Adult Development as Affordances and Aesthetics
The orders of adult development
On the self being an affordance for what appears as not-self
Impulsive: “I couldn’t help myself”. The self-sense is experienced as an affordance of the body.
Individualized: “It’s what I do”. The self-sense is experienced as an affordance of a reified self.
Socialized: “It’s what we do”. The self-sense is experienced as an affordance of the social circle. This can also apply in a work context; there, it is key to distinguish others as intimately felt social relations as opposed to occupiers of roles.
Systematized: “It’s how things are done”. The self-sense is experienced as an affordance of a larger social system.
Contextualized: “It’s what the circumstances called for”. The self-sense is experienced as an affordance of the entire context.
Not-Self Becoming Functional Affordances
When not-self is integrated into self by becoming ready-to-hand, the spectrum of participatory intimacy runs from (1) recognizing an aspect as an affordance, through (2) acquiring the capability to shape it, to (3) developing an aesthetic sensibility that guides that shaping.
Impulses: When impulses fully become an affordance, this is effective self-discipline, in the sense of being able to choose when to follow an impulse and when not to.
Individuality: When individual self fully becomes an affordance, this is effective personal style, as when a teenager tries on new looks, attitudes, ways of speaking. They are treating their individuality as a material that can be manipulated.
Intimate Circle: When an intimate social circle fully becomes an affordance, this is effective social choreography, as when someone chooses who to invite over to dinner, what gifts to give, where to go to meet new people.
System: When a system fully becomes an affordance, this is effective power, in the sense of being able to transform the system in the direction desired, working within the fundamental structural constraints.
Context: When context fully becomes an affordance, this is compassion: acting in the circumstance to bring about the greatest possible benefit in that moment.
Not-Self Gaining Aesthetic Affordances
Beyond working with what appears as not-self lies the capacity to actively shape its aesthetics.
Impulsive: this is pre-aesthetic.
Individuality: aesthetics culminates in creating a personal style. Your individual presence evokes a distinctive mode of being. You have become a Platonic Ideal of yourself.
Intimate Circle: aesthetics culminates in creating a subculture or a scene. Your group evokes a distinct collective way of being in the world. People can speak lovingly of “the traditions of this family”, for example.
System: manifesting aesthetics culminates in creating a Way, such as “The US Military Way” or “The Apple Corporation Way”.
Context: When context is fully shaped as an aesthetic, this is the apex of compassion: bringing forth the aesthetic radiance available in the here-and-now.
The Highest Order of Adult Development
The highest order of adult development is for the ever-shifting context to be an affordance for compassionate activity which both benefits the situation and creatively shapes its aesthetic.