Beyond Kegan's Fifth Order — The Coral Order examination

Eleven questions. Nine of eleven passes, and you can take it again as often as you like.

What epistemological reason does the module give for not naming a Sixth Order?

The population, protocol, reliability and replication needed do not yet exist Kegan explicitly forbade any later extension of his developmental model, as most beginners are taught to expect Cook-Greuter has already mapped that territory completely Research has shown that a Sixth Order is impossible in principle
What ethical risk does the module associate with claiming a new high-water mark in development?

Researchers lose their funding for studying the earlier stages People stop reading the developmental literature altogether, regardless of how much experience you already have The earlier orders are shown to be scientifically invalid Many adopt the vocabulary as an identity before doing the work
How does the module describe the half-step of '5.5'?

A term chosen to be memorable An average of two nearby orders A placeholder until a Sixth Order Not a compromise but a precision
What can a Fifth-Order person do that a Fourth-Order person cannot?

See how they see, holding several frameworks including their own Distinguish their own needs and wishes from the world Reflect on relationships and navigate conflicting loyalties Author their own values independently of what others expect, regardless of how much experience you already have
What limit of the Fifth Order does the module identify?

It is unable to revise any of its own beliefs A witness, a centre of observation, still remains It is unable to hold paradox for any length of time It cannot relate to other people's perspectives
In the movement toward 5.5, what begins to become object?

The need for relational belonging and validation The structure of having a subject pole at all Another layer of ideological framework and belief The child's impulses and passing fantasies
Why does the module say the Fifth-to-5.5 shift has no name yet?

Giving it a name would breach the ethics of developmental research, as it is commonly taught elsewhere The subject-object distinction that names shifts is itself being transformed No one has yet reported experiencing anything beyond the Fifth Order Kegan's publisher declined to print a name for the new territory
At 5.5, what happens to capacities such as self-authorship and multiple-framework thinking?

They disappear entirely as the ordinary sense of self dissolves They regress to the simpler forms of earlier orders They become stronger, more rigid and more defended They remain, available as instruments rather than structures
What is 'translucent agency' in the Luminous somatic extension?

Responsive action that needs no stable self-image as its launching pad A passive, inert state in which no action is taken by the body Agency that can only be exercised through other people, particularly when the pressure is highest A complete loss of the ability to make choices or discern
How does the module describe the relationship between development and nondual traditions?

Competing explanations, one of which must in the end be false One map in which nonduality is a pleasant state Two maps of one mountain, drawn from opposite slopes Separate subjects that share no common territory
Someone without stable Fifth-Order capacity experiences their sense of witness dissolving. How does the module say this tends to be experienced?

As no noticeable experience of any kind As an immediate increase in self-authorship As anxiety, depersonalisation or disorientation As a smooth, joyful and immediate arrival at Order 5.5