Hierarchy of Dominant Ideas
Dominant ideas can be identified at different levels of comprehensiveness, from specific aspects to entire subjects. The hierarchy extends from more specific to more general ideas, and the choice depends on what seems to dominate the issue for the individual.
THE IDEA
Hierarchy of dominant ideas
As soon as one starts picking out dominant ideas one becomes aware that there are different degrees of comprehensiveness of dominant ideas. The dominant idea may include the whole subject or only one aspect of it. Thus from an article on crime one might pick out the following dominant ideas:
Crime.
Behaviour of people.
Violence.
Social structures and crime.
The trend of crime.
What can be done.
Clearly ‘crime’ and ‘the behaviour of people’ are much wider ideas than ‘violence’ or ‘what can be done’ but all of them are valid dominant ideas. There is a hierarchy which extends upwards from the more specific ideas to the more general. In picking out the dominant idea it is not a matter of searching for the most general and most comprehensive idea for this may be so very wide that it is impossible to move outside it at all. In picking out a dominant idea it is not a matter of having to justify to someone else that the idea is the dominant idea which covers the whole situation and which cannot therefore be challenged. It is a matter of picking out an idea which seems (to oneself) to dominate the issue. For instance in the article on crime the dominant idea might have seemed to be ‘the uncertainty about the value of punishment’ or ‘the protection of the rights of a citizen even if he was a criminal’.
When to use it
Structuring a research paper: choose a dominant idea that frames your argument without being too broad.
During a brainstorming session, identify dominant ideas at different levels to ensure comprehensive coverage.
In decision-making, use the hierarchy to focus on the most impactful level of analysis.
When reading an article, practice identifying the author's dominant idea and assess its comprehensiveness.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Analyzing an article on crime
From an article on crime, one might pick out dominant ideas such as 'crime' (broad), 'behaviour of people' (broad), 'violence' (specific), 'social structures and crime' (specific), 'the trend of crime' (specific), 'what can be done' (specific). These ideas occupy different levels of comprehensiveness.
Choosing a dominant idea for a business case study
When analyzing a business case, one could choose a broad dominant idea like 'profit maximization' or a more specific one like 'customer retention'. The choice influences the analysis direction and conclusions.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
When analyzing a complex topic, what different levels of dominant ideas can you identify, from the most specific to the most general?
How does the choice of a dominant idea affect the direction of your analysis or decision-making?
Can you think of a situation where selecting a too-general dominant idea prevented you from exploring specific aspects?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Lateral Thinking A Textbook of Creativity (Edward de Bono)