Our Primal Quests : RH'

The Puzzle

What, if any, «Mindset/Mentality/Approach/Paradigm» governs or shapes the way we each develop our life? I do not refer here to the choice of any specific endeavour or vocation, but to what governs our varied and numerous endeavours in general.

Standard Answer-1: Over millennia, thinkers have repeatedly proposed that we wish our existence to be happy &/or meaningful. That sounds right. So this nested RH'L6-system probably deals with the mindset that we use, to find happiness &/or meaning in our existence.

Standard Answer-2: Over millennia, thinkers have proposed that each person's life has a purpose, but it is up to each to determine that purpose. It is usual in THEE for the 6th Level in a hierarchy to contain a special set of entities that compete to govern how the hierarchy should be operated. Here the hierarchy is endeavour. Because our endeavours define our life, a Typology of purposes of life should be found within RHL6-Purpose.

To explore further, we must zoom out rather than focus down.

In all the other frameworks, inquiry involved the usual scientific method of focusing down, analyzing and specializing our interest (e.g. on deciding, on communicating, on getting benefit from our interactions). In turning our attention to a person's total existence, our focus must broaden.

The Challenge

To identify and formulate an underpinning or overarching psychosocial system that is:

• intrinsically purposive and potentially life-long i.e. could be labelled a «purpose of life»;
• explicitly personally accepted and also observable/inferable by others;
• the meaning of happiness &/or meaning for you;
• an influence on many personal endeavours-RH, and career choices, and possibly leads to specific activities or projects;
• widely distributed amongst people in all societies;
• found in at least 7 distinctly different forms.

The formal name provisionally given to this system is: Primal Quest.

What is a «Primal Quest»?

Each Primal Quest is a purpose for living and must have a discrete function in the search for happiness/meaning.

Why «Primal»?

«Primal» is used to signify that a purpose of life (RH') is:

• archaic i.e. existing since the dawn of mankind,
• existential i.e. part of the human condition,
• ingrained i.e. unconscious as well as conscious, &
• inescapable i.e. present lifelong even if buried or rejected.

Why «Quest»?

«Quest» is used to convey the purposive quality more directly. It also indicates more clearly that what is involved is a search. This search is a defining feature of our existence. It never ends: the purpose is never finally fulfilled, no matter how fulfilling any particular activity may be. There is never a question of completion once and for all, and moving on to a different Quest. There is only repeating the Quest in a different way or in a new situation or with new people.

Technical Predictions

The Root Typology of Primal Quests is tentatively assumed to be structurally similar to a Principal Typology in that:

• The various Primal Quests will be hierarchically ordered via a focus on the significance of corresponding Levels in the Root Hierarchy (RH).
• Each of us pursues just one main Primal Quest, although there may be a second, complementary Primal Quest.
• We might be in danger of rejecting or denigrating alien Quests. We might forget that disliked Quests may be vital to the existence of others. If typical, the disliked Quests will turn out to be necessary for a community or for humanity as a species.

Next Steps

The Primal Quest Typology specifies the options we have for seeking and finding happiness or meaning throughout our lives.

• See the structure of this inquiry in terms of Framework development.

• If you feel confused already, look at what might cause confusion: 

• what others say
• the hero's quest
• archetypes

• If you want to see an overview of all the Quests first, visit the initial review. There is a more complicated Matrix further on dealing with Quest practicalities.

• If you are impatient, start with a short introduction to the 7 life purposes and primary sources of happiness, and take it from there.

Originally posted: 18-May-2012