Can you think of ‘person’, ‘God’ or ‘nature’ as a matter of shades of grey rather than black and white? Incrementality means thinking in degrees of qualities rather than absolute things which are present or absent. If we are trying to judge from experience rather than dogma we need to try to think incrementally, and this can make our beliefs more adequate as well as overcoming entrenched conflicts.
This is the fourth video in the Middle Way Philosophy introductory course.
Some suggested reflection questions:
- Think of an example of an opposed pair of terms that you frequently absolutise. Can you work out how they could be incrementalised?
- How do you think incrementalisation might help you in a practical situation: for example, resolving a dispute?
- Do you still find yourself assuming there are some opposed terms that can’t be incrementalised? (This may require further philosophical exploration and discussion to be resolved)
Suggested further reading:
Middle Way Philosophy I: 1d & 4a
Middle Way Philosophy IV: Section 4 discusses a whole set of different pairs of opposed metaphysical beliefs and how they may be integrated.