The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy - Living Experientially in a World of Uncertainty - Robert M. Ellis
a. Optionality and Adaptiveness
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
Provisionality helps us positively look beyond absolutization by having alternative options available. These options may or may not be consciously considered, but are possible channels for our desires. Having greater optionality enables adaptivity, in the sense of helping us meet a variety of needs in changing and unpredictable conditions. These further options can also be seen as a range of weak links in our neural networks. Provisionality is compatible with decisiveness, because time-framing is one of the conditions we need to address (considering the maximum range of options) in judgement.