Alternative Dispute Resolution
Jun. 26, 2026
Principle, curiosity and the ground beneath a mediation
Effective mediation requires parties and counsel to balance principle with practical awareness, shifting between abstract conviction and grounded analysis to reach better, more strategic settlements.
Thales of Miletus is regarded by many as the first Western philosopher. In the Theaetetus, Plato relates the tale of how Thales was once so absorbed gazing upward at the heavens, so fixated on the order of the cosmos, that he did not see a well in his path and consequently fell into the well. A nearby servant is said to have laughed at the philosopher who could not see what lay beneath his own feet.
The story, repeated throughout the ages, has oft...
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