One of the terms used on this wiki.

I mean: the process and practice of finding common ground between different perspectives on a complex situation; finding ways to make sense of each other's conceptual models, without erasing differences, but generating a wider perspective within which individual perspectives can be inter-related. In my experience, this enriches the understanding and the models on all sides.

Now, December 2023, I must highlight the excellent podcast created by Anna-Marie Swan in dialogue with me around ontological commoning. Listening to this will give you a very rich sense of many connected issues.

I chose this term because it had not been used as that precise phrase before I did in early 2023. The initial expression of this idea was at the entry: 2023-02-22. Later in 2023 I found it becoming increasingly relevant and vital.

“Ontological commoning” just my name for the idea, as it's not completely new or original. I see many similarities in other approaches. I choose to use the name to point out that disagreement and conflict are often at the ontological level, and can be addressed there, too.

• the late Silke Helfrich on commoning either directly on YouTube or with a transcript on the P2P Foundation wiki.
• research from UC Berkeley why we disagree so often (via Greater Good)
• Adversarial Collaboration I see as closely related.

I also have documented the single term ontology, where I briefly explain the two sides to ontology and how I relate them together.