The sophiological pyramid of human specializations

The sophiological pyramid of human specializations eliminates all of these inconveniences, being at the same time complete, ordered, and hierarchic. It is presented as follows:

    

The analysis of the functional relations in the pyramid shows us how human nature functions. At the lowest level, we have the fundamental specializations, those that constitute at any moment of human existence the staple of the priorities of behavior, namely:

F1 - food, the need to provide the body with food, which assures the necessary energy for all the vital processes. With few exceptions this is the predominant specialization, as the human being is ready to forget about sex, and neglect his security when the need for food becomes urgent.

R1 - reproduction, with its physiological equivalent, which is sexual activity. In all of the animal species except man, sexual activity has a strong cyclical action, correlated with natural cycles, and each species' own characteristics. In peak moments of sexual activity this specialization takes first place, to the detriment of food or security - this is a valid behavioral pattern for man too. The legends say that hunters can get close to the cautious capercaillie only in the short annual mating period.

S1 - aversion to pain, the modality by which the instinct in man for protection from aggressive elements in the environment becomes conscious. In all the animal species that preceded man, the protection from pain functions at the level of somatic reactions, as the specific reaction towards the aggressive elements in the environment that endanger the security of the organism. In the case of man, who is gifted with the capability to anticipate different situations, the awareness of the possibility of painful states leads to the accentuation of the aversion to pain.

S2 - curiosity, the modality by which the need to know the environment appears in human psychological activity, generated especially by the necessity to ensure security. A familiar environment is far easier to dominate, and is therefore safer for the living creature. The integration into a familiar environment is far more successful and perennial. One of the most frequent activities of living CAP, is the investigation and marking of their own territories, whether it is about cephalopods, dogs, or colonizers of the Wild West... On the other hand, curiosity is a secondary specialization which is strongly influenced by sex. In animals curiosity is strictly limited to the choice of the most appropriate partner for reproduction. In man, curiosity takes on many forms, starting with flirting, and ending with porn films and Internet sites that blossom without any sense of restraint.

SRF 1 - domination of others, which is one of the strongest specializations connected to the security of living CAP. In fact, this is a composite specialization, because it is related to all the fundamental specializations of living CAP; a creature that dominates the others has a priority access to food or sex; similarly, the more individuals you dominate from your own and from other species, the higher is your degree of security. In the case of man this domination was a real obsession and following on from this we can explain the ardor of those who wanted to dominate the whole Universe: Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler...and many others. Ritualizing fights between males. Actually, absolute security is when you dominate everybody else. No man is capable of such a performance, so mankind invented divinity, which was given a mandate of absolute dominance. The idea in itself wasn't stupid: an abstract master with absolute power was invented, and this way the fight for power among men could be replaced by an equal obedience before this master. The consequence was of course typical of the perverted animality of the human species: those were the most thirsty for dominance became, on the spot, apostles of this absolute master, taking advantage of his prestige in the pursuit of exclusively personal ends. Hence churches and sects appeared. Looking back in history we can discover that the violent success of western civilization is mainly due to the way in which it managed to exploit, for oppressive purposes, the noble concept of the almighty master.
Before going on, let's remember that what we categorized within the fundamental specializations as security doesn't appear explicitly in the pyramid, just in the form of a domain which encompasses specializations coded as S, SF, SR or SRF. Let's now turn our attention towards the secondary specializations.

SRF 2 - social contacts. Any living CAP category has the tendency to form communities, like a corollary of the self-organizing specialization that the universal substance has. The tiny corals, tireless insects, industrious beavers, and imposing elephants live in more or less organized groups, thus having the advantage of the protection provided by their number, their buildings, or their mass. The predators can be far more easily kept away by a solid community of small creatures - one of the most vibrant memories that now stirs within me is the real image of a hawk chased away by a group of determined swallows. The insurance of a stable and controlled relationship with the reference territory, encrowned by real engineering works such as beaver colonies, or termitariums, provides increased global security for the members of the community, and the possibility that the other specializations could follow. Under such auspices, feeding and watering is well facilitated. Within the group procedures of concrete specialization develop which allow reduced numbers of individuals, permanently renewed, to ensure the security of the community by supervising the surroundings. At the same time, other members can absorb the vital substances undisturbed.
Similarly, within the group or community of living CAP of the same kind, the specialization of reproduction is very well facilitated, as the large number of individuals brings many advantages, such as: the selection of the most viable males, the spreading of their genes to a great number of fertile females, and ensuring the security of the offspring, as well as selecting them depending on the reproductive necessities of the species. All these characteristics of animal behavior can be recognized, in specific forms, in the behavior of human beings. Of course, modern man doesn't live in hordes, tribes, or clans anymore; but couldn't this be an explanation for the huge number of psychological illnesses that are surely caused by estrangement?

SF1 - saving. This is a behavior which wasn't invented by the human species. All rodents that live in fields developed concrete specializations oriented towards the storing of food when preparing for the cold season.. The larders of the ant found their way into literature as an illustration of the spirit of saving (the famous fable of La Fontaine is representative of this). Squirrels are another illustrative example; children from the whole planet enjoy tingles of glee when watching the titanic fights of Chip and Dale when they try to protect their larders from the aggression of the cruel Donald. Other living CAP stockpile in the interior of their bodies. Camels are famous for the capacity to stock water in the fat tissue of their humps. All the mammals that live in the moderate zone developed mechanisms of stocking fat in their tissue as methods of saving (more precisely, accumulating), which facilitate survival in the cold season. Man wasn't excepted from this universal tendency. Until not so long ago, the plentiful supply of fat tissues was considered an indubitable sign of vitality. Fat human males were looked upon with great respect (think of the sumo fighters, the most venerated males of Japanese civilization). Fat human females were always considered much more able to reproduce - the representations of fertility gods are full of fatty folds. In traditional Arabic circles, a woman is considered beautiful when she's so fat that she can't get up from the floor by herself. Not to mention the fact that in every cultural environment of humanity, it is necessary for a beautiful child to be fat too... Of course in the case of man, the preoccupation for saving went far beyond the limits of the simple accumulation of fat tissue. Combined with the typically human capacities of anticipation and foresight, which are the structural specializations of the human brain, the specialization of saving gives birth to a coherent behavior meant to permanently provide for the human being the resources necessary for living. Let's not forget that in the world of the 21st century, man's productive existence has to continue on a daily basis throughout the whole year, which results in the very existence of man being impossible without this specialization. Actually the human beings, who don't have this specialization for different reasons, are those who end up living in abject poverty, or on public mercy.

S3 - physical exercise. For our contemporaries who count as physical exercise repeated walks between the house, car, and the office with soft chairs, physical exercise may seem a trifling matter. Living in a sedentary world, in which the specialization of saving can replace other specializations connected to his active living, the civilized man of the 21st century can afford to display a sovereign contempt for his physical form. But these typical representants of the "couch potato civilization" forget that the entire biomechanics of the human body, and the whole sensory experience of the body and the brain, developed from the complex processes of looking for and hunting food, or from running away from danger. On the whole, and on a cultural level, mankind didn't forget this physical past. Some of the most revered heroes of our times are sportsmen, those biomechanically perfect human specimens who push physical performance to unimaginable limits, entertaining and captivating those flabby specimens who sit in comfortable armchairs in front of the TV, drinking beer (the most common adverts for beer or soft drinks show groups or hordes of such individuals, consuming enthusiastically the aforementioned products while watching a football game). Periodically, the preoccupation with physical exercise returns with a vengeance to the Western cultural space. Olivia Newton-John and Jane Fonda (two random examples) made a fortune "teaching" their ample compatriots to do physical exercise. The fashion for jogging once made big waves in the U.S.A., and the entire nation tried to improve their condition running enthusiastically in any place where cars were not in the way. The best-selling books sold in the U.S.A. are those that teach the readers how to maintain an ideal figure, of course slim and slender, and without a gram of fat.

S4 - independence. We have to tackle the problem of a specialization which is in apparent contradiction with the previously discussed human specializations. Indeed, after we have seen how strong specialization SRF2 is (social contacts), and as how strong SRF3 is (family), the urge for independence of a living CAP may seem to us incompatible with the rest of the parameters of existence. Here, sophiology's clear sightedness will interfere, teaching us that man is an individual CAP. In conclusion, what we call "independence" is nothing other than a secondary specialization generated by the action of the fundamental specializations at an individual level. In order to be more explicit, I have to show that beyond finding security and protection from group mechanisms, each individual from any species values his own survival above all else. Let me present the particular case of a gnu antelope herd which dwells on the Serengeti plains (Kenya). It concerns hundreds of thousands of specimens, among which males are distinguished by having twice the weight of an adult lion, sharp horns, and hooves which can strike out vehemently. But do you think that there is one male, not to mention a group of males, who will interfere when a hungry lion attacks the herd of antelopes? No way - everyone runs to wherever his eyes can see, where his hooves can resist, and the only norm that is applied is that of individual rescue! The lion hunts its victim remorselessly and devours it in front of the eyes of the calm herd, in which each individual seems to give a sigh of relief that this time they escaped. This preoccupation for self-security is rarely dominated by the helping and solidarity mechanisms. In a touching scientific documentary, the story of the little Tambo elephant is told (the name is given of course by the filmmakers), a happy member of a large group of African elephants. Absorbed in a lonely investigation of the surroundings, Tambo sprains one of his elephant sized paws. The group instantly helps him: the speed of the departure is slowed to a pace that the troubled little elephant can cope with. Overnight Tambo slumbers deeply, surrounded by the members of the group who sleep in a circle on their feet, ready to protect him from the attacks of any predator. And they did this for two weeks, until the total recovery of the precious offspring. But what if the group had been endlessly harassed by a pride of hungry lions, what if they had crossed a dry zone without food supplies? Would the same mechanism of social solidarity have functioned? Hard to say. A baby gnu which lost its mother to the claws of a lion is unavoidably marked for death. The same cannot be said for a human baby. But the image of those people who were never involved in military training (remember the famous Macedonian phalanx) is perfectly compatible with that offered by an antelope herd: each of them tries to escape on his own. On top of this, man is the only animal species which institutionalized betrayal as a standard for individualistic policy. We all know that betrayal exists, and we have all felt, at least once in life, its poisoned fangs. Fear of betrayal is one of the most disturbing elements of the human psyche, generating phobias, paranoias, and division between people. The direct descendent of SRF1 - the domination of others.

SRF3 - family life. This is one of the most important secondary specializations in the human species. If SRF2 - (social contacts) proved to be the most important form of organization at the level of species, family is the main form of organization at the level of individuals.
In fact, family is nothing other than a grouping of individuals of different sexes and ages, who associate in order to provide collectively the three fundamental specializations: security, food, and sex. Here you have the opportunity to notice the clear-sightedness and coherence of sophiology, which not only orders different human specializations, but also sees the functional and historical relations that exist between them.
Another important element in the so-called specialization of family is its strongly selective character. Regardless of whether we have in mind the large polygenetic or polyandrous families outside Europe, or the monogamous family in Europe and America, the defining element is looking for and cultivating an affinity among the members of the family, achieved biologically (descendency) or culturally (marriage). The family specialization is quite frequent in the animal kingdom, and human behavior does nothing other than continue and enrich this feature of animal behavior, mainly by psychologically perpetuating the biological bondages. In the case of man the affection for his own descendency can last until death. Similarly, the hormonal store generated by the specialization of reproduction, with the purpose of forcing two potential partners' intimacy, can transform into an attachment which lasts even after death (it is valid for the surviving husband). As family is a preferred environment for the human species, the majority of the defining specializations for the human species can be found here. As I mentioned above, the fundamental specialization of family as a CAP is to facilitate the three fundamental specializations of any living CAP (security, reproduction, and food). But it is also in the family that the other specializations which I talked about earlier appear:
- power over others: in any type of family, there is a hierarchy of power based on ascending lines that derive from domination according to sexual, physical strength, or life experience criteria
- saving: the fact that the common household generates important resource savings, or facilitates the sensible usage of them is undeniable. From this point of view, the nuclear monogamous family is a nec plus ultra of the savings and acquirement of wealth.
- independence: practically, family starts where the independence of the marital partners ends.

S5 - vengeance. Although it has long been considered a sin and a calamity, psychological studies proved that revenge is one of the defining specializations of man. Of course we don't take into consideration now Mateo Falcone, the hero of Prosper Merimee, who killed his son because he revealed to the police soldiers the hiding place of a highwayman who took shelter on the family's property. Neither do I consider the horrible vendettas that stained Southern Italy with blood for centuries. Vengeance is probably the first human specialization which is only human. Many years ago, I was driven to the point of tears by the story of the film of an Orca (Killer) whale, which chased across the whole planet until death, the killer of his life partner. It is a pertinent example of how ignorance is more fertile than knowledge - as animal ethology studies proved that revenge is completely alien to animal behavior. A hunted animal tries to escape by running away, and not by attacking. It doesn't attack unless it is driven into a corner or wounded. And if it made good its escape, we can be sure that it doesn't feed on any kind of revenge thoughts, and doesn't try to apply the lex talionis ("eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth"). Maybe vengeance is the first secondary specialization in which that magnificent feature of the human brain, memory, interferes. Without remembering and reliving on command the situations in which the security of the individual and those closest to him, or personal independence, were endangered by fellow man, maybe we wouldn't have this vindictive and often bloodthirsty urge.

SR1 - fear of rejection. We already saw that almost all of the animal CAP species have a more or less social existence, enjoying the full benefit of the advantages that living in a pack, flock, or horde offers them as regards ensuring security, reproduction, and food.
When I was a child, I cried my eyes out at the story of the wounded quail's chick, which was abandoned by its mother to the cruelty of the winter, in order to save the rest of the family. Hence, I expressed our innate terror of the prospect of being rejected by the family, gang, community, or church. Maybe you can still remember what the biggest punishment that the Catholic Church administered to those who weren't obedient enough was: excommunication. For many centuries, the exclusion from the heart of the community, disowning, or the mockery of our kindred, were some of the most intensely felt threats to personal security. As a result, avoiding this danger was a continuous priority in human behavior (the only criterion for evaluating behavior, especially in the traditional village communities, was the question, "what will people say?").

SR2 - social prestige. This secondary specialization is naturally placed on the vertical defined by the domination of others, social contacts, family, and fear of rejection. In fact, social prestige is the perspective that we have on our own being at the crossroads of the specializations mentioned. Having a social prestige means to have at the same time, a strong and dominant power over the others, a wide range of social contacts, a family life, the appearance of which can serve as a model for others, and to be in the position of not having to be afraid of rejection from society. If we add to this recipe other specializations, like blossoming physical appearance, and a healthy inclination for saving (namely a solid and well-administered wealth), then the picture of the successful individual's social prestige is complete. We have here a very strong and indubitable proof of the truth suggested by sophiology: the intuitive concepts of the human psyche reflect the functioning of the sophiological laws and concepts, and the human community rewards that behavior which is in concordance with these laws and concepts.

S6 - need for order. The need for order in man's life has a complex ethology, inspired by the series of specializations which precede it on the scale of human evolution. Firstly, the specialization of investigating the environment, which generates a huge amount of impressions, and in the case of man, stored memories and ideas, leads inherently to the tendency to identify functioning structures and mechanisms. Man always studied the CAP around him, initially from the need to ensure his security, and later from pure curiosity, producing categories and concepts, then principles and laws. Secondly, remaining strictly within the sphere of ensuring security, it is without doubt that a familiar environment with repeating and predictable evolutions is the most desirable for the guaranteeing of this security. When the environment changes, especially because of some external aggressive intrusions, the human being experiences a very severe sense of discomfort, as well as an urgent need to reestablish "order". The time has long passed when people, the tribe, or the fortress angrily sent away those strangers who didn't inspire trust in them - in ancient Greece, which gave us such free and humanist thinkers, dubious strangers were simply stoned to death (the operation bears the pleasant name of "lapidating"). Today human society has very sophisticated mechanisms for the maintenance and protection of order, starting with the voluntary watchmen of the small village communities, and ending with those who assume the role of "world-gendarmes" (the U.S.A., and to a lesser extent, the UN).

S7 - spirit of citizenship. In this case we have a specific reflection of more composite secondary specializations, such as the need for social contacts or the fear of social rejection. As social rejection decreases and social contacts become more satisfying, so the spirit of citizenship becomes stronger. It amounts to saying that the existence in a society dominated by order generates a stronger spirit of citizenship.
In one word, the spirit of citizenship is the reaction of attachment and gratitude of the individual who lives in a community or society which generally satisfies his needs, in which therefore the constellation specific to his specializations can exist with a minimum of restraint.

SR3 - honor. With this we have entered the most secret haven of human existence. Honor was invoked when wars started, when bloody duels were increasing at every turn, and also honor was referred to in the farewell letters of those who could no longer take any more, and wished to see off their own life... If we wish to define it in sophiological terms, honor would be that secondary specialization of a human CAP that forms a regulatory mechanism of behavior, as seen in the light of the other specializations. In other words, in all cultures and environments, only that type of behavior considered to be in accordance with the individual's social image, as well as with the social regulations of behavior, was deemed to be "honorable". In social practice, honor is equated with morality. Thus, in a society with monogamous family cells and fidelity commitments, an extra-marital affair is treated as "immoral". Those activities and behavior patterns that violate social regulations are approached in a similar way: drunkenness, prostitution, stealing, lying, and many others. Honor is also the mechanism with which human beings evaluated and judged their behavior. In Western Europe, especially in the modern epoch, thousands of people committed suicide, finding themselves "dishonored" by losing social prestige as a result of unfavorable development of their businesses or families. Similarly, a whole family was considered dishonored, when the daughter started sexual life before marriage. Actually when we talk about the social regulation of behavior, we take into consideration the specific method of structuring specializations, as it is conceived by each human culture separately.
I voiced here a new idea of great importance: as we have a generic pyramid of the human species and a specific one for each separate human individual (over the following pages, I will bring further explanations), so we have a standard pyramid for each culture and each epoch. This pyramid functions like the frames with bells with which the Turkish sultans selected their odalisques: at the moment a candidate didn't correspond perfectly to the frame, a small bell immediately rang. The less a culture is developed, the stronger and more traumatizing is the control exercised on the individuals in moments of social intervention - the same majestic Greeks who lapidated strangers, practiced ostracism with great fervor, namely the banishing from the city of undesirable people (to whom, it is true, they also gave the option of suicide...)