Orientation to Clarification
Change is in the Head
Change depends on a person's mental depiction of a situation. This emerges as a narrative determining the way they think about change, and the values and beliefs that they bring to bear.
Given one narrative, no change seems necessary.
Given another narrative, change of some sort may be required.
The particular narrative shapes, but does not determine, the type and extent of change that is judged to be required. Because we prefer to avoid change, this preference sometimes shapes our views to that end.
As presented in the previous section, the situation calling for change must be so that the desired future can be imagined and explained to oneself and others in a way that is persuasive and motivating as well as feasible in principle.
It was disturbing to discover the way that depiction methods create tunnel vision. In pursuing , it would be helpful if each of the could contribute its strengths. Such a contribution is possible if we explain the situation by drawing on useful values and principles intrinsic to each method—i.e. without requiring the method's procedures to dominate.
Developing a spiral trajectory on the TET has been repeatedly shown to be the taxonomic way to enable this necessary integration of methods. It creates the Primal Means for the Domain. See more in the Hub.
Limits in Controlling Action and Inquiry
Distinguish from Action Control
Distinguish from Inquiry Control
Depiction as Clarification as Penetration
The evolving world that we must deal with is complex beyond belief. There is no way it can be wrapped into a single coherent narrative. However, much we want to see order, it is not there. Essential reality is impenetrable.
The only way order appears is by being created and imposed. Appropriate creation leads to clarification of the inherently confusing situation in a way that is acceptable to those involved. The result is a more or less workable illusion. The illusion is powerful because the account typically neither seems to be created nor imposed but seems to be actually there in the situation's reality.
This matter was briefly discussed in the investigation of working, which is about being accountable for changing reality.
Applying such a creative effort to any situation demands firstly awareness of relevant everyday events, claims and activities, and then penetration beneath that surface. Penetration involves generating abstractions, applying principles intuitively, sensing motivations, highlighting or positing relations and more. Done successfully, probabilistic predictions can be produced—and then seemingly confirmed by events, or not.
The bottom line is that while the future is inherently unpredictable—and we recoil from such a conclusion—useful clarification is possible.
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Start by reviewing the Spiral Control Complex,
then
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Preview how a situation is progressively clarified,
then
- Start at Stage-1 of the Spiral framework.
Originally posted: 30-Oct-2024. Last amended: 20-Apr-2025.