Human Development: Soma, Psyche, and Pneuma Stages

Human Development: Soma, Psyche, and Pneuma

The tripartite nature of man—soma, psyche, and pneuma—is inherent in its evolution, development, growth, and maturation. Authentic human development is not merely the accumulation of years, indicated by chronological age, but the evolution of the guiding principle that directs and governs. Thus, childhood is characterized by the mastery of the soma over the other two components; youth, by the domain of the psyche; and maturity, by the domain of the pneuma over the other two components.

Maturation is contained within the very nature of form and is the evolution of man towards the pneumatic. This somatic evolution is achieved by denying the immediately preceding stage. In this evolution, we are driven by the brain from the body, moving from "should" to "want." We note this personal evolution when our being passes from the somatic to the psychic, doing things out of duty without trouble, and the passage of the psychic being to the pneumatic when we do things not out of duty but because we want to. Only then are we happy doing things, a symptom of true maturity. The individual always carries a portrait of maturing, so a chronologically adult child or adolescent sometimes behaves, refusing to ripen.

Maturation occurs through three periods:

1. Somatic Period (Childhood)

This period is typical of childhood, with mastery of the drives over others. The child's somatic awareness of good and evil, of self, of others, and the world around them is determined by their parents. From the first months of life, the child acquires the meaning of good and evil, their image of themselves and the world, through the facial expressions and voice of approval and disapproval from their parents.

2. Psychic Period (Youth)

In this period, the individual lives within society, a group, or family and tries to fulfill their role well. They act following the inclinations of the psyche with respect to duty, seeking to please others and be approved by them. They do not act according to their own conscience but rather by the group, family, or society, seeking to be considered a good person, looking for social success, prestige, or selfish fame. It is a stage that is somewhat false and hypocritical, where, even when offering help, they do everything while constantly complaining or murmuring.

3. Pneumatic Period (Maturity)

This period is characterized by self-awareness. The individual acts out of their own conscience, having a real awareness of self, of good and evil, based on wisdom. It involves the departure from the ego to settle in the world of the other, leading to altruism. It is when one thinks about others without self-interest, without trying to aggravate them, and even against one's own interest. Guided by their own conscience, regardless of the opinion of others, this is certainly difficult and unique to inner maturity, the result of security. This period seeks the interest of others, not approval, and is sometimes shown in a hard and dry manner (as Plato said about eros). The characteristic way of mature inner being is following the principle of justice, which has two faces: do unto others what you would not want them to do to you, and do unto others what you would want them to do to you. The first face is to avoid evil, and the second is to do good.