The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy - Living Experientially in a World of Uncertainty - Robert M. Ellis
g. Scepticism Applies to Values and Facts
The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy - Living Experientially in a World of Uncertainty - Robert M. Ellis
Robert M. Ellis [+]
Middle Way Society
Robert M. Ellis is author of a range of interdisciplinary books on Middle Way Philosophy, both within and beyond Buddhism. These have included The Buddha’s Middle Way: Experiential Judgement in His Life and Teaching (Equinox Publishing, 2019) and Archetypes in Religion and Beyond: A Practical Theory of Human Integration and Inspiration (Equinox Publishing, 2022). He is also founder of the Middle Way Society and of Tirylan House Retreat Centre in Wales.
Description
Scepticism challenges the assumption of an absolute distinction between facts and values, given that both kinds of belief are not denied but incrementally justified (even if asymptotically for some obvious factual statements). Both factual and value claims depend on human goals and assumed states of affairs that depend on those goals. The particularity of values does not make them ‘subjective’. Moral beliefs, like factual ones, become more justified as they are more integrated.