Jungian thought and related philosophy permeates the writings of John Steinbeck. This may be a surprise to many Steinbeck fans.
Introduction
Jungian thought and related philosophy permeates the writings of John Steinbeck. This may be a surprise to many Steinbeck fans. But in addition to the native intelligence, broad philosophical interests, and studies of the man, there are several practical reasons. Steinbeck was mentored in Jungian studies by Ed Ricketts, influential marine biologist, and his closest friend in the thirties and forties (Ed Ricketts was the subject of title characters in several of Steinbeck's works including Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday). Steinbeck and Joseph Campbell, American Jungian, had a friendship during that period as well. 1 In fact his biographer Jay Parini says of the influence of others on the writings of Steinbeck, "One hears the mingling voices of Ricketts, Boodin, Ritter, and Jung perhaps even the voice of Joseph Campbell. Steinbeck was creating his own synthesis of these voices, and his fiction was deeply affected by the results." 2
From his earliest years Steinbeck had an interest in the behavior of individuals in groups, teams, mobs, etc, and what he was later to describe as the "Phalanx": 3
"We know that with certain arrangement of atoms we might have what we would call a bar of iron. Certain other arrangements of atoms plus a mysterious principle make a living cell. Now the living cell is very sensitive to outside stimuli or tropisms. A further arrangement of cells and a very complex one may make a unit we call a man. That has been our final unit. But there have been mysterious things which could not be explained if man is the final unit. He also arranges himself into larger units, which I called the phalanx. The phalanx has its own memorymemory of the great tides when the moon was close, memory of starvations when the food in the world was exhausted. Memory of methods when numbers of his units had to be destroyed for the good of the whole, memory of the history of itself."4
Steinbeck tried to see humans in their most complete context, and this fascination was a means of establishing the necessary geometry or algebra. This fascination and study led to the method that yielded the color and depth of character we Steinbeck fans love in his work.
Steinbeck's thoughts on the subject of the phalanx 5 have been overlooked although the concept as he described could be useful as a reliable source to build a good understanding of the behavior of individuals within the context of a group objective. With the current increasing interest in the practical application of Jungian thought, the time is right to seek out the thoughts of one of the more adept students of human interaction within groups. Perhaps Steinbeck's ideas contain philosophical nuggets that can be useful in developing and utilizing human performance improvement initiatives, training, and simulations.
Steinbeck's Awakening to the Phalanx Concept
For years prior to expressing the revelation of the phalanx, Steinbeck was jotting notes and thoughts that for him, seemed random and unrelated. After discussion with Ricketts, and during a period of anxiety over his mother's illness, things came together as he described in letters to friends, Carlton ("Dook") Scheffield 6 and George Albee. In a nutshell:
he observed that a group, or society takes on a psychology and corresponding behavior that may be quite disparate from that of individual members;
that the group psychology can lead (or dominate the will or behavior of ) the group to behave in a manner that its individual members wouldn't dream of individually;
that the perfect group psychology is a (sometimes antagonistic) counterpoint to perfect individual psychology. Here I might add is my own observation that the level of individual development of members of a phalanx or mob works against the psychology of the group or phalanx. The higher the adult development of the individual members, the less likely, or destructive the domination of the phalanx.
Steinbeck's Elaboration of the Phalanx Concept
Steinbeck's concept was embedded (as noted above) within very personal letters to friends. After nine years of thinking, and dialoging with his cronies about the concept , he described it in a very practical way in a book which is ignored to this day ignored, (it is mistakenly passed off as mere World War II propaganda, which in fact it is, to some degree), "Bombs Away, The Story of a Bomber Team." The book is a rare work that has been out of print, I suspect since World War II. It was written at the request of U.S. Air Force God-Father "Hap" Arnold with photos by John Swope. Contained within this work is Steinbeck's practical description of the phalanx and related topics as they apply to the development of a bomber team.
In the introduction, Steinbeck describes (seemingly in rhetorical terms) the unique United States spirit at that time. After reading about the practical exemplification of the concept in the form of the development of the bomber team, the terms speak with concreteness and validity. Japan and Germany misread the apparent U.S. disunity, sluggishness, and selfishness as weaknesses; as Steinbeck puts it, "What the Axis could not understand was that the measure of our unrest was the measure of our vitality." 7
Steinbeck reveals that the nature of war at that time was perfectly matched to the misread qualities of the U.S., and if ever there were a style war suited to the psychology (or phalanx) of a nation, this one was perfect. What happened (as history has proven long after the end of that war), given the all powerful species drive for survival, the war created direction toward which individuals could "aim their vitality." Steinbeck states, "The war was dumped in our laps; we could not avoid it, but fortunately for us, we have been given a kind of war we are peculiarly capable of fighting a war without established technique or method, a kind of war rooted in production in which we surpass. If we ourselves had chosen the kind of war to be fought, we could not have found one more suitable to our national genius. For this is a war of transport, of machines, of mass production, of flexibility, and of inventiveness, and in each of these fields, we have been pioneers if not actual inventors." 8 His use of the term individual must be seriously considered here. Steinbeck didn't use this term simply to signify an element of the human aggregate. His respect for the individual and the process of individual growth is both expressed directly in his correspondence and demonstrated in his publications. 9
Steinbeck points out that the national psychology of the time (described above) was perfect in shaping the new Air Force; the force that was being shaped by building tradition as it went along. Primary to the philosophy of the developing service was recognition and accommodation of the role of the individual in the operation of commands down to the smallest, in this case that of a Bomber Crew. I believe this is unique to the services at this time, since all of the others operated within the limits of at least two hundred years of tradition within the ranks. 10 The Air Force structure encouraged decision making and the responsibility for those decisions to the person closest to the event rather than executing blind obedience.
After describing the bomber in the book "Bombs Away," Steinbeck describes in detail the experiences observed in the selection and training of each of the bomber's crew: Bombardier; Aerial Gunner; Navigator; Pilot; Aerial Engineer Crew Chief; and Radio Engineer; they are the individuals of the Bomber Team; each one with unique knowledge, skills, and attributes. Sincere attempts were made by the Air Force at that time to place a person in a job containing tasks most closely suited to the individual's knowledges skills and attributes through a sophisticated program of formal testing and evaluation. As a result of the Air Force system, a person not suited to be a navigator wasn't likely to become one.
He describes the Bomber Team as having a relationship "which is unique in the armed forces;" the unity of purpose and responsibility of each individual in the ground and air crew; and how dereliction of the greater individual charge can be catastrophic to the team. The officer is not the "self-sufficient martinet" and the crew members in the Air Force do not blindly carry out orders. The reason being the conscious knowledge that missions and even lives "are in the hands of each member of the whole group." "A weak link cannot be permitted in the chain for the chain is too interrelated. With this delegation of responsibility there goes a relationship and a respect which are also unique in the Air Force."
Discipline among team members while on a mission is not a result of punishment, retribution, or face saving, but "... more likely to be the result of the wills of intelligent men all going the same way." He also states, "It is impossible in the Air Force to blindly carry out an order.", "This fact makes for a very different relation between men and officers than has obtained in many military organizations. The old time soldier would say that discipline would disappear under such a system, buy actually the opposite is true. The Air Force social structure and system enables the private on the team to trust that the officer is an expert in his or her field, and the vehicle for discipline is trust. "The officer knows what depends on the private's work and his discipline is one of respect for his men."
"The bomber crew is a team in a true sense but it is also true that the whole Air Force is a team. This relationship has not been accidental, it has been carefully planned and carried out by the commanding officers who know how much is at stake. These men being flying officers know what it takes to keep a ship in the air. First and most important of all, it takes the best possible human material, second, complete training, of that material, and third, individual and group initiative. It must not be thought that discipline is lax. In effect. It is stricter than in most branches of the Service. But in the Air Force discipline is defined as that conduct of the individual which in a group best carries out the missions. And blind, unreasoning, unintelligent obedience does not accomplish this definition. A man must be good to get into the Air Force at all, but once in and trained his goodness is recognized and used. That is the strength and certainty of Air Force discipline. Every man is responsible to and for the team, not in fear of punishment nor hope of reward team play is something far from that."
The development of the bomber team follows the path diagramed below for the development of members:
Input
Capability Matching
Military Indoctrination
Technical Training
Team Training
How does the above World War II Army Air Force bomber team development model compare with the development of members of a board of a large organization? There may be those who believe that the job of members of the board of a large firm is much more complex and important to compare with that of a bomber team; that decisions of board members have much greater impact on vast numbers of employees and considerable financial fortunes. But I would argue that the failure in performance of an individual board member would not result in the loss of life of the entire team and consequently decisions or decision making by board members may be more casual or frivolous than those required of the bomber team. And as the Japanese have so clearly pointed out, decisions made by management team members that lack passion, fear, and vision of direct personal loss or gain are usually less valuable than those created otherwise.
The distributed process control system 11 utilized by the Air Force by design, (a constant in the daily life of the Air Force bomber team) was responsible for a higher caliper decision making and team achievement. And I would argue that there is a lot to learn from the Steinbeck work surrounding phalanx and how it could be applied to individual and team development to high level management teams. I believe that individual development alone (which continued through the technical training of the bomber team member) isn't adequate to achieve the most effective team performance.
Implications of Phalanx and Related Concepts on the Development of a Management Team Like a Board of Directors
Considering Steinbeck's descriptions of the developed bomber crew is interesting when you compare it's psychology to that of the modern management team like a board of directors:
"The crew, once established, will remain as a unit. The men will know one another as few men ever get acquainted, for they will be under fire together. They will play together after a victory. They will plan together and eat and sleep together on missions. And finally there is the chance that they will die together. The ties between members of the bomber team are tighter than those of nearly any organization in the world. There must be respect and liking among the men. One ill-fitting man can throw out the smoothness of operation. Dislike may split a crew. This crew must function like a fine watch. One slow or rusty part could make the whole crew bad such are the complications of human relationships. Relationships are a part of the final training of the group, the getting acquainted, the working together under conditions which are like those they will find on their deadly missions. And when the crew is established and in working shape, the gunners will think their pilot is the best pilot in the Air Force. The pilot will tell anyone that there is no crew chief like his and he will give examples and prove it. The crew will be a tight unit, a jealous unit. Their feeling will not be loud nor boastful, nor even stated unless one member is criticized, but the feeling will be there. And this fierce, inner loyalty extends to the ships..." 12
"Respect, liking," we may be hard pressed to sincerely and generally apply the above descriptors to a random sampling of board of directors. I believe an organization directed by such a board such as described by Steinbeck may be a superior performer to one otherwise directed? Wouldn't a superior team be reflective of the adult maturity of individual board members?
What can be done? We can assume a better team could be a result of a better selection and indoctrination process for members. Having no control over those factors, or for providing technical training or evaluation for the specialty that the team member will bring to the table, 13 what other corrective action could be considered? I believe initiatives aimed at the collective team (or any organization) are never as effective as programs tailored to meet the needs of individual team members. Of course costs for individual work is always higher than costs for programs aimed at the collective. The returns to the organization for programs aimed at the individual at the board level however should be manifold the returns for the collective development work. The ripple effect of a better operating board of directors alone could justify the development work to the tune of dollars for pennies.
The Round Table concept assists the individual participant to get back on a spiritual path enabling them to properly participate in a unified board, subsequently exorcized of the devils: selfishness, parochialism, ignorance, and negative politics. The theme is layered 14 upon the concept of the quests of the Knights of the Round Table such that the board and its new operating procedure like the phalanx are captivated with the experience and the new vision of their individual roles. The members of the round table as a result of the new wisdom including self-knowledge, knowledge of appropriate phalanx participation can produce results for a firm or organization far beyond what is currently possible. It can be a unifying quest and vision, strengthening participation through increased participation by empowered and similarly spirited individuals.
It is my understanding that the majic and ritual of the roundtable is based upon the works of the gnostics and the work of the gnostics implies some levels based upon the development of the individual. The levels 15 are defined below:
Stage: Primitives
Characteristics
No Self concept. Ego so weak as to make it impossible for the primitive to distinguish betwixt the real world and the projections from their unconscious. The primitive projects themselves on the world and then identify with those projections. No sense of individuality, "herd animals." Subject to complete domination by the phalanx.
Stage: Ancients
Characteristics
Ego stronger to the point that it can somewhat separated from the unconscious; but not so-much as to avoid maintaining it via ritual, and/or religion. The ancients are still mainly unconscious as individuals and they worship gods distinguished from themselves (first individuation step).
Stage: Moderns
Characteristics
Fully independent ego with complete rejection or demystification of the unconscious. Moderns identify with the control source (the ego), not the world like the primitive. While the modern dismisses the unconscious, they still tend to project it through superstitions and onto each other (shadow). The modern's Ego is an antagonist to the unconscious. I suspect here may lie the greatest distinguishing functional dominance and less adaptable attitude (producing the greatest skill in the use of the style).
Stage: Contemporaries
Characteristics
Fully independent ego with acknowledgment of and consciously seeking a path to the unconscious.
Individual Expectations
I doubt at the board level if we'd run into primitives or ancients (of course I could be wrong), but I am sure the bulk of team members especially at the board level will involve moderns; the ones least likely to accept suggestions regarding getting in touch with the unconscious as the real source of creativity and personal growth, except in the right environment. 16
Threading through the levels (primitive to contemporary [I'd sure like to have better names for the levels]) includes level of consciousness and adult maturity (individuation in Jungian terms). What I am suggesting here is efforts that will move individual high-level team members along their individual path to development. This implies the ability to spot them on their path and adeptly directing them to their next steps. I believe this is only possible with their full participation and willingness, but it's doable with some open-mindedness.
Once the individual is conscious of where they are (and aren't) on the path to meaningful self-development, then visualizing individual members within the context of the team goals, strategy, and working environment can result in a working understanding of the fit between the member and the entity.
Conclusion
I believe that the choices facing boards are:
(within the context of the Steinbeck understanding) to maintain the status quo and let the boards and their charge remain a slave to the negative (and possibly positive) whims of their phalanx;
or
to assure the positive phalanx (with the accompanying competition beating consequences) with an objective, effort such as the one I have attempted to describe here.
Notes
1. Joseph Campbell is reported to have had a relationship with John's wife Carol during this time.
2. John Steinbeck, a Biography. The quote is from a letter written by John Steinbeck. The biography was written by Jay Parini and published by Henry Hold (p. 137).
3. A term attributed to Alexander the Great to describe his forming of his troops in defensive positions in a circle with their spears at the ready. To an observer, the resulting formation looked like a spider. Phalanx is the Greek word for spider. Jung refers to the term in his Symbols of Transformation in 1913 thus: "The Macedonian shocktroops when drawn up in battle array were also know as a phalanx, and so is the finger joint." I'll define for the purposes of this paper the term thus: I believe Steinbeck used the term to describe the sometimes autonomous psychology of a group, mob, organization, or collective unit, etc.
4. Letter to George Albee, 1933, Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten, published by Penguin Books. Re methods, the example of the lemmings was used by Steinbeck.
5. So little attention was paid to this profound idea of Steinbeck's that his biographer even neglected to include the term in the index.
6. Steinbeck first uses the term phalanx in a letter to George Albee, another young writer with whom he maintained an correspondence.
7. Bombs Away..., John Steinbeck, Viking Press, p. 14.
8. Ibid. I'd like to note that Steinbeck linked vitality with individualism , a patently Jungian concept. If a human's behavior is self-willed, but willed by the phalanx, there is really no vitality, no individualism, no growth enhancing experiences.
9. He was often accused of being a communist since he was a humanistbecause his writings spoke for social responsibility by selfish people or those intellectually unable to consider a humanist in another fashion. In awarding him the Nobel Prize, the award stated "he had no mind to be unoffending." The strongest argument against this charge is how much he venerated the individual. Individualism and communism are contradictory terms.
10. The tradition of the U.S. Navy is a product of continuation of the tradition of the British Navy which may be several hundreds of years.
11. I borrow the term from a modern computer control system. Previous to this philosophy, computer control systems had sensors and controls communicating with a central command module where all decisions were made to affect system changes. This was somewhat inefficient inasmuch as the command module could only handle a single decision making process at a time. Signals behind the one being acted upon were stacked like the holding pattern of a busy airport. To relieve this and to speed the efficiency of the system, distributed process control is used enabling the majority of point specific decisions to be made at the source of the signal. Only signals with intramural implications would be fed to and handled by the central command unit.
12. Bombs Away, The Story of a Bomber Team. John Steinbeck, Publisher, Viking.
13. Are board members selected for what skills, knowledge, and attributes they may bring to the table?
14. The layering is sufficient to mask the ancient source and yet capable of subliminally playing upon the themes that spark interest and hold fascination.
15. Based upon the description found in the book, The Gnostic Jung, by Rober A. Segal, Published by Mythos, The Princeton/Bollingen Series in World Mythology.
16. I believe the appeal of epics like Star Wars, Star Trek, etc., with all of the ancient themes including spiritual quests, amond the moderns assures that a path to our quest and the necessary spiritual hunger exists.
Copyright 1995 Wesley W. Stillwagon Sr.
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