The Ladder of Engel

This concept definitely does not originate from me but from modern Christian thought. However, I have expanded on this idea.

The original concept: The Ladder of Engel describes the model that every person is on a step in their development. The scale starts at minus 5 or so and goes up to 5. At 0 are the people who have accepted the Christian God as their savior and trust him. The model is not only meant to encourage people to convert to Christianity but also to improve from a -5 to a -4. That is, from being hostile to God to rejecting God.

I hope I don't lose everyone who is not a Christian. Because the concept is unconsciously applied in other areas as well. This also applies to environmental thinking. In this case, 0 might be more like: I am willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of the planet. And even here, progress is already made when someone moves from "Environmental protection is just political propaganda to raise taxes" to "Environmental protection would be important, but we can't do it."

Therefore, this concept is much more general than it seems at first glance. I suggest not representing your own point of view in discussions or debates but exploring the boundaries of others. Wonderful things happen at the boundaries of knowledge. In this way, you can help the other person develop their own perspective further. You also learn yourself because you already know your own perspective too well, but when you discover the thoughts of others, worlds open up to you. Ideally, your counterpart does the same with you, and you advance your own perspective. You both help each other climb the next rung of the Ladder of Engel. So don't discuss the core points of your differences but the boundaries of what you know.

Moreover, this perspective also helps to avoid unnecessary quarrels. If I ask about the views of the other person, an unreflective cliché answer comes, so I can decide to leave it at that and move on to small talk or dig deeper.