All posts by Robert M Ellis

About Robert M Ellis

Robert M Ellis is the founder of the Middle Way Society, and author of a number of books on Middle Way Philosophy, including the introductory 'Migglism' and the new Middle Way Philosophy series published by Equinox. A former teacher, he now runs a retreat centre in Wales, Tirylan House, and is in the process of creating a forest garden there.

Network Stimulus 5: Scepticism

Middle Way Philosophy, Network Stimulus, Philosophy, Scepticism, Skepticism

The next main meeting of the Middle Way Network will be on Sun 19th July at 7pm UK time on Zoom. This begins a new phase of the stimulus talks, which will be looking successively at five principles of the Middle Way (scepticism, provisionality, incrementality, agnosticism and integration), followed by three levels of practice (desire, meaning and belief).

There’ll be a short talk on the scepticism, followed by questions and discussion in regionalised breakout groups. Some other regionalised groups will meet at other times. If you’re interested in joining us but are not already part of the Network, please see the general Network page to sign up. To catch up on the previous session, on the focus on error, please see this post.

There is already a short introductory video (8 minutes) on scepticism as part of Middle Way Philosophy, which is embedded below. You might like to watch this for an initial orientation before the session.

Here are some brief details, stimulus questions and suggested reading for this session. The video of the talk and initial questions will also be posted here after the meeting.

Scepticism

Scepticism (spelt ‘skepticism’ in the US) is often misunderstood to be a negative position, but it merely consists of a set of arguments that remind us of uncertainty. These arguments need to be applied consistently (rather than selectively) to be helpful, and they show the uncertainty of negative claims (e.g. denying the existence of something) as much as of positive ones. It’s thus a prompt to recognising that we ‘don’t know’ in a balanced way, not to assuming the opposite absolute belief to the one we are doubting. Scepticism is also unfairly associated with indecision and impracticality, when recognising the limitations of the justification of our beliefs is actually a more practical long-term approach than assuming that you have the whole picture.

These misunderstandings of the implications of scepticism have had negative effects on our thinking for a long time. Facing up to the radical power of scepticism is thus one of the starting points for challenging the power of absolutism on both sides, so as to boost our understanding of the Middle Way.

Some suggested questions:

  1. Does this present a different view of scepticism to the one you hold or have held? If so, what is or has been your view of it?
  2. Can you suggest an example of a belief in which you have great confidence, but may nevertheless possibly be wrong?
  3. Can you also suggest a belief that you confidently deny, but which may nevertheless possibly be correct?
  4. Can you see a practical value in leaving open that possibility in both cases?

Suggested further reading:

Network Stimulus 4: Focus on Error

Middle Way Philosophy, Network Stimulus

The next main meeting of the Middle Way Network will be on Sun 28th June at 7pm UK time on Zoom. There’ll be a short talk on the focus on error as our fourth criterion for the Middle Way, followed by questions and discussion in regionalised breakout groups. Some other regionalised groups will meet at other times. If you’re interested in joining us but are not already part of the Network, please see the general Network page to sign up. To catch up on the previous session, on the focus on judgement, please see this post.

Here are some brief details, stimulus questions and suggested reading for this session. The video of the talk and initial questions will also be posted here after the meeting.

Focus on error

The focus on error refers to the ways that we can be more confident in judging errors than we can in finding completely correct positive values. At a later time when we’re more aware, we can judge that we made a mistake in the past by limiting or absolutising our judgement. Positive values, on the other hand, are very subject to confirmation bias, where we get attached to one sort of positive ideal and perhaps have difficulty recognising alternatives.

Most political, religious, or other ideologies rely on appealing to a positive value (e.g. Enlightenment, God, Justice, Freedom), which is then in danger of justifying inflexible beliefs. The Middle Way, however focuses on how we judge rather than what we judge, whatever the values we are applying. The values we favour may well be good ones to apply to a particular situation, but our judgements about how to apply them will be less adequate if we’re not also aware of the dangers of interpreting them in fixed ways.

Stimulus questions These can be used in the group discussions if you wish.

  1. Can you identify specific errors in your past experience, in the sense of judgements you have made that you now recognise were based on over-narrow assumptions?
  2. What sorts of positive ideals do you find most inspiring?
  3. In what ways could the positive ideals that you find inspiring be interpreted narrowly and thus be less adequate? What other values might they come into conflict with, that you might need to recognise?

Suggested further reading/ listening

Migglism chapter 3 (4 in e-book), first section, ‘Avoiding metaphysics’

MWS Podcast 125: Arie Kruglanski on close-mindedness and the Middle Way (there is also a discussion in the comments between Kruglanski and me)

Middle Way Philosophy 1, 4.g. ‘Objectivity, adaptivity and evolution’

The Buddha’s Middle Way 7.e ‘Alternative Sources of the Middle Way: Scientific Falsificationism’

Network stimulus 3: Focus on Judgement

Middle Way Philosophy, Network Stimulus

The next main meeting of the Middle Way Network will be on Sun 14th June at 7pm UK time on Zoom. There there’ll be a short talk on the focus on judgement as our third criterion for the Middle Way, followed by questions and discussion in regionalised breakout groups. Some other regionalised groups will meet at other times. If you’re interested in joining us but are not already part of the Network, please see the general Network page to sign up. To catch up on the previous session, on the aspiration to universality, please see this post.

Here are some brief details, stimulus questions and suggested reading for this session. The video of the talk and initial questions will also be posted here after the meeting.

Focus on judgement

‘Judgement’ refers to all the different responses we have to the world at successive moments. These can be very large (your career) or small (which thing to eat first on your plate). They involve choices, but also interpretations. They are just as much ’emotional’ responses as ‘cognitive’ ones, and they are not necessarily ‘judgemental’.

Being aware of these judgements and changing them is the basis of Middle Way practice. The focus on judgement is a central part of its practicality, and contrasts with making claims about the universe – ones that we do not need to make to improve our judgement. The focus on judgement distinguishes a Middle Way approach from many other approaches, which rely on shortcuts or absolutisations that distract us and don’t actually improve our judgement. These shortcuts in belief should not be confused with sources of inspiration.

Stimulus questions. These can be used in the group discussions if you wish.

  1. Think of some recent judgements in your own experience – large or small. How did you make them? Are you satisfied with them?
  2. What role, if any, did either practical or absolute beliefs play in your recent judgements?
  3. How much do you generally focus on what is practically required to change your judgement on things, rather than distracting beliefs?

Suggested further reading

‘Judgement’ (webpage)

‘The Buddha’s Middle Way’: 1.h (Awakening: Meaning versus belief) and 4.b (The ontological obsession)

Network Stimulus 2: Aspiration to Universality

Middle Way Philosophy, Network Stimulus

The next base meeting of the Middle Way Network will be on Sun 31st May at 7pm UK time on Zoom. There there’ll be a short talk on the aspiration to universality as our second criterion for the Middle Way, followed by questions and discussion in regionalised breakout groups. Some other regionalised groups will meet at other times. If you’re interested in joining us but are not already part of the Network, please see the general Network page to sign up. To catch up on the previous session, on practicality, please see this post.

Here are some brief details, stimulus questions and suggested reading for this session. The video of the talk and initial questions will also be posted here after the meeting.

Aspiration to Universality

The belief that you have a universal position (the ‘truth’, ‘knowledge’, ‘metaphysics’) can easily be dogmatic, not taking your limiting assumptions into account. However, the Middle Way is not just a relativist position in which we deny the possibility or meaningfulness of universality. Rather, we need to maintain an aspiration to universality to keep motivating us to try to see a bigger picture than our current one, whilst also recalling that we don’t have the total picture. Keeping those two things in tension is central to the Middle Way, and any approach that fails to maintain it won’t be a Middle Way approach, even if it uses related language.

Stimulus questions: these can be used in the group discussions if you wish.

  1. In what ways is universality meaningful for you? Are there particular universal symbols that inspire you?
  2. What would be some examples in your experience of universal ideas that started off being inspiring and practical, but became dogmatic?
  3. How do you think practices can help you to keep universality meaningful without assuming that your position is universal?

Suggested further reading

More accessible: ‘Migglism’ Chapter 3 (ch.2 in e-book), first three sections

More challenging: Middle Way Philosophy 1, section 4 ‘Aspects of Objectivity’

For details of my argument that the traditional Buddhist account of the Middle Way is insufficiently universal, see ‘The Buddha’s Middle Way’, section 4

Somatic Meditation with Darren Gibbs

Meditation, Practice, Video

In this session on active somatic meditation, Darren Gibbs shares techniques that will enable you to experience meditation directly – and direct meditation experientially. Darren Gibbs is a Certified Clinical Somatic Educator and with over twenty years experience of teaching embodied practices throughout the UK and internationally. For more about his work, see http://http://activesomatics.co.uk/. This session was recorded on Zoom from the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way, 18th April 2020.