Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
‘Judgement’ refers to all the different responses we have to the world at successive moments. These can be very large (your career) or small (which thing to eat first on your plate). They involve choices, but also interpretations. They are just as much ’emotional’ responses as ‘cognitive’ ones, and they are not necessarily ‘judgemental’.
Being aware of these judgements and changing them is the basis of Middle Way practice. The focus on judgement is a central part of its practicality, and contrasts with making claims about the universe – ones that we do not need to make to improve our judgement. The focus on judgement distinguishes a Middle Way approach from many other approaches, which rely on shortcuts or absolutisations that distract us and don’t actually improve our judgement. These shortcuts in belief should not be confused with sources of inspiration.
This is the third of a series of short stimulus talks by Robert M. Ellis for the Middle Way Network, and is followed by discussion. For more about the Middle Way Network see middlewaysociety.org/events/middle-way-network/.
‘Judgement’ refers to all the different responses we have to the world at successive moments. These can be very large (your career) or small (which thing to eat first on your plate). They involve choices, but also interpretations. They are just as much ’emotional’ responses as ‘cognitive’ ones, and they are not necessarily ‘judgemental’.
Being aware of these judgements and changing them is the basis of Middle Way practice. The focus on judgement is a central part of its practicality, and contrasts with making claims about the universe – ones that we do not need to make to improve our judgement. The focus on judgement distinguishes a Middle Way approach from many other approaches, which rely on shortcuts or absolutisations that distract us and don’t actually improve our judgement. These shortcuts in belief should not be confused with sources of inspiration.
This is the third of a series of short stimulus talks by Robert M. Ellis for the Middle Way Network, and is followed by discussion. For more about the Middle Way Network see middlewaysociety.org/events/middle-way-network/.
