Reflective equilibrium
Etymology
The term was coined by John Rawls in "A Theory of Justice" (1971), though he credited a similar method to Nelson Goodman. "Reflective" is from Latin "reflectere" (to bend back) and "equilibrium" from "aequi-" (equal) and "libra" (balance) — a balance reached by thought bending back on itself.
noun phrase · /rih-FLEK-tiv ee-kwuh-LIB-ree-um/
The method of adjusting your general principles and particular judgments against each other until they settle into a coherent whole.
What it names
A handle for how careful moral and philosophical reasoning actually settles — reach for it to describe balancing gut intuitions against rules until neither forces a rethink.
Example
Testing her principle against the trolley case, she reached reflective equilibrium only after softening the rule to fit her stubborn intuition.
Related idea
It contrasts with foundationalism, which builds knowledge up from fixed first principles; reflective equilibrium lets both principles and cases be revised.