The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy - Living Experientially in a World of Uncertainty - Robert M. Ellis
c. Responses to Intractability
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
Conflicts may be intractable because at least one side lacks motive or perhaps capacity to resolve them. At times practical situations require the use of power to impose our will, which can be justified by greater integration of judgement, but this should not be used as a shortcut. Intractable conflict can be addressed by using an array of different types of context, often in combination through practices that use them. These contexts may be locked together, but opening up one of them can breach the absolutizing of the conflict.