Checks for Hierarchy

Levels not Types

The elemental forms of willingness are offered not as "types of willingness" (as some might say), but rather levels as shown at right.

Whereas types in a typology can be presented in any order that is convenient for a particular purpose, hierarchies resist such handling. At least in THEE, there is far too much meaning tied up in the hierarchical ordering.

During formulation of the elements from L1 to L7 it was easy to imagine a natural linkage and upward flow.

Below are some more formal reasons for believing in hierarchy, and the oscillation discussed in the next topic is highly persuasive. Since writing this page, additional frameworks (Tree, Structural Hierarchy) have been be developed on the assumption that the hierarchy is appropriate, and that provides further validation.

Stratification

The study of forms of willingness, developed here and elaborated here, commenced from an assumption of hierarchy: the levels of will (root hierarchy) and its psychosocial pressures. So the layout would be expected to be hierarchical.

However, any postulate that the result is a hierarchy needs to be backed up by examining what was developed. Do the properties of the elements identified fit what might be expected in THEE?

An initial inspection of properties laid out in 7 levels reveals three strata:

Click to see a Table of Properties

L#	Level of Willingness	Potential Benefit	Main Fear to be Handled	Unwillingness	Handling Unwillingness
7	Trust	Openness to possibility	Betrayal	Mistrust leading to paranoia	Reflection and meditation, dynamic psychotherapy
6	Learn	Guided assistance	Vulnerability of dependency	Laziness leading to weaknesses	Adaptive innovative teaching and testing
5	Risk	Likely tangible gain	Unequivocal loss or harm	Timidity leading to privation	Incentives, mitigation of dangers, force.
4	Participate	Positive social valuation	Overwhelming demands	Withholding leading to withdrawal and social isolation	Encouragement and threats
3	Face	Unblocking a way forward	Inability to cope	Obfuscation leading to confusion and delusion	Dialogue and confrontation
2	Believe	Stable inner reference	Being wrong	Focussed doubt that can spread leading to vacuity	Explanation and social pressure
1	Try	Morale boost	Experience of failure	Refusal leading to passivity, apathy, stagnation	Staging, environmental management, compulsion.

L's 1-3 Personal Stratum
In THEE, these levels commonly form a detailed foundation.

• Trying, Believing & Facing are all matters for the self to handle.
• Fears are about the ego's internal state and its inadequacy: causing humiliation, inner emptiness, receipt of criticism.
• Intervention to assist is about providing information: feedback, evidence, accounts.
L's 4-5 Interactional Stratum
In THEE, these levels typically offer a more general perspective.

• Participating & Risking involve the social milieu.
• Fears are relational and focused externally on demands or harms.
• Intervention to assist is social and strategic.
L's 6-7 Existential Stratum
In THEE, these levels typically set the context or enable transcendence.

• Learning & Trusting provide for open-ended potentials.
• Fears are about being disadvantaged, diminished or suffering a change to the self, even a disaster for the self.
• Intervention to assist is transformative and self-referential.

Cumulative Development

A cumulative approach is a classic signature of THEE hierarchies—each level may be self-sufficient, but it does not just replace the one below. It assumes, encompasses and transcends it by including lower level qualities while adding a distinctive new quality.

This was initially noted in levels of work (a Q-hierarchy) and subsequently used to discover primary hierarchies like this one (cf. inquiry; communication).

The cumulation should be evident in both Being (Stances) and Doing (Processes)

Doing : Processes

Based on the investigation so far, it appears that there is a cumulating pattern for the Primary Hierarchy of Willingness:

L1	Trying	calls for	Initiating
L2	Believing	calls for	Affirming	+ initiating
L3	Facing	calls for	Attending	+ affirming + initiating
L4	Participating	calls for	Submitting	+ attending + affirming + initiating
L5	Risking	calls for	Exposing	+ submitting + attending + affirming + initiating
L6	Learning	calls for	Altering	+ exposing + submitting + attending + affirming + initiating
L7	Trusting	calls for	Opening	+ altering + exposing + submitting + attending + affirming + initiating

Details

Trying-L1 calls for initiating some action, and all the higher forms also require some sort of action to follow from their activation.

Believing-L2 calls for affirming a particular belief and following through by initiating actions in some fashion, otherwise the belief would be irrelevant.

Facing-L3 calls for attending to certain facts that are important, then affirming aspects or implications of that reality and continuing by initiating appropriate action.

Participating-L4 calls for submitting to group requirements and that requires attending to group needs, affirming group values, and initiating actions.

Risking-L5 calls for exposing your self and resources to gains or losses, which involves submitting to requirements of the undertaking, attending to its details, affirming the likelihood of gain, and initiating a commitment.

Learning-L6 calls for altering your abilities which requires exposing your ignorance, submitting to the development process, attending to what the methods offer, affirming the value of what is learnt and initiating actions based on that.

Trusting-L7 calls for opening up to a situation so as to allow it to benefit you, altering yourself to accommodate the new, exposing your vulnerability despite the risk, submitting to the evolution of the situation, attending carefully to what occurs, affirmingwhat is possible, and initiating action as appropriate.

Being : Stances

This also appears to show a cumulative pattern for the Primary Hierarchy of Willingness:

L1	Trying	calls for	Resolve
L2	Believing	calls for	Insistence	+ resolve
L3	Facing	calls for	Forthrightness	+ insistence + resolve
L4	Participating	calls for	Joining	+ forthrightness + insistence + resolve
L5	Risking	calls for	Daring	+ joining + forthrightness + insistence + resolve
L6	Learning	calls for	Receptivity	+ daring + joining + forthrightness + insistence + resolve
L7	Trusting	calls for	Vulnerability	+ receptivity + daring + joining + forthrightness + insistence + resolve

Details

Trying-L1 calls for resolve to rise to a challenge, and all the higher forms also require resolve as part of their process.

Believing-L2 calls for insistence on a particular belief which must be supported by a resolve to maintain the belief.

Facing-L3 calls for forthrightness in addressing a reality that is important, then insisting on those facts and maintaining a resolve to accept them.

Participating-L4 calls for joining a group or situation, which also requires forthrightness about why, insisting on group values, and a resolve to remain there.

Risking-L5 calls for daring to enter an undertaking, which involves joining with others, being forthright about what is not known, insisting on the likelihood of gain, and a resolve to commit.

Learning-L6 calls for receptivity to the new which requires daring to be dependent and vulnerable, joining with others, being forthright about your gaps in your abilities, insisting on the value of what is learnt, and persisting through resolve.

Trusting-L7 calls for vulnerablity to get the best from the situation, which depends on receptivity to the new, daring to expect all to go as well as it can, joining in the evolution of the situation, being forthright about what emerges, insisting on the value of trusting, and showing resolve.

Transitions Up & Down

THEE hierarchies have levels that can be seen to emerge from lower or higher levels to meet some functional requirement.

Example: The Levels of Purpose hierarchy emerges from the lowest level (L1-Tactical Objectives) by asking why? again and again until the highest level (L7-Ultimate Values) is reached and the question loses meaning. At the same time, the hierarchy can be developed by starting at L7 and continually asking how? until the lowest level is reached and the question again loses meaning. See the full layout here.

The psychosocial challenge in willingness appears to be summoning the inner energy while being firmly grounded so as to ultimately benefit.

The proposal for understanding the hierarchy is that:

transitions upward answer the question: how to be energized?
and
transitions downward answer the question: how to be grounded?

Starting from below:

L1-Trying is the foundation of Willingness because the readiness to initiate action re-occurs at every higher level.

Q: How can trying be energized?
A: By adopting relevant ideas that are emotionally charged
i.e. move up to L2-Believing.

Q: How can believing be energized?
A: By directly connecting beliefs to the reality relevant to your needs
i.e. move up to L3-Facing.

Q: How can facing be energized?
A: By getting well-deserved social support
i.e. move up to L4-Participating.

Q: How can participating be energized?
A: By increasing the possibility of gain
i.e. move up to L5-Risking.

Q: How can risking be energized?
A: By addressing weaknesses in relevant abilities.
i.e. move up to L6-Learning.

Q: How can learning be energized?
A: By overcoming fear, uncertainty and doubt about the unknown.
i.e. move up to L7-Trusting.

L7-Trusting is the pinnacle for energy.
There is nothing more: you just have to trust!
But if you want to energize it, then L1-Try something.

Starting from above:

L7-Trusting is the pinnacle of Willingness because it reflects a readiness to enter the unknown for undefined benefits, despite possible exploitation and betrayal.

Q: How can trusting be grounded?
A: By obtaining knowledge and skills relevant to the situation.
i.e. move down to L6-Learning.

Q: How can learning be grounded?
A: By finding situations where the knowledge can lead to gains.
i.e. move down to L5-Risking.

Q: How can risking be grounded?
A: By being part of groups where you get support.
i.e. move down to L4-Participating.

Q: How can participating be grounded?
A: By recognizing how and where contributions can be made.
i.e. move down to L3-Facing.

Q: How can facing be grounded?
A: By using values and assumptions to direct efforts.
i.e. move down to L2-Believing.

Q: How can believing be grounded?
A: By applying them so as to generate beneficial results.
i.e. move down to L1-Trying.

L1-Trying is the ultimate ground.
There is nothing more: you just have to try!
If you still want deeper engagement, then L7-Trust.

The evidence is now strong that a typical THEE hierarchy has been identified. However, a striking characteristic of THEE hierarchies is the difference between odd-and even-numbered levels.

Search for a duality that oscillates from level to level.

Originally posted: 3-Jun-2026.