Method
Reflective Equilibrium
Classification
- Method family
- argumentative
- Domains
- Political Philosophy
Overview
Reflective equilibrium revises considered judgments, general principles, and relevant background theories until they support one another coherently.
Purpose. The method seeks justified coherence without treating either particular judgments or abstract principles as unrevisable foundations. Equilibrium is a revisable result of inquiry, not mere agreement with one's starting intuitions.
Characteristic operations
- Gather considered judgments: Begin with case judgments made under conditions suitable for reflection.
- Formulate principles: Identify general rules that could explain and organize those judgments.
- Locate conflicts: Compare judgments, principles, arguments, and relevant background theories.
- Revise in either direction: Change a judgment, principle, or theory where doing so improves the whole.
- Test the wider view: Consider serious alternatives before treating the resulting coherence as adequate.