Interindividual Balance

Martin Fowler describes a colleague's definition of "principles."

<blockquote><i>Kent talked about how principles were a step between the universality (and vagueness) of values and the concreteness (and dogmatism) of practices. In the White Book he said "These principles will help us as we choose between alternatives. We will prefer an alternative that meets the principles more fully to one that doesn't. Each principle embodies the values. A value may be vague. One person's simple is another person's complex. A principle is more concrete. Either you have rapid feedback [an example of one of his principles] or you don't."</i> — Martin Fowler, discussing Kent Beck's book, Extreme Programming Explained

Period 5

Developmental Objects? define themselves as principled individuals in a web of interdependence in the Interindividual Balance. They may define themselves as purveyors of a single institution, but more likely as being driven by a variety of values and intimate relations.

Thus, skills at this level are capable of being expanded through virtuosic creativity. Four sets of seasons should bring them to the point where their principles come into conflict with their fellows resulting in a risk of extreme rejection or even martyrdom.

Between these third and fourth sets of seasons a minor crisis arises, requiring another level of internal differentiation and setting the stage for another emergent level of reality. A great deal of the Interindividual Balance is concerned with internal process. This period of introspection is where to the two extra cycles of the seasons arise. It is also where individual creativity and even genius can arise. Out of this process it is even possible for new levels of existence to come into being.

Elements 87-118

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Subject-Object relations

The subjects of the Interindividual Balance are principles. The objects are institutions or independent individuals. <br>

Examples

  • individuals who have reached an intimate, principled stage of moral development. (Kohlberg and others have suggested this is very rare, crediting only Jesus, the Buddha, and a few others with reaching it. In FaerieMUD we assume it is more common -- though still rare. We assume those extreme individuals are those who get past the minor crisis.)
  • an information-age culture (in our world)
  • a post-magickal culture (in the FaerieMUD world)
  • a covenant whose Identity has reached the Interindividual Balance has spread throughout the FaerieMUD world and has relics located in almost every major city or capital. These relics will be as varied as the cultures where they are used.
  • a political entity which has reached an Interindividual-Balance-level of Governance is governed strictly by principle, which may be administered by a council for minor matters. But a direct democracy is required for any major matter (such as adoption of new principles).
  • a religious order? which has a Interindividual-Balance level of
  • a skill at the Interindividual Balance enables a crafter to make sentient artifacts.
  • the Interindividual matter a craftmaster should use to best achieve a sentient artifact:
  • High Draconic? is the only !FaerieMUD language which has reached the Interindividual Balance (no languages of the non-fae world are so advanced)

<br> See also Period 5, Inclusive dependency and Institutional Balance.

— Scotus - 22 Apr 2001