Spiral Dynamics is a theory that describes the evolution of the intelligences that are adapted at the individual and societal level. It describes distinct stages of growth that both individuals and societies go through. Characteristically, each stage of growth solves problems that were left unresolved from the previous stage, while in the process creating new, typically more complex problems. A common characteristic of each stage of growth and formulation of new "intelligence" is a belief that the new stage is superior to and should replace the previous stage. In contrast, more developed so-called "integral" stages of development recognize that each stage of development represents intelligences adapted for a specific environment or "life condition". The integral perspective views each stage with validity, and seeks only healthy expressions of whatever intelligences have been adopted based on life conditions, as opposed to unhealthy expressions that commonly associate with each stage.
The integral perspective provides a flexible conceptualization of different technologies. It offers a process-oriented perspective where newly adopted intelligences should transcend but include previous intelligences, as opposed to attacking or replacing them.
In the contex of technology, the integral prespective as it relates to Virtuoso recognizes that software development technologies represent holons of hierarchical complexity. Pro-code technologies, programming languages, and frameworks, in their variety and sophistication, are suitably adapted for the variety of use cases for which they were developed. They are whole in and of themselves, yet from the high level of abstraction that Virtuoso infrastructure creates, another emergent unique level of software technology produces distinct composable parts that can be used to create whole software applications.