Neither/nor: a pragmatic philosophy for oscillating between conceptual and experiential knowledge

Neither theory nor practice alone is sufficient for personal flourishing or scientific inquiry; the two are complementary skills that can be deliberately trained and oscillated. A latent preference for abstract concepts over direct experience—termed "latent Platonism"—contributes to personal suffering and intellectual dead ends. The paper illustrates this through Type I diabetes management, where constant negotiation between abstract formulas and embodied experience is required. Five practical principles are offered: regard concepts and experience as trainable skills; commit to oscillation between them; prioritize relations and processes over objects and states; embrace trial-and-error learning; and employ conditional historicism over linear causal thinking. The framework aims to reduce suffering, enhance inquiry, and provide a pragmatic methodology for evaluating philosophical positions.

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Abstract

Abstract This paper presents “ Neither/Nor ,” a philosophical synthesis which defines conceptual and experiential modes of knowing as complementary skills which can be deliberately trained and oscillated. The paper argues that neither theory (concepts) nor practice (experience) alone can suffice for desirable outcomes in personal flourishing or scientific inquiry. Drawing from Western and Eastern philosophical traditions—from ancient skepticism and Buddhism to modern pragmatism and cognitive science— Neither/Nor proposes that “latent Platonism,” the unconscious preference for abstract concepts over direct experience, contributes to both personal suffering and intellectual impasses. The paper begins with a concrete example of Type I diabetes management, demonstrating the constant negotiation between abstract formulas and embodied experience required by the disease, before providing five practical principles: (1) regard concepts and experience as trainable skills; (2) commit to oscillation between skills; (3) prioritize relations and processes over objects and states; (4) embrace trial-and-error learning; and (5) employ conditional historicism over linear causal thinking. The Neither/Nor framework demonstrates how these principles can reduce personal suffering, enhance scientific inquiry, and provide a methodology for evaluating diverse philosophical positions pragmatically. Neither/Nor points towards a way of living rather than merely an abstract theory, contributing to both individual flourishing and more flexible approaches to complex societal challenges.