Approach Duality

The 7 ways of working to promulgate a doctrine can be divided into two sets located along the two diagonals of the TET. These diagonals define the approach duality which identifies two contrasting requirements for a philosophy school-Q5 to flourish:

Engagement Processes

One diagonal from bottom left to top right includes a set that deal with social processes within a School, and it is labelled engagement. These types of work seek to pull individuals into the ambit of the other adherents and generate a vibrant doctrine. To establish such a group, it is necessary to consider and adapt to attitudes, values, and preferences of those involved. The work therefore becomes naturally personalized and politicized to a greater or lesser degree, and this is countered by calls for openness.

In moving up the diagonal, the methods provide increasing transparency as follows:

● Guardianship: Leading thinkers within the School take on the responsibility for uniting existing adherents around the desire for protection and continuity of the orthodox doctrine. While the rationale for this work is explicit, the leaders form a relatively small circle or conclave and their decisions are commonly made without public explanations or right of argument or appeal i.e. transparency is minimal and so politics may be intense.

● Mentoring: Mentoring is semi-private. Engagement takes into account the mentalities and biases of those drawn to the doctrine. The right to mentor or instruct and the right to receive mentoring or instruction may be more or less restricted for a variety of reasons. However, the desire for new adherents ensures some degree of transparency in the process: those on the receiving end wish to be sure they are learning from someone suitable and expert. Mentors and initiates may each share experiences of their engagement within their respective networks.

● Membership: The constitution and rules for running any membership body are open to members' scrutiny. Policies and operations are explicitly debated with the aim of engaging all legitimate adherents, although most details are kept hidden from outsiders. Compromises are intrinsic to handle the diversity of views in any large group. But internal conflicts are often managed politically and factionally in ways which are not fully transparent to all members.

● Application: Application of the doctrine to illuminate common or significant situations and events is presented openly and publiclyin a persuasive way. Everyone is encouraged to read and debate the doctrinal principles and their relevance in public fora and social media. Those interested are also able to go back to the sources to assess the ideas and decide the value of the doctrine for themselves. So transparency is maximal.

Impersonal Accounts

The other diagonal from bottom right to top left includes a set that deals with the subject matter of the doctrine. The focus here is on impersonal and abstract accounts. Adherents are required to communicate principles of the Teaching with clarity. Preferences and biases should be put to one side—or sometimes actively eradicated.

In moving up the diagonal, the work involved becomes increasingly complex as follows:

● Realization: Fundamentals at the root of any doctrine are experiential. Doctrinal principles as cultural assumptions are generalized and simplified essences. When articulated and preserved in a personal account that presents the doctrine, the results are naturally more complex. The aim is to avoid the report being viewed as a function of personality, egoism or bias.

● Dissemination: All educational materials need to be derived from the orthodox Teaching as currently widely understood within the school. Because these materials present generalizations based on numerous accounts, they are more abstract and more jargon-filled and intrinsically more complex.

● Revision: Development of extensions and management of errors is a scholarly task that is expected to be objective, dispassionate, and based in logical thinking within doctrine parameters. Complexity reaches its peak here because of the use of doctrinal assumptions, the making of fine definitions, and sometimes the entry into new areas of study or application. Analyses that deal with seemingly minute inconsistencies or edge cases will seem arcane.

Originally posted: 7-Sep-2022. Last updated: 20-Mar-2024.