper quadrants) focus, but very important, is the idea that as individuals evolve through the [[Stages]], they create different fields (LL) when they come together, which eventually crystalize into new systems (LR). In this way, evolution is occurring in all four quadrants, in our Minds, our Bodies, our Culture, and our Systems. [^1]: There are also things like "heaps" (collections of a parts that don't create an emergent controlling whole, like a rocks, puddles, sand dunes) and "artifacts" (things that did not self organize themselves, but are remnants of the work of another holon, like anthills, spiderwebs, planes). Read more [here](https://medium.com/@shealarroque/integral-holonic-ontology-920de23df802), and [here](https://integrallife.com/holons-the-building-blocks-of-the-universe/). [^2]: For those of you following along at home, this is one of the main deficiencies of Modernity that [[4 - Postmodern|Postmodernism]] critiques and aims to heal, in addition to including the collective dimension (sometimes as primary - so close!).