Overlapping Consensus
Updated 2026-08-05
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
John Rawls's overlapping consensus holds that in a pluralistic society people who hold different religious, philosophical, or moral doctrines can, from their own reasons, support the same principles of political justice. The doctrines differ like circles that share a common area, the constitution or basic law. The key condition is that the consensus covers political principles, not comprehensive worldviews; deep disagreement is allowed while surface rules are shared.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Common ground search: look for the same conclusion reached from different reasons. - Rule design: draft rules that each camp can endorse on its own terms. - Depth tolerance: leave comprehensive belief alone and hold only the surface principle in common.
Anchor fast decisions
Rawls argued that in a pluralistic society, reasonable people need not share a doctrine in order to share a principle. Each party finds its own reasons to endorse the same political rule, so agreement is built on difference rather than on forced unity, which is why the consensus holds without erasing the disagreement beneath it.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overlapping_consensusverified
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