Pre-Trans Fallacy

Ken Wilber describes a condition where things of a “higher” nature get erroneously labeled as something of a “lower” nature because they seem the same.

The “fallacy” occurs because from the initial conventional perspective, post-conventional behavior can look like pre-conventional behavior. A person operating at one level can’t see above their current level.

So for someone like myself operating in and around the orange, conventional, rational v-meme, a sage and an idiot can appear the same. Although I still suspect that some self proclaimed sages actually operate at different levels than what they think.

But I have no ability to see into a person’s heart, so I try to focus on my own emotional reactions towards people whenever possible.

My blog entries sometimes remind me of the handle of the pitcher in this story:

An idiot may be the name given to the ordinary man, who consistently misinterprets what happens to him, what he does, or what is brought about by others. He does this so completely plausibly that for himself and his peers large areas of life and thought seem logical and true.

An idiot of this kind was sent one day with a pitcher to a wise man, to collect some wine.

On the way the idiot, through his own heedlessness, smashed the jar against a rock.

When he arrived at the house of the wise man, he presented him with the handle of the pitcher, and said;

'So-and-so sent you this pitcher, but a horrid stone stole it from me.'

Amused and wishing to test his coherence, the wise man asked: 'Since the pitcher is stolen, why do you offer me the handle?'

'I am not such a fool as people say,' the idiot told him, 'and therefore I have brought the handle to prove my story.'

(From Idries Shah's Tales of the Dervishes)