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The Institute for Cultural Evolution is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization.
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What Does âTranscendenceâ Mean?
âTranscendenceâ or âthe transcendentâ generally refers to the people and things that are ultimately more important than yourself or your perceived self-interest. For example, that which is transcendent for you could include: Your family, humanity, your deepest convictions, the environment, God, Oneness, your country, animals, freedom, adventure, art, science, a better world, or anything you consider authentically âhigher.â Your personal ideals of transcendence are grounded in the people and things that youâre dedicated to, and might even lay down your life for, if it became necessary. Your ideals of transcendence therefore help define your lifeâs higher purposes.
The word transcendence is used in this exercise as an umbrella term that is friendly to both spiritual and secular notions of transcendent higher purposes. In other words, you donât have to be religious to recognize the significance of transcendent ideals. Our attraction to a greater good that lies beyond ourselvesâour ceaseless striving to serve something higher and create something betterâis a fundamental part of what makes us human.
The connection between your ideals of transcendence, your virtues, and your basic moral obligationsâto self, to others, and to the transcendentâis illustrated by the graphic below. The specific virtues shown in this graphic are the 7 fundamental virtues, but the specific 7 virtues you choose in this exercise may differ from these classical 7.
For more on virtues and their relationship with transcendence, see the book Developmental Politics, by this exerciseâs author, Steve McIntosh.