The principle that between truth and falsehood lies an infinite intermediate zone—claims that are partly true, mostly true, true in context, true conditionally, true approximately. The law of the intermediate truth recognizes that most important claims live in this zone, not at the poles. "Vaccines are safe" is not absolutely true (no intervention is 100% safe) but is true enough for practical purposes. "This relationship is good" is not universally true (it has bad moments) but is true in aggregate. The intermediate truth is where most of life happens, and the law that acknowledges it is the foundation of wisdom.
Example: "He asked if the movie was good. She couldn't say yes or no—it was good in parts, bad in parts, good for some audiences, bad for others, good in intention, bad in execution. The law of the intermediate truth gave her language: 'It's on the spectrum of good. Upper half, maybe? Depends what you value.' He wanted a binary; she gave him nuance. He watched it anyway and had his own intermediate experience."
by AbzuInExile February 16, 2026
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