Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

The best thing about the Wakefield Doctrine:

The worst thing about the Wakefield Doctrine:

The part of the Doctrine most in need of better understanding:

The aspect of the Doctrine that is damn near perfect:

As we wrote in October of 2012

Lots to cover, not a lot of time to do it.

Semi-elevator pitch: the Wakefield Doctrine is a tool for understanding the behavior of people in our lives. the Wakefield Doctrine is predicated on the idea that everyone grows up and develops in one of three worldviews (or personal realities, if you prefer) and it is the nature of these worldviews that determines what we call personality types.

(Put another way): if you grow up in a reality that is best characterized as the world of predator and prey, then your way of dealing with such a world will, by and large result in what we describe as the scottian personality type: action-oriented, quick to react, aggressive (socially and any other -ly you might care to name), fun, cruel, mercurial (but not temperamental), gregarious (but not ‘a joiner’) opinionated (but not driven by dogma), a decisive leader (but not given to thinking-through consequence), a great joke teller (but always ‘pushing it’… making the jokes more and more until nearly everyone walks away), a killer entertainer (but cannot bear to be out of the limelight), very giving and charitable (but forgetful), spontaneous ( yet calculating)… but this personality  is all that it is because you have grown up in and are, in fact, at this very moment experiencing the world as would a predator in the world of predator and prey.

(Yes, you should have taken your One-a-Day Allegory Supplements this morning! too late now…stay with us, the worst is over…. and you’re correct in finding that little statement more disturbing than re-assuring!)

(Put a second way): those of us who have experienced the world as an Outsider, (ever since we can remember), will not only have social strategies that are meant to allow us to try to fit in, but at the same time (and seemingly in contradiction) maintain, even celebrate our status as the non-member, all the while searching for the knowledge, the information, the clue, the insight that will allow us to understand ‘the World’ and by doing so, become a part of it! (in the meantime, however) we will remain ever curious, marking no fact as insignificant, quiet (in a loud sort of way), creative in a very… creative way, intuitive (while maintaining that we are not like them…wtf?), good teachers, especially of the young (who we hope have not yet learned to recognize us as the outsiders), the epitome of the homemaker (so self-less as to make you wonder what we hate about ourselves), funny (provided ‘they’ listen closely enough to hear us), ruthlessly fierce defenders of what(ever) might be dear to us (yet tolerant to abuse, provided it is ‘only us’), giving (spoiled by the lack of a capacity to take). This is how the worldview of the clark is recognized and once known, much about what goes on inside the mind of a clark becomes clear… for  a minute

(Third way)? …rogers is the term (and is the word) used to designate the personality type that results from being alive in the personal reality (aka worldview) that is best described as the world of the herd. Not derogatory in any manner, other than the obvious, this personality type accounts for the majority of the population, for reasons not yet established. But thank god we have them…. the rogers, not the reasons! If you have grown up and matured into an adult  experiencing this worldview, we will all recognize you because you are totally certain of how the world works (and when it acts unexpectedly then it is clearly someone’s fault), you are the people (of any and all cultures) who organize and maintain tradition and are multi-handily responsible for the rise and fall of civilizations, the reasons for war (but not the cause of peace), you build the airplanes (and regulate the industry), you create documentaries (yet insist on romance), you re-write and edit history (but cannot tolerate any variation) you love: labels (as long as they are yours to apply to others), instructions (provided they guarantee a successful outcome), authority (as long as you get to impose the sentences), the old (but hate the new), to celebrate your home (as long as there is a family tree). rogers give us continuity (but lack creativity)

 

OK!  lol sorry, got off on some kind of side track!
To close: we all have the capability to experience any of the three worldviews, it’s just that we are in one of the three pretty much all the time. The good news? If you want to self-improve yourself, the Doctrine totally has your number.

(Did someone say, “man on man, what the hell was that?! I need to clear my head, if only there was some music that would do this for me!”)

 

ed note: we considered editing the post to alter the sequence of the the sections on scotts and clarks. for reasons lost in the tangled bedcovers of Time, they were in the order: scotts, clarks, rogers rather than the now conventional clarks, scotts and rogers.

on second thought, screw it… lets read it as written, not sure who let the roger out just now… you’ll be ok.

Music vid. Hey, we have it stuck in our heads, so why not share the tuneage