ABSTRACT
A ‘plateau’ is a space where forces interact with one another in a relatively
stable way, without interference from outside. Conditions may change, but the
changes will be worked out from within. Emergent phenomena are produced,
but the system is not given a purpose from beyond itself, nor is it cut off to suit
the needs of something outside. There is an idea of perpetual stability, so that
one could wander away from it and return and find it much the same as before.
It is associated with meditative states of mind, or indeed with catatonia, as a
