Absolutization: The Source of Dogma, Repression, and Conflict

by Robert M. Ellis

What do dogma, repression and conflict have in common? They all result from human judgement blocked from wider understanding by a false assumption of completeness. This book puts forward a theory of absolutization, bringing together a multi-disciplinary understanding of this central flaw in human judgement, and what we can do about it. This approach, drawing on Buddhist thought and practice, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, embodied meaning and systems theory, offers a rigorous introduction to absolutization as the central problem addressed in Middle Way Philosophy, which is a synthetic approach developed by the author over more than twenty years in a series of books. It challenges disciplinary boundaries as well as offering a substantial framework for practical application.

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

Robert M Ellis is the author of more than 20 books on Middle Way Philosophy, which is a practical philosophy focused on making the most of our experience in all our judgements. Initially inspired by the Buddha's Middle Way and Buddhist practice, he completed a Ph.D. on the Middle Way in 2001 that marked the beginning of his work exploring the universal Middle Way in relation to Western philosophy, psychology, systems, embodiment, and a range of other disciplines. He is now on the second wave of development of Middle Way Philosophy, in a new series being published by Equinox, beginning with 'Absolutization' (2022) and 'The Five Principles of the Middle Way'. (2023) He has also published books about the Middle Way in relation to Buddhism, Christianity, and Jungian archetypes, as well as the introductory book 'Migglism' (2014), the short argument 'Buddhism and God' (2021), parable fiction, and poetry. He now lives in Wales, where he runs a retreat centre and is cultivating a forest garden.

Reviews

[Joshua R. Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A triumphant synthesis by Robert Ellis of multiple ideas or schools of thought that I had previously read and found interesting -- with the bits that I often found 'questionable' repurposed or ironed out.

Ideas including (at the random order they appear coming out of my head):
- Buddhist philosophy
- Systems thinking
- Non-violent communication
- Jungian psychonalysis
- The growth mindset

Each of these held a nugget of value from my previous studies of them, but all can find relations with the concept of 'absolutization'.

Absolutization is the process of producing absolute beliefs about our experience because we believe we have the full picture of what is going on in that experience. The key parable of the idea being the 'Elephant and the blind men', where a group of blind men try to understand what an elephant is by each examining a different part of it -- and each man generalises their beliefs about the elephant based on that. For example, one man feels the tail of the elephant and concludes that an elephant is 'like a snake'.

This book dives deep into the topic and sets the stage for the reaction to absolutization, which is 'middle way philosophy'. The book probably does not serve well as a basic introduction to middle way philosophy for the lay person. However if you want to jump in the deep end or have intentions to write on the topic, then it won't leave you wanting.

Looking forward to my further study in this series and embedding the knowledge into my everyday judgements. I have much to learn.