Absolutization - The Source of Dogma, Repression, and Conflict - Robert M. Ellis
Introduction
Absolutization - The Source of Dogma, Repression, and Conflict - Robert M. Ellis
Robert M. Ellis [+]
Middle Way Society
Robert M Ellis has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and a Cambridge BA in Oriental Studies and Theology. Originally from a Christian background, he spent about 20 years practising Buddhism, including as a member of the Triratna Order. However, he now describes himself as a Middle Way practitioner without exclusive loyalty to any one religious tradition. Over the last 20 years he has developed Middle Way Philosophy, initially in his Ph.D. thesis. This is best described as a practical and integrative philosophical approach, incorporating many elements not only from Buddhism but also from psychology, neuroscience, and other aspects of Western thought. In 2013 he founded the Middle Way Society (www.middlewaysociety.org) to develop and apply Middle Way Philosophy beyond the limitations of the Buddhist tradition, both in theory and practice.
Robert has earned a living for more than 20 years as a teacher and tutor of philosophy and related subjects. He has previously published both academic and introductory books about Middle Way Philosophy, and recently a parallel book on Christianity, ‘The Christian Middle Way’.
Description
Absolutization is, broadly speaking, the belief that we have the whole story. It encompasses dogma, bias, fallacy, metaphysics, repression, certainty, projection and addiction, and I’m aiming to show how these phenomena are linked. Finding what these have in common allows us to address them more effectively together, when academic specialists have tended instead to play the blind men and the elephant. This book first connects 23 features of absolutization with 5 different starting point disciplinary areas. It then identifies 4 criteria for any effective response to absolutization.