DAS²-Theory of Personality: A Cognitive Approach to the Enneagram

Abstract

The Enneagram is a typology of personality that scopes at the level of ego-personality. Despite the vast amount of attention, it has accumulated since its modern emergence in the 20th century from the Sufi tradition, it is still in need of grounding into current scientific work to disperse some of its much criticized mystical language. The DAS2-theory aims at reconstructing the Enneagram based on cognitive concepts by first establishing the Dynamic Social Field Theory (DSoFT) that expands the Bourdieusian concept of social fields ( Bourdieu, 1984 ), and then proposing the ethological trilogy of Dominance, Aversion, Submission (the DAS-triad)—three distinct stances towards power that have evolved under the pressure of violence, as described by Lorenz (1998) . DSoFT posits that the mind is constantly challenged to find the social field that most appeals to the ego in order to react to people and events. To this end—described by using the Buddhist concept of Monkey Mind—the mind jumps from scenario to scenario (field to field) creating micro-contests until it finds a proper reframing of the challenge where it can have a strategy that appeals to the ego. To understand how a DAS-type is formed, three iterative levels have to be built. At the bottom is the DAS-triad, or stances. Because each stance can be applied from a position of superiority or inferiority—that the mind evaluates from the field’s rules—, each of the three stances can branch into two styles, yielding six potential DAS-styles. DAS-styles explain behaviors clearly, distinctly, and ethologically, and form the basis for the application of the DAS2-theory. Lastly, a DAS-type is the selection of a style from the superior triad, as well as one from the inferior triad. Therefore nine types are possible, which correspond to the nine Enneatypes. The DAS2-theory typology can be applied to interpret not only the individuals but also the supra-individual entities’ behaviors without having to resort to metaphors that vaguely describe intentions and actions. It offers new innovative ways to analyze political events, power scenarios, market perception of brands, and other social dynamics, and can greatly influence the academic or social communities of the Enneagram and Power Studies. Further developments in neuropsychoendocrinology and other fields may prove the DAS2-theory assumptions.