Posted by Tal on July 29, 1999 at 07:54:39:
In Reply to: Re: Wing basics for beginners posted by Ronnie on July 29, 1999 at 04:16:00:
> I agree, all established systems using wings require the wing to be one on the either side of the basic type. I think that if you use the system, you have to use everything of it, not just take bits and pieces and remodel it (without explaining very well why those thinking otherwise are wrong)
Why? History is dotted with a seemingly endless number of 'discoveries' and systems that contained a seed of truth but were mostly fallacious... Accepting a system in its entirety on the basis of partial truth yields you nothing. The Enneagram may be 100% truth, or it may not be, but there is absolutely no reason to accept it in its totality simply because parts of it seem to work (though if parts of it seem to work it just makes it more *likely* the rest will too). I think it's incumbent on every person to analyze every aspect of a theory like this one before he takes it for granted. It's not a case of verifiable science where we accept the word of an 'expert' owing to the fact that we ourselves could never replicate the experiment. The Enneagram, as with all other personality systems (and psychology in general, minus neurology), is verifiable only on the basis of personal experience. So to say "well I see the nine types exist, so all the theory must hold true too" cuts you off from a lot of potential discoveries.
Naturally, if you've analyzed all parts of the theory and come to the conclusion that yes, it does hold true for you, then that's different, and that's perfectly reasonable. It still wouldn't render your theory necessarily true (or anyone else's), but it's as far as any person can go to rationally analyze a system and draw their own conclusions based on the facts available to them.