A Metamodern Guide to Human Development

This essay is inspired by the brilliant work of Hanzi Freinacht. Following the legacy of Piaget, Beck & Cowan, Carol Gilligan, Ken Wilber and others, Hanzi puts forth a fascinating developmental framework. In this essay, I describe his model and its implications for humanity.

I highly recommend Hanzi’s first book, The Listening Society, available here.

Thank you, Hanzi.

A Brief definition of Metamodernism

Metamodernism reconciles Modernism and Postmodernism while admitting its own impermanence. With deep irony and arrogant, well-earned sincerity, it obsoletes old epochs by matching the complexity of our world. It is thus able to dialogue with it and profoundly alter its course. I will describe Metamodernism, and the philosophical engine driving it, in a later post.

Intro — A New Model of Development

Of all the theorists I’ve read, Hanzi is the most unique. He distinguishes between types of development unlike anyone else. In this essay, we’ll take a look at his four quadrants and their relation to one another. They are state, depth, stage and code. I’ll define them briefly.

State is the quality of your inner experience right now. Depth is the integration of the states you’ve…