Saturday, July 1, 2017

2015 Presentation General Version

The three phases of ethical systems;
Classifying religious, philosophical and political systems according to their implicit or explicit ethical precepts.


Before we get into the meat of the presentation, a brief explanation is in order. The scheme is a hypothesis concerning the nature of human societies and how they organise themselves. I think it's solid, but a lot of work still needs to happen before it can graduate to the status of a theory. I have confidence that this will eventually occur, but can't claim theory status yet.

The concept arose in the context of a discussion held in 2012 on an Australian facebook group. The discussion was about the definition of certain 'alternative' spiritual paths, with many views expressed on that contentious subject. Reading through the discussion, I noticed certain themes kept repeating. The slippery definitions were a great help as people tried to shoehorn in almost every known practice past and present, compelling me to consider the lot. It was a blessing in disguise as it forced me to really look at the characteristics of spiritual paths, their basis, practices and ambitions, in an attempt to discern what made one path fit a chosen term and another not. What I came up with was a threefold classification scheme for spiritual paths which also operate as ethical systems.

It's always good to know with some precision what it is we're talking about, so some definitions are in order. The key terms, of course, are 'ethical system' and 'phase'.


I have deliberately chosen the term 'phase' to describe the meta-families of ethical systems to evoke the idea of the three commonly understood phases-states of matter, solid, liquid and gaseous. This is a useful analogy for the scheme. H2O takes the form of ice, water and steam, and although it is the same material in each case, it possesses highly varied properties and behaviours depending on the phase. Looking at it another way, although CO2, H2O, iron, mercury, silicon, ammonia and so on have very different properties to each other, they will all nonetheless display certain commonalities in their behaviour when they are in the same phase. The basic principles of fluid dynamics apply equally to liquid CO2, molten steel, water and liquid nitrogen, however different they might otherwise be.

I have not described the phases as 'stages', because they are not. Phase I ethical systems are not juvenile or incomplete systems evolving along a pre-set path to Phase II and then on to Phase III. Phase I and Phase II ethical systems are complete in themselves and should be regarded as fully developed within the context of their circumstances.

The organising principle of the scheme is the object of highest loyalty and allegiance of a given ethical system. I have only been able to discern three such objects, hence the three phases of the scheme. I'll now reveal the root definitions of the phases and try to illustrate something of their nature by providing an archetypal hero appropriate to them.

A Phase I ethical system is one that holds the society it is part of to be the highest object of loyalty. The figure which most embodies the ideals of Phase I systems is the victorious warrior.

A Phase II ethical system holds itself to be the highest object of loyalty, even above the loyalty owed to society. The highest ideals of Phase II are embodied by the redeemed martyr.

Phase III ethical systems are a bit more complex. They developed out of the need to establish a deeper understanding of reality, and thus incorporate features which are developed to verify or dismiss ideas depending on how closely they matched observable reality. The archetypal figure for Phase III is the scientist searching for truth.


Phase I-

I'd like to start on Phase I with a quote illustrating the world-view of such societies.

Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods."

Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lays Of Ancient Rome.

A Phase I ethical system is one which holds the collective human group using it to be the highest object of loyalty. Phase I is the original, naturally-evolved state of human groups, and it held complete sway over the planet, as far as we know, until the earliest Phase II system appeared some time in the early-mid first millennium BCE.

They come in many different varieties. While all humans have broadly similar needs, specifics of environment, technology level, resource base and paths of historical development lead to idiosyncratic cultural mores and modes of interaction. A set of customs and lore specify how to act under various circumstances. The customs of one human group concerning a particular situation may vary greatly to those of another in the same circumstances. The ancients understood this very well, as the following quote from Herodotus illustrates:


Herodotus, Book 3.38.

Ethics are most often seen in terms of duty to the family, clan or tribe. Consideration of humans outside the group is very often non-existent, and interactions with them don't fall under the field of ethics at all. When outsiders are dealt with fairly or honourably, it's usually due to a pragmatic calculation rather than a perceived ethical obligation.

Phase I ethical systems are shaped by the need to preserve the culture as an ongoing entity. As with most other biological entities, the main competition for human groups comes from others such as themselves. This often leads to a strong emphasis on martial capability. The virtues of the warrior are a perennial favourite for Phase I systems. Another quote, this time from the philosopher Heraclitus, shows the recognition of the importance of the warrior code in the Phase I world-view:



Phase I systems are not necessarily primitive. The Hellenic culture of ancient Greece, the Roman Empire at its height, the great civilisations of Asia, ancient Egypt and the great civilisations of the middle-east prior to the Median/Persian Empire were all Phase I.

It can be disputed that some of the more advanced cultures mentioned were strictly Phase I, with the complexity of classical Greek thought being an indicator of a greater level of ethical evolution and development, but the overriding priorities of the culture shine through even in intricate philosophical texts. For instance:

and their arms and appurtenances were manufactured; when they were

Plato, The Republic.

Phase I ethical systems have not been absent from modern times. Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan before the close of WWII, Fascist Italy, and various fascist states around the world then and now were and are all explicitly phase I entities. In a sense, WWII was a decisive battle between the modern Phase I powers and a coalition of Phase III powers in alliance with a Phase II power.

There are characteristic problems which have arisen as a result of the inability of Phase III administrators to properly understand the way Phase I cultures see the world. An example of this would be the corruption allegations which undid ATSIC in 2004. Indigenous Australian cultures are fairly typical Phase I tribal cultures, and as such see their particular tribe as the highest object of loyalty, not 'indigenous Australians of all tribes'. As such, they don't automatically think in terms of any kind of indigenous solidarity. Their racial characteristics are European concepts. An indigenous person will recognise anyone who has a claim to kinship, by blood or by being otherwise accepted by their tribe (no matter their race), as a fellow of theirs worthy of all the consideration typically bestowed upon people who are part of their 'in' group. Someone who is not recognised as such is an outsider no matter the colour of their skin or their claim to indigenous status. In Australia, the damage was limited to some misallocations of funding, which always went to the relatives of the officials within ATSIC, as per standard operating instructions for Phase I ethical systems. In some Commonwealth countries in Africa, nations established along Phase III lines swiftly stratified according to the Phase I divisions within them, with violence often resulting.

Phase I systems are currently enjoying a great surge in popularity, especially in Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe. National and regional identities are often the core around which new cultural identities are being established for individuals and communities in the post-communist world of the east and the post-Christian world of the west, and the pre-Christian traditions of various ethnic groups have been extensively tapped for this purpose.

Asatru is possibly the best known of these in the west. Others include Sami neoshamanism, the maausulised movement in Estonia, Yotengrit in Hungary, and numerous others. Some have also endeavoured to claim various traditional indigenous Phase I spiritualities, such as Indigenous Australian and Indigenous American tribal belief systems, Hinduism and so forth.

Well-known Phase I ethical systems:

Indigenous/tribal religions
National Socialism
Japanese Imperialism

Typical Characteristics:


Phase II-

A Phase II ethical system is one which holds itself to be the highest object of loyalty. The first great phase transition in human ethical systems came when enough people in a society were convinced that what you thought counted more than who your parents were. As far as I have been able to tell, this probably first occurred sometime in the early part of the millennium which preceded the rise of Christianity, and the first Phase II Great Prophet was Zarathustra, known in the west as Zoroaster. He probably lived some time in the 8th or 7th century BCE.

Phase II ethical systems are characterised by the abstraction of the positive and negative facets of experience into archetypal concepts of good and evil, usually personified in particular mythological characters. Survival of the cultural unit continues to be an important theme, but it is now relegated to a subordinate role in the spreading of the ethical system itself. Adherents are expected to govern themselves according to the precepts of the system. One major effect of this change (and probably the main reason it became so successful) is that the details on how to behave in a given situation are delegated out to the individuals at the scene of the action rather than being micromanaged by an extensive body of customary prescriptions. Imposing a smaller set of generalised rules of conduct across extensive regions means that people are able to interact more confidently, knowing more or less what they can reasonably expect from nearly anyone they encounter.

The role of phase II systems in simplifying relations between smaller cultural units to facilitate trade and economic development is most likely responsible for the expansionist nature of most such systems. Phase I cultures might or might not be particularly expansionist, but Phase II cultures almost always are. To a Phase I adherent you are either a member of their cultural unit with a well-defined nature, or you are an outsider to be ignored, disposed of, or exploited. To a Phase II adherent you are a potential member of the system and must be either taken into the fold, or taken right out of the equation. They're the original Borg. If you remain outside the system, you are a component that doesn't fit, a potential source of dissension and trouble. Phase II is ultra-inclusive, and it sees nothing as falling outside the purview of its dogma.

Phase II ethics contain certain flaws which have become only too obvious over time. They're usually founded on the myth of a supremely powerful creator god who is all good and who is opposed by a separate powerful being of evil who has somehow corrupted the world, or humanity, or both. History is seen as a battle between these two spirits, with humans playing an important role. They are historical rather than cyclical, with a narrative including the creation of the universe, the subsequent unfolding of world history according to a pre-ordained plan, and an end in which judgement takes place, the good are rewarded and the evil are punished, the spirit of evil is defeated, and the universe is made perfect. Messianic saviour figures are often included as well.

One problem with all these variants of the Zoroastrian pattern is that only one of them at most can be literally true, so there is a certain element of mutual exclusivity to these systems. This directly contradicts the main function and virtue of them, which is the unification of different cultures under one universally applicable 'operating system'. This has led to a Highlander-style “There can only be one!” ideological battle between the feuding children of Zoroastrianism down through the centuries, familiar to all students of history. Another major problem has been the misconception of the nature of evil, and its personification as a personal adversary. This has led to a huge focus on 'Evil', and many a cultural obsession with its extirpation, usually by identifying some hapless person or group with that enemy, and doing many horrible things to them. So while Phase II has certainly had its successes, it has also had its failings, and the further a society develops under phase II tutelage, the more counter-productive those failings become.

Phase II systems are not necessarily supernaturalistic, and there are secular examples in modern times. Marxist-Leninism is one of the more obvious examples, but Ayn Rand's Objectivism also falls into the category. In those cases, Marxism replaces God with 'The Historical Process', and Rand replaces God with 'Reason', as she defines it, which appears to be Rand's own particular set of opinions derived before the age of forty, codified and rationalised and not to be doubted in any serious way. There are a few traditions within Neopaganism which fall into Phase II. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the Dianic Wicca of Z. Budapest. Some aspects of the reclaiming traditions might also be seen as falling within Phase II.

Well-known Phase II ethical systems:

Dianic Wicca
Reclaiming traditions

Typical characteristics:

Personal responsibility
Strong sense of justice and propriety
Conspiracy Theorism
Messianic/ apocalyptic complex
Prone to schism

Phase III-

We have looked briefly at Phase I and II ethical systems and got a handle on them through some fairly short and easily understood definitions. Our present society is clearly in neither of these phases. Our ethics are different, and most of us consider them superior to what I have described earlier. Is there a similarly short, concise definition for Phase III?

If we are asked what the defining characteristics of ethics in the modern world are, we might come up with a list of the features we consider desirable, such as scientific enquiry, personal freedom, high levels of tolerance for different customs and people, inclusiveness in the political process, high material living standards, good access to education and information, and many other desirable characteristics of modern life. In any extended list we come up with, are there any virtues or features which are more fundamental than the rest, closer to the cause of such desirable effects?

As far as I can currently see, the heart, foundation and anchor of Phase III is the elevation of freely contending ongoing discourse, with conclusions always tested against reality and always subject to change if new results warrant it, to the pinnacle of regard as the method by which both individuals and groups should govern themselves.

This development has consequences right across the board. When you apply it to 'natural philosophy', you get the scientific method. Applied to politics, inclusive democratic and parliamentary systems result, which have critical discourse at the heart of their operations. Applied to economics and material production, various forms of competitive capitalism result. All these systems have critical discourse resulting in a self-correcting mental model of reality which is continually checked against external reality at the very core of their operation.

Phase III ethical systems emerged in Europe over the last 400 or so years in response to the problems caused by or insoluble with Phase II Christianity. The precepts of phase III systems largely consist of maintaining a stripped-down Phase II framework for ensuring a workable civil society (maintaining prohibitions on such antisocial activities as murder and robbery) while eliminating culture-specific commandments and sanctions on which gods to worship and which cultural institutions to compel adherence to. This evolutionary process is currently ongoing in our society, and the final shape of a mature Phase III ethical system is still a matter of some debate.

In some ways, specific ideologies or formal systems of thought are less important in Phase III than Phase I or II. Phase III is in some sense a victory for proceduralism. If there is a set of procedures which can be followed to attain a desirable result, there isn't so much need to package it in mythological justification. Nonetheless, there are a few ethical systems around which we might be justified in labelling as Phase III.

Secular Humanism:




Bahá'í teachings on science have been pointed out as evidence that it is a Phase III ethical system. My current opinuion is that it is a Phase II ethical system which developed recently enough to be able to incorporate some Phase III attributes within its dogma. Other parts of Bahá'í doctrine assert the supremacy of justice, a typical Phase II outlook.

The Bahá'í writings state that religion must always stand the analysis of reason, and agree with scientific statements of fact. Another teaching of the Bahá'í Faith, Independent investigation of truth, also uses the harmony of science and religion by stating that each individual should free themselves from all prejudices from learned belief, and then individually search for the truth.”

British Traditional Wicca:

The usually accepted ethical tenet of BTW is the Rede, which states “An it harm none, do what ye will'. There is no universally accepted interpretation for the Rede, but there are two main contending interpretations people commonly use to justify their particular position. The first is “Do whatever you want as long as no harm is caused to anyone or anything as a result of what you do.” This interpretation is seen as specifically forbidding harmful outcomes, and tends to be common among Gardnerian lines in the US. The other main interpretation is “If an action harms nothing, then it is absolutely permissible.”. This interpretation is a statement about actions which cause no harm. It does not say anything g about actions which do cause harm. This is usually interpreted to imply that actions which might cause harm are not forbidden, but that it would be wise to consider consequences and conduct yourself appropriately.
The first interpretation has a Phase II air about it, while the second is more in keeping with Phase III. But the most significant evidence of the Phase III nature of BTW may come from the protocols governing differences of opinion within the priesthood. Without giving too much away, they boil down to schism being an acceptable method of resolving differences. In other words, if someone has a different opinion on how things should be done, they should go off and do it. Schism is embraced rather than despised. This is a powerful evolutionary adaptation, ensuring a rich and growing set of groups exploring different ways of doing things, like a giant experimental ethical laboratory.

The Church Of Satan:

Many have observed that the practical upshot of The COS system is very similar to secular humanism (LaVey himself claimed similarity with Ayn Rand's ideas, but it's clear LaVey wasn't as invested in absolutist dogma as Rand).

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth
by Anton Szandor LaVey
© 1967
  9. Do not harm little children.

The Nine Satanic Statements

by Anton Szandor LaVey
  1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
  2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
  5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!

BTW and the COS are often seen as antagonistic, with LaVey and his disciples often attacking BTW for pandering to Christian ideas in declaring themselves to be 'white witches' and attempting to sanitise witchcraft for the sake of appeasing conventional critics. There is some truth to this. All through the 50s, 60s and 70s, high-profile Wiccans were forever assuring the press that they were white witches who would never harm a fly, and that they were good, sane, healthy folk, not at all like the stereotype of the evil Satanist. This may have been a reasonable policy at a certain point in the development of BTW, but members of COS can be forgiven for thinking that Wiccans were constantly traducing them in the media. Later on, not just BTW initiates, but the general neopagan community as well, often defended their paths by denying that they worshipped Satan, saying that Satan was a Christian concept and Satanists were therefore a subset of the Christian religion. Even the briefest examination of COS literature would have revealed this as nonsense in their case, but that propaganda point is still circulated by neopagans (especially newbies) even today.

The interesting thing about this antagonism is that when either tradition attacks the other, its always the perceived Phase II characteristics of the other which are attacked. This strongly implies that they are both implicit Phase III systems with a keen instinct for detecting dissonant 'out-of-phase' elements in the other.

Known or proposed Phase III ethical systems:

Secular Humanism
British Traditional Wicca
Anton Szandor LaVey's Church Of Satan

Typical Characteristics:

Open discourse.
Science-based policies.
Personal Liberty.
Individual rights.
High information flow.
Constant development.