Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.

It can sometimes seem inelegant or lacking in simplicity, and eclectics are sometimes criticized for lack of consistency in their thinking. It is, however, common in many fields of study. For example, most psychologists accept certain aspects of behaviorism, but do not attempt to use the theory to explain all aspects of human behavior. A statistician may use frequentist techniques on one occasion and Bayesian ones on another.

Eclecticism was first recorded to have been practiced by a group of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers who attached themselves to no real system, but selected from existing philosophical beliefs those doctrines that seemed most reasonable to them. Out of this collected material they constructed their new system of philosophy. The term comes from the Greek "ἐκλεκτικός" (eklektikos), literally "choosing the best" and that from "ἐκλεκτός" (eklektos), "picked out, select". Well known eclectics in Greek philosophy were the Stoics Panaetius and Posidonius, and the New Academics Carneades and Philo of Larissa. Among the Romans, Cicero was thoroughly eclectic, as he united the Peripatetic, Stoic, and New Academic doctrines. Further eclectics were Varro and Seneca.

Silver RavenWolf (born September 11, 1956), born Jenine E. Trayer, is an American New Age author and lecturer who focuses on Neopaganism.

RavenWolf was a member of the Serpent Stone Family, and received her Third Degree Initiation as a member of that coven. She is the leader of the Black Forest Circle and Seminary, an organization containing several covens spanning the United States and Canada. She has appeared as a lecturer and workshop facilitator at events in the Neo-Pagan community. She has been active in Wiccan anti-discrimination issues. She is also a Powwower, having adopted the Pennsylvania Dutch practice in a neo-Pagan context.

RavenWolf is the author of seventeen books on Wicca and Paganism in general. She has also written several novels. Currently, her books have been translated into Czech, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Hungarian and Portuguese. She is the director of the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance Midnight Drive.

She is married and has four children. She currently resides in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.

Christopher Scott Thile ( /ˈθiːliː/ THEE-lee; born February 20, 1981) is an American musician, best known as the mandolinist and a singer for the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek.

The three members of Nickel Creek met in Carlsbad, California at That Pizza Place in 1989, listening to weekly bluegrass shows with their parents. Soon they were taking lessons and then playing festivals, and even recording albums. Their first, Little Cowpoke, was released in 1994. Nickel Creek has gone on to record several more albums, including their self-titled debut album and This Side, which went platinum and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2005, Nickel Creek released Why Should the Fire Die?, which received massive critical acclaim and sold 250,000 units.

Thile has released other solo albums, including Not All Who Wander Are Lost, released in 2001, and Deceiver in 2004 (in which he wrote, composed, sang, and played every part). In 2008, Thile released a collaboration album with bassist Edgar Meyer, and also plans to release a collaborative album with Hilary Hahn.

Nico Muhly /ˈniːkoʊ ˈmjuːli/ (born August 26, 1981, in Vermont) is a contemporary classical music composer, who has worked and recorded with classical and pop/rock musicians. He currently lives in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan in New York City.

Muhly was born in Vermont and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Bunny Harvey, is a painter and teacher at Wellesley College, and his father, Frank Muhly, is a documentary filmmaker.

As a child, Muhly sang in the choir at Grace Episcopal Church in Providence, and he started to study piano at 10.

Muhly went on to study at The Wheeler School in Providence, then moved on to Columbia University where he got his undergraduate degree in English and to the Juilliard School where he graduated with his Master's degree in Music and studied composition with John Corigliano and Christopher Rouse.

In 2005, Muhly was commissioned by Colorado Academy, a private school in Colorado, to write a song for the opening of their new Fine Arts building.

Casey Spooner (born February 2, 1970) is an American artist and musician. He was born in Athens, Georgia and resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Spooner is openly gay. While attending the Art Institute of Chicago he met Warren Fischer. The two went on to cofound Fischerspooner in New York in 1998.

Spooner has submitted works for Deitch Projects and an album by R.E.M. A promotion for Fischerspooner's second album included an art Salon/Art Exhibition of all the images used in making of the album, this has since been linked to Warhol.

Spooner has contributed and worked on shows with Doorika, a performance arts collective based in Chicago and New York City.

Casey joined experimental New York performance ensemble The Wooster Group in 2007, taking on the role of Ophelia's brother Laertes in their production of Hamlet (which featured two Fischerspooner songs that were composed for the show). During this time, he also began work on a third Fischerspooner album (with Warren Fischer).Entertainment was released in North America via the band's own label FS Studios on May 4, 2009, produced by Jeff Saltzman (The Killers, The Black Keys, The Sounds). An American and European Tour, known as Between Worlds, continued all through 2009. Like in other Fischerspooner's performances, Spooner was the main figure of the show.