Proposition, Definition and Inference in Ancient Chinese Philosophy

Author(s): Ningzhong SHI and Zhong YANG

Source: Frontiers of Philosophy in China, Vol. 5, No. 3 (September 2010), pp. 414-431
Published by: Brill
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Front.Philos.China2010,5(3): 414-431
DOI 10.1007/sl1466-010-0106-2

SHI Ningzhong

Proposition,Definitionand Inferencein Ancient

Chinese Philosophy

Verlag2010
© HigherEducationPressandSpringer-

Abstract This articleattemptsto exploreancientChinesephilosophical

thoughtby analyzinghow pioneering Chinesethinkersmadejudgments and
and
inferences, compares it to ancientGreek It
philosophy. first
addressesthe
and
starting-point the of
object cognition in Chineseancientphilosophy,then
analyseshow earlythinkers construed and proposition,
definition and finally
discusseshowtheymadeinferences onthebasisofdefinition
andproposition.It
pointsoutthatcategorizationis an important
methodology in ancientChinese
andthatrectification
philosophy, ofnamesandthedoctrine ofthemeanarekey
inmaking
criteria judgments.

Keywords ancientGreekphilosophy, Lao Zi,

inference,
definition,
proposition,
Mo Zi, Tying
Confucius,

1 Introduction
Proposition anddefinition aremethodological innature.ManyWestern scholars,
andsome Eastern scholars,hold that there havenot been explorations
significant
intomethodology anda methodological systemhas notyetcomeintoexistence
inChina(Yu 2005,pp.41-50). Sucha viewis,regrettably, duetotheabsenceof
in-depth understanding aboutChinaon thepartof foreign scholarsandthelack
ofsystematic studiesonthinking andreasoning byChinesescholars.
Forthesakeofconvenience, theformofthought withdeductivereasoningas
its core is called the Westernway of thinking, whichis, to a greatextent,
influenced byancientGreekcivilization. It mustbe emphasizedatthebeginning
thatthemodeofthinking mode
as I call itis a general ofthinkingcarriedoutby
themajority ofpeople.
Translated by YANG ZhongfromZhexueYanjiu#3MJf ft (PhilosophicalResearches),2009,
(3): 42-50; 2009,(4): 60-67
SHI Ningzhong (El)
SchoolofMathematics Northeast
andStatistics, Changchun130024,China
NormalUniversity,
E-mail:shinz@nenu.edu.cn

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 Definition
Proposition, andInference
inAncientChinesePhilosophy 415

2 TheObjectofCognition
The impression thattherewas no methodological systemin ancientChinamay
be mainlyduetothelackofinterest, onthepartofancient Chinesephilosophers,
in deductivereasoning,whichis preciselywheremethodology in Western
philosophybegan.Whywas thereno interest in it?Theanswerlies intheobject
oftheirthinking. A thinking
modehingeson thesubject.Thethinking modeofa
mathematician is necessarily
differentfromthatofa socialscientist.
Thissection
addressestherelationshipbetween thinking modeandtheobjectofcognition.
Thinking is based on concepts.Man getsto knowtheessentialfeatures of
thingsthrough perception,andthenmakesgeneralizations. Things(objectsand
matters)andtheirrelationshipsarethereforetheprimary objectsofthought.They
generallyinclude three of
categories relationships: interpersonalrelationships;
therelationshipbetweenmanandmatter; andtherelationshipbetweenobjects.
Whatis themainobjectofthinking in ancientChinesephilosophy then?We see
cluesin "Daxue" X¥ ("The GreatLearning"), one of thefourclassicswhich
havegreatlyinfluenced Chinesethought. Hereis a quote:

The investigation
of thingsextendsourknowledge; extension
of knowledge
leadstoabsolutesincerity;
absolutesincerity
rectifies
themind;rectification
of
the mindcultivatesoneself;cultivation
of oneselfregulatesone's family;
ofone'sfamily
regulation helpsto governthestatewell;well-governed
states
pacifytheworld.

Thisquotationwas simplifiedby Zhu Xi as eightsteps,namely, to investigate

to
things, extendknowledge, to be sincerein to
thought, rectifyone's mind,to
cultivate to
oneself, regulateone's to
family, govern thestate well,and to bring
peacetotheworld.It describes
theprocessandeffects ofcognition. The starting
pointoftheprocessis ge wu 4#$3(investigation ofthings).Zhu Xi expounded
ontheidea:

All mindshaveknowledge, everythinghasa principle;

as principles
arenotall
known,learningneverends.In orderto learn"The GreatLearning," learners
neverstopat whatis knownand unceasingly explore the unknown.After
consistent one
efforts, may come to a suddenunderstanding,when onesees the
insideandoutsideofthings
andtheworking ofthemind.Thatis whatis meant
by"investigating
things,"thetruemeaning ofknowledge (Zhu2004,p. 9).

The abovequotegivesa thorough and profound of theprocessof

description
learning.
By "things"Zhu Xi meanttherelationship
frequently betweenpeople,
andoccasionally
therelationship
betweenmanandmatter. Thiscanbe shownin

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416 SHI Ningzhong

tworespects.
Zhu Xi explained"things"mainlyas matter, and "exploringthings"as
"discovering principles."His idea of rationality is based on theprinciples that
regulate interpersonalrelationships and the relationship between man and nature.
WangYangming, a MingDynasty scholar, founded a newschoolthatinterpreted
"The GreatLearning," whichhad a Buddhist flavor.He said,"Matterdoes not
existas an objectofexploration; itis themindthatexplores"(Shi 2008,p. 126).
In termsofknowledge, ZhuXi emphasized gradualenlightenment, whileWang
Yangming emphasizedsuddenenlightenment. Wangdid notfavortheidea of
exploringthingsproposedby Zhu Xi. He advocatedthe righteousness and
sincerity of the mind. However, his of
understanding"things" was the same as
ZhuXi's. He interpreted "things" as "matter." "All happenings in
originate ideas;
eventsthatcomefromideasarecalledthings" (Wang1992,p. 972).
Apartfromtheirinterpretations of "things," we can also makean inference
abouttheobjectsof cognition by analyzingthepurposeof knowledge. In the
"eightsteps"simplified byZhu Xi, we can see causalrelationships. "Exploring
and knowing" lead to "sincerityand rectification," which leads to
"self-cultivationand familyregulation," and subsequently "management of the
and
state, a peacefulworld." in this the
Interpreted way, purpose knowledge of is:
personal moral development, familyregulations, order of the state,and world
peace.Theseareall matters thatrelatetoman.
Methodologically, by placingthinkers as the object of thinking, ancient
Chinesephilosophers putthemselves in a verydifficult position.Consequently,
thereis no boundary betweenthe speculator and the speculated, or to put it
the
simply, boundary between and
subjectivity objectivity is blurred.Peopleall
knowthatwhenoneis involvedina matter, itbecomesmoredifficult toresolve.
Su Shi 3>$£,a greatwriter during theSungDynasty wrotea famous poemwhich
says,"One cannotsee thetruepictureof LushanIfiih,because one is in the
mountain." Thesetwolinesstatea profound philosophical conception. Naturally,
deductivereasoningbased on proposition and definition is rare in ancient
Chinesephilosophical writings. AncientChinesescholarsplacedimportance on
wuxing fn ft (directcomprehension), which is based on personal experience. It
was difficult to definewhatwas beingspeculated. Yet Chinesescholarsdeeply
understand comprehension. It is theoutcomeof thinking, andthinking depends
on "things thataregeneralized." It is hencenecessary to analyzehowtheywere
expressedin ancientChina, for generalization and expressionformedthe
foundation ofthought inancient China.

3 The StartingPointofCognition
How didancientChinesephilosophers thebasicphilosophical
consider question,

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 Definition
Proposition, inAncientChinesePhilosophy
andInference 417

"Howdoesmangainknowledge?" Weall knowthatPlatoandAristotle andtheir

followersdiscussedsimilarquestionsandestablished ancientGreekphilosophy,
which remainsinfluential even today.It is surprising that theirChinese
Lao
counterparts, Zi, Confucius and Mo Zi, went over the same questions.
Systematizing theirthoughts is a daunting task,and sifting through theirmodes
ofthinkingevenmoredifficult. Thedifficulty liesinat leasttwoaspects.Firstly,
theideaswereextremely succinct; theopinionswerestatedquickly, leavingout
supportingdetails. We are,therefore,barely able to accurately see the processof
reasoningandgrasptheconnotations. Secondly, thewritings aremostly jottings
of excellentparagraphs, in whichthelogicalconnection is obscure.It is thus
extremelydifficult forus tofindthreads ofthought inthem.
As pointedout earlier,ancientChinesephilosophers placed importance on
comprehension. This kind of thinking is in line withtheiressays. As the
content
propositional andthelogicalconnection areprofound andsubtle, readers'
is
comprehension absolutelyindispensable;comprehension gives rise to,
conversely,implicitstatements. Consequently, thisway of addressingissues
affects
modesofconstruing information andperpetuates methods ofexploration.
Thistraditionis stillinfluentialtoday.
The tradition is passedon becauseitis effective. Butitmustbe reconsidered
becausecomprehension is afterall based on individual experience. How come
thatwhichis based on individualexperience can be agreedon by others?A
fundamental prerequisite foragreement or consensusis thatall havethesame
starting
point or hold the same value.Now we turnto thestarting pointandits
underlyingthinking mode.
The thought of Lao Zi is mainlyexpressedin his book Lao Zi ^^f (The
Book of MasterLao, or The Classic of theDao and Its Virtue).The opening
paragraphsays:

A Dao thatcan be statedis nota constant

Dao. A namethatcan be namedis
nota constantname.The universeoriginated withoutnames,and all things
cameintobeingwiththeirnames.

Lao Zi didnotexplaina constant Dao or a Dao without a name.Actually,

he
didnotthinksucha Dao couldbe explained.Becausesucha Dao couldnotbe
explained, itis constant.
Hereis an attempttoanalyzeit.
In theexpression we cansee thattheDao is associatedwiththecauseofthings,
forit is theinstantiationof Daos thatcan be stated.Whatcan be statedis the
causeofthings. WhatLao Zi meantby a constant Dao is probablythecauseof
the
causes, primal stateoftheuniverse.
Theprimalstateoftheuniverse is toocomplicatedto say.ButLao Zi triedto
describeit. "Dao gave birthto one, one to two,two to three,and threeto

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418 SHI Ningzhong

everything" {Lao Zi, Chapter 42). Here"one"meansexistence, "onegavebirth

to two"means"fromnilto existence." Withregardtotheoriginoftheuniverse,
scholarsbelievein thebig bangtheory. The gistof thetheory is: Ouruniverse
cameintobeingabout10-15billionyearsago froman explosion.Whatexisted
beforetheexplosionwillneverbe known,norwhatexistedat thepointofthe
explosion.Isn'tthisnil?Lao Zi did notknowthetheory, buthis conclusion is
great.
Lao Zi expounded on Dao totheeffect thatitis ubiquitous andomnipotent. In
facthe construed Dao as thestarting pointofknowing as wellas a criterion
for
judgment.
WithDao as thestarting pointofknowing, Lao Zi described theprincipleof
moraldevelopment, of interpersonal relations,of strategies and tactics,of
governance, etc. Thuswe can see his thinking clearly.His reasoning can be
described as: He first
put forward the conceptof Dao as the of
origin everything,
thenargueditsubiquitousness and omnipotence, and finallydescribedDao in
differentcategoriesforpeopletoabidebyinpractice.
Ifwe compare thistheory withWestern epistemology, we findthatLao Zi and
Greekphilosophers, like Plato and Aristotle,held a similarview regarding a
critical
philosophical question- it is unnecessaryto discuss whether thestarting
pointis correct.Socratessaid,

I thinkyou are awareas studentsof geometry and reckoning,suchsubjects

firstpostulatetheodd and even and thevariousfiguresand threekindsof
anglesandotherthings akintotheseineachbranchofscience,regard themas
known,and,treating themas absoluteassumptions, do notdesignto render
anyfurtheraccountofthemto themselves takingitforgranted
or others, that
theyareobvioustoeverybody (Qtd.inPlato1935,p. 111).

said in his essay"Posterior

Aristotle Analytics","Indeedwe holdnotonlythat
scientific is
knowledge possible, but thatthereis a definitefirstprincipleof
knowledge by whichwe recognizeultimate truths" 1960,p. 39). Lao
(Aristotle
Zi heldthattheconstant Dao cannotbe stated.
We can also see thatChinesephilosophers viewwithregardto
hada different
thefunction ofstartingpoints.Platoand Aristotleemphasized thestartingpoints
ofarguments, whichareconcrete andclearpropositions(forinstance,equivalent
plus equivalentresultsin equivalent,all men are createdequal). Lao Zi
emphasized thestarting pointsofknowing, whichcanbe understood butdifficult
to define.It is due to the differentfunctionsof starting
points that Chinese
epistemologyis quite differentfrom Westernepistemology. Western
epistemology attachesimportance to argument and rationality,while ancient

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 Definition
Proposition, inAncientChinesePhilosophy
andInference 419

Chinese epistemology values comprehension and individualintrospection.

Consequently, theepistemological In theWest,rationality
valuesare different.
andprofoundness are seenas moreimportant, whilein Chinaagreeabilitywith
thecontextis highlyvalued.Methodologically, Westernepistemologyis more
closelyassociatedwithscience,and Chineseepistemology is moreclosely
relatedwiththearts.
Confucius, a contemporary ofLao Zi, putforward ren iZ benevolenceas the
starting
point of hisethicaltheory,which is bestexpressedinhisbookLun Yu i£
iS (The Analects).Although"benevolence" is a moreconcreteconceptthan
"Dao," it is notclearlydefinedin thebook.We can see that"benevolence" is a
starting
point as well as a criterion
forjudging an individual's
behavior.
Similar
tothethinking modeofLao Zi, TheAnalectsalso tellsus what"benevolence is"
in a givencontextor categoryand whatbehavioris not"benevolence." The
character"benevolence" is used66 timesin thebook,touching uponmorethan
40 categories.
Althoughthe startingpointsof knowingare not clearlyargued,their
applications tospecificcontexts areclearlystatedinpropositionsanddefinitions,
towhichwe turninthefollowing section.

4 Propositions
and Definitions
In modernChinese,the copulativeverb shi J^ (be) is veryimportant in
propositionsand definitions.
Its functionis to linkthesubject and thepredicate.
In thissense,itsnegative formis "bushi^ j|," so polarity is expressed by"shi"
or"bushi"inChinesepropositions anddefinitions.
In ancientChinese,propositions couldbe expressedwithout "shi" mostlyin
the pattern"... zhe #, ... ye &," eitheror, also, or none. WangLi ïti
believedthatthecopula"shi"came fromdemonstrative "shf9fromabout100
A.D. (Wang2004,pp.409-410).
When studying propositions and definitions, we mustalso examinethe
negative form of "shi" forthe of
expression polarity is thelinguistic basis of
definitions
andpropositions. "Bai mafei ma" Q^MSr (a whitehorseis nota
horse)is a famousproposition put forward by GongsunLong in the ancient
Chineseclassics,"fei #" is theantonym of "shi" The existenceof "shi" and
"fei"showsthatin ancientChinesetherewas alreadya linguistic foundationfor
propositionsand definitions.
Hu Shi (1999) has analyzedthemeaningof thecharacter "ciffi9in ancient
Chinese.It is composedoftheleftpart,whichmeansto sift,andtherightpart,
whichis similarin meaning to crime.Thewholecharacter originallyreferred to
courtverdict,and now it meansjudgment.Hu supported his analysiswith

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420 SHI Ningzhong

examplesfromTijingIS £5 (The Book of Changes),whichincludessuch

expressions as "gua ci ÍM$" and "yao ci 3t?$." He explainsthatin nature,
is a
"gwa" signwhichbearsmeanings thatneedtobejudgedbytheobserver (Hu
1999,pp. 62-65). Propositions were foundin Chineseclassics,such as The
Analects.
Theprecondition forthejudgment of a propositionis thatthemeaning ofthe
concepts itinvolves are clear.
Otherwise, it is not to a
possible judge proposition,
or to proceedto logical reasoning.The logical expressionthatrevealsthe
conceptual contentis calleddefinition(Jin2005,p. 41). Generally, propositions
and definitions are expressedin similarsentencepatterns, in whichthereis a
linkingverb "sA/."It is therefore verydifficult to distinguish them.It is
surprising that ancient Chinese philosophers clearlyunderstood propositions,
definitionsandinference as earlyas 300 B.C. Hereis a quotation fromMo Jing
W& (MoistCanon):

To arguemeansto tellrightandwrong,to examineandcomparesimilarities

tojudgethecorrespondence
anddifferences, ofnamesandactualities,
andto
and
judgeadvantages disadvantages. One shouldreason analogyand
through
commenton different One
opinions. should defineterms,and express
thoughproperwordingand justification.
standpoints One musttalk in
terms.
categorical

This quotationsummarizesinferenceas understoodby ancientChinese

philosophers,and it is worthyof carefulanalysis.The firsthalfdealswiththe
purpose ofinference, thesecondhalfwithwayofreference. Letus firstfocuson
"defineterms,expressstandpoints, andjustifythem."This generalizes on the
processof inference. The oversuccinctgeneralizationcan be as the
interpreted
following: Clarifytheobjectof theproblemthrough a definition,
expressthe
essence of the problemthougha proposition, and give reasoningthrough
illustration.
Now we can see thatourancestors betweena definition
clearlydifferentiated
anda proposition.
Therewas a disputeovertherelationshipbetween meaning andreferenceboth
intheWestandinChina,buttherewas a difference inthecontentofthedebate.
In China,thedisputebeganwithhowtounderstand A definition
definition. must
contain ThedisputeintheWest
a subjectanda predicate. was abouttheexistence
of thereference of thepredicate.The disputein Chinawas abouttherelative
of
importance naming and reference.This shows thatWesternphilosophy
attachedimportance while Chinesephilosophythe difference
to generality,
between andgenerality.
specificity

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 Definition
Proposition, andInference
inAncientChinesePhilosophy 42 1

Hui Shi MM representedthosewhoemphasized reference.

He analyzed"ten
whichwererecorded
matters," inZhuangZi JET (TheBookofMasterZhuang).
Nowletus lookatthreeofthem:

Supremesize is thatoutofwhichnothing exists;thesmallestis thatin which

nothingexists.An area can extendto a thousandmileswithoutthickness.
Heavenis incontrasttoearth,
hillstopools.

The first tworemind us ofthedefinition ofpointandsurfacein geometry: A

pointis thatwhichhasno parts;a surface is thatwhichhasonlylength andwidth.
Howsimilar arethedefinitions! In thedefinitionsthephysicalpropertiesarewell
grasped. A definition is a kind of generalization,whichis basedon observable
physical properties.
"Supremesize" reminds us of thebig bangtheory, accordingto whichthe
universe is 10-15billionlightyears.Whatis beyondcanneverbe known, orput
simply, theuniverse has no bounds.Does thisnotmean"supreme size"?Master
Hui Shi couldnothaveknownthetheory, buthis generalization
is surprisingly
explanatory. It is a pitythathis worksare no longeraround.Without themwe
cannotknowhowscholarslikehimmadethegeneralization. Thethirdmatter in
thequotation illustrates therelativityof height.The intentionmaybe to draw
attentiontorelativity inmaking propositions.Fromtheabovediscussion, we can
see thatancientChinesephilosophers profoundly understooddefinitions and
propositions.
Theyalso speculated on theexistenceof entities,thefoundation of whichis
spaceandtime.The idea thattimeandspaceareobservable was putforward in
Chinaduring theWarring Statesperiod.Thecharacter "jiu X" stands forlength
oftime,"yu ^" refers tospace.MoistCanoncontains thefollowing:

oftime)refers
"jiu(length topast,todayandmorningandevening,
theelapse
oftime;yu(space)refers
toeast,west,north
andsouth."

Withtheconcepts oftimeandspace,theexistence andrelativity

ofentities
are
easyto accountfor.ExamplesfromZhuangZi showthatancientphilosophers
paidattention
to therelativity
ofexistence intermsoftimeandspace.However,
thepurposeofdefiningis togeneralize,
toconstrue Anoveremphasis
experience.
on relativity
willleadto a neglectofgenerality.As deductive
reasoning
depends
ongeneralconcepts,thiskindofthinking is notdeductive.
GongsunLongrepresented thosewhofocusedon naming. His workshavenot
been well maintained.Some of themwerepublishedas a collectionentitled
Gongsun LongZi '¿tWftrf* (The Book ofMasterGongsunLong),andsomeof
hisideasarefoundinthe"21 matters" inZhuangZi.Manyofthematters arewell

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422 SHI Ningzhong

known.Forinstance, "Ifyoucuta stickintohalveseveryday,

youwillneverstop
cutting."
"ZhiwuLun" ííf$3iß ("On Naming")by GongsunLong is one of themost
importantessayson metaphysicsinancientChinawhichfocuseson definition.
It
is so hardto comprehend thatthereare different by renowned
interpretations
scholars.
Hereis theopeningsectionofTheBookofMasterGongsun Long:

All thingscan be namedexceptnamesthemselves. Without names,things

cannotbe talkedabout.However, iftherewerenothings, howdidnamescome
intobeing?In fact,nameswithout referent do notexist,butthingsexist.It
makesno senseto mix thingswithnames.If thereare no names,entities
cannotfilltheblanks,fora particular entityis nota class. But anyentity
impliesa class. As entitiescannotfulfillthefunctionof names,and things
mustbe called,theremustbe names.Thatis whythingsall havenamesbut
namescannotbe named(Gongsun 2008).

"Namescannotbe named"probably meansthatnamesthemselves arealready

andcannotbe moreabstract.
abstract, Fromthiswe can see thatGongsunLong
emphasizedthe generality
of naming.His idea is verysimilarto Aristotle's
conceptoftheuniversal intheessayOn Interpretation.
expressed

Thereare somethingswhichare universal and someindividual

or singular,
I
accordingly,mean, as theirnatureis such thattheycan or cannotbe
predicatesto numeroussubjects,as "man," for example,and "Callias"
1938,p. 125).
(Aristotle

LikeWestern epistemology, a clearconceptaboutspecificity, and

universality
theelements ofdefinitionwas establishedinancientChinesephilosophy.
thatancientChinesescholarsfocusedmerelyon studying
It is regrettable
relationships
interpersonal andtherelationship betweenmanandnature, paying
no attention to the relationship between Not exploringknowledge
entities.
hindersthe establishment of systematic and logical reasoning.Withclear
on
concepts proposition and definition,how did ancientChinesephilosophers
makeinferences?

as the Basis ofInferenceinAncientChina

5 Categorization
hada clear
In theprevioussectionitis shownthatancientChinesephilosophers
of
understandingpropositions. How did theymake judgmentsaboutthem? How
didthey at
arrive a new from
proposition a givenone? the
Obviously, rationality

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 Definition
Proposition, inAncientChinesePhilosophy
andInference 423

of suchjudgment is opento discussion.But ZhuangZi regarded

thiskindof
as insignificant.
discussion Hereis hisopinion:

If I arguewithyou . . . whocanjudgeourargument? If someoneon yourside

judges, how can thejudgment be reliable? If someone sideswithme,howcan
he makea reliable judgment? Ifsomeoneneither on yoursidenorminemakes
a judgment, howcan we tellwhether it is right?If thereis someoneon both
your sideand mine, how can he make the rightjudgment? Giventhefactthat
you, I and someone else cannot a
judge judgment, who can? ("QiwuLun" in
ZhuangZi)

Thispointofviewis inlinewithhisviewon equality. ZhuangZi discarded the

conceptof Dao as the starting pointof knowingput forward by Lao Zi and
neutralizedrightandwrong.
The abovequotefromZhuangZi raisesa questionaboutreasoning, namely,
whatis theprinciple ofinference? Aristotle
gavetheanswer.He emphasized two
concepts. One is thestartingpoint,whichis obvious,andtheotheris syllogism,
thecoreof deductivereasoning. Syllogismis a modelof inference, including
majorpremises, minor premises and conclusions. A classicexample All men
is:
aremortal;Socratesis a man;Socratesis mortal. "All menaremortal" is a clear
startingpoint,"Socratesis a man"is a clearproposition, and theconclusion is
obviously true.In Section 3, it is pointedout that the of
concept starting point
was established in ancientChina,butthestarting pointswerenotclearlystated.
In Section4, thepointis madethattheconceptsof definition and proposition
werealso established then,buttherelativity ofdefinitions andpropositions was
emphasized. What was the model ofinferenceunder thesecircumstances?
The ancient Chinese philosopherslaid a solid foundationfor
inference- categorization.To makea judgment orinference aboutthings, which
is inherently
complicated, itis absolutely necessary tocategorize themaccording
to somecriteria.Oncethatis done,theprinciple forjudginga category ofthings
canbe formulated. We all knowthatsomething thatcannotbe clearlydescribed
in a broadrangecan be clarified withina narrow range,so longas ithas shared
features.
Therearedifferent waystocategorize things,butthefeatures ortheproperties
of a categorymustbe specified. Once categories are formed, a givenobjector
matter shouldbe putintoa category. Thisidea is foundin "JingXia" ofMoist
Canon:

An ox is different
froma horse.Does it makesenseto say thatthetwoare
different
becausean ox hasteethanda horsehasa tail?No. Bothofthemhave
teethandtail.Theyarenotinthesameclass,foran ox has hornsthata horse

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424 SHI Ningzhong

doesnot.

Certainly, "havinghorns," a feature thatotheranimalsalsohave,cannotdefine

an ox byitself. it is a
Nevertheless, striking feature thatdifferentiatesan ox anda
horse.This exampleshows thatancientphilosophers were concernedwith
categorization. Theyprobably had different epistemological concerns thantheir
Westerncounterparts, who were moreinterested in the relationship between
and
specificity generality. Chinese philosophers showed more interest in the
relationship betweencategories. Theypaid attention to horsesand oxenas two
categories, nottoanimalsas a category. It seemsthatWestern philosophy is more
concernedwith generalizationwhile Chinese philosophymore with
differentiation.Thisdifference canbe further showninthefollowing.
In religion,Godis theobjectofworship intheWest,whileintheEastservices
are conductedfordifferent reasons.In termsof value,Western people seek
universais; Chinese people believe that different localities
have different values
and waysof living.In management, principles that are followed in business,
administration, education, etc.are soughtin Western countries,whilein China
therelationships betweendifferent walksoflifearegivenmoreattention. These
showthattherelationship betweenspecificity and generality is the focusin
Western philosophy whiletherelationship betweencategoriesis thefocusin
Chinesephilosophy.
Theideaofcategorization canbe tracedbacktotheendoftheShangDynasty
and thebeginning of the Zhou. ScholarsbelievethatThe Book of Changes
originated inthatperiod.Methodologically, thebookwasbasedonclassification.
All phenomena wereputinto64 categories, namedgua, each of theminto6
kinds, named yao. Each is
category represented by a combination of linesand
dottedlines. Lines symbolize yang, dotted linessymbolize yin.Yangrepresents
masculine, positivity,
strength; yinrepresents feminine, weakness.
negativity, The
taijitu XWlM(diagram ofthesupreme) resembles thetransformation ofyinand
yang.The book'smainidea is change.The oracleboneswereusedto indicate
whatwouldhappen.
Thetheory ontreatment inChinesemedicine bestillustratesthethinking mode.
It is also basedon categorization. A wellknownprinciple in treatment is called
"treatment basedonan overallanalysisofthepatient's condition." Symptoms are
classified andnamedas theyrelatetothebody'sorgans.Thephysical problem is
identified through seeing,smelling, and
inquiring taking pulse.the It is obvious
thatthemedicalpractice is firstbasedoncategorization.
Thepurposeofcategorization is notonlyto knowhowthingsaresimilar, but
also to differentiatebetweenthings. In orderto better understand categorization
in Chineseepistemology, we need to introduce a new term,distinguishes to

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 Definition
Proposition, andInference
inAncientChinesePhilosophy 425

accountforthestriking feature
thatdifferentiates
twocategories.For example,
"havinghorns" is the that
distinguisher discriminates
an ox froma horse.
This sectiondescribeshow ancientChinesephilosophers categorizethings.
Whatis theoutstanding thinkingmode?And how are inferences madeon the
basisofcategorization?Thefollowingsectionturns
tothesequestions.

Inductionand Analogy
6 The Basis ofCategorization:
Induction is likethisprocessof reasoning: If an elementof a class is foundto
havea particular feature,then it canbe inferred thatall theelements oftheclass
havethatfeature. the
Obviously, precondition of induction is the existence of a
class or category. This kindof reasoningis applicablein understanding the
relationship between things, but it may not work well in dealing with
interpersonal relationships.
Induction is indispensable in categorization, in otherwords,in theprocessof
categorization, induction mustbe used. But inductivethinking is a broader
concept than the inductive method used in sciences. What is meant bya broader
concept of induction is a of
process thinking like this:Based on experience or
observation, a broadcategory is established,thenthesharedfeatures areexplored,
thensubcategories established according tothefeatures. It is necessary to extend
thereference ofinduction. Theinductive method usedinnatural sciencesfocuses
ontheinference offeatures andthenarrives atpropositions. Thebroader concept
ofinduction was widelyusedin thehumanities andsocialsciencesin China.In
thesedisciplines, thephenomena aremorecomplicated, in whichcategorization
is based on features, and subcategories are differentiated withreference to
features.
To illustrate thebroaderconceptof induction usedby Chinesephilosophers,
thesequotations from"Jing Xia" ofMoistCanonareputtogether:

The difficultyof classification

lies in therangeof a category.
For instance,
speaking offour-legged animals,onecanmention birds,ornon-animate
cattle,
objects,etc.Therangecanbe wideornarrow.

Different ofthingsarenotcomparable
categories becausethereis no standard
formeasurement.For instance,
howdoes one comparethelengthof a night
anda stick?

It is illogicalto thinkthat"ren"(benevolence) and "j/i"(righteousness)

are
different interms ofsenseandreferent, foritis notinlinewiththeprincipleof
classification.Benevolence is love forall,yi is benefiting andbothof
others,

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426 SHI Ningzhong

thetwohave senses.The lovedand thebenefited

are referents.
Sensesare
mentalinnature, arenot.
referents

Fromthesewe can see: (1) Ancientphilosophers used a broadconceptof

induction inclassification; (2) classification requires carefulreasoning.
The best illustration is theorieson Chinesemedicine.A classic theoryof
medicine was established byZhangZhongjingdfcföM inShanghan Lun fà%ìfc
(On Typhoid).The book's striking feature is its classificationof diseasesand
description of acupuncture points,which are put into categoriesthrough
inductive reasoning.
Sincetheverybeginning ofChinesecivilization, theconceptsofyinandyang
followedby the five elements(water,fire,metal,wood, earth)have been
influential.Thingsaredoneaccording to goodjudgment. DuringThe Springand
AutumnPeriod,Zou Yan used the inductive methodto deal withmatters as
seriousas thegovernance ofthestate.
In addition to induction, analogywas closelyrelatedto categorization. It is a
of
process reasoning in which features of category B are inferredfrom features
foundin category A. Thismodeofthinking is also widelyused.In Mao Zedong
Wenji^WfcX^k (CollectedWorksof Mao Zedong),forinstance, we see the
frequent use of In the
analogy. emphasizing importance investigation,of he said,
"A sparrow is tiny,but hasall organs"(Mao 1999,p.78),meaning what
it the that
is foundinoneplacemaybe trueinall places.Thiswayofthinking was foundin
Lao Zi (Chapter VIII), where kind-heartedness was compared towater.
AnalogiesusedbyearlyChinesethinkers arenottheexactsameas thoseinthe
West,wheretwocategories aregivenandthefeatures ofcategory A areknown,
thenthefeatures ofcategory B areinferred. In ancient China,analogyis involved
in theprocessof categorization. The features oftwocategories areexploredas
are
they compared. might This be needed in humanities and socialsciences.The
analogyofwaterandkind-heartedness usedbyLao Zi is an instance ofsuchkind
ofthinking mode.Kind-heartedness is a feature ofman.In thisanalogy, itis not
theknownfeature ofwaterthatis usedto inferhumankindness. Rather, thetwo
are to
categories compared highlight the features of the two categories.Reading
Chineseclassics,we canfindsimilar analogies.
Admittedly, thekindof analogycommonly used was also foundin ancient
China.Thismethod ofthinking was analyzedin"JingXia" ofMoistCanon:

Knowledgeof one categorycan be extendedto two categoriesthrough

comparison. whatis notknowncan be inferred
...whenthingsaredescribed,
onthebasisofwhatis known, to
nottheotherwayaround.Thisis comparable
length
measuring witha ruler.

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 andInference
Definition
Proposition, inAncientChinesePhilosophy 427

The bookthenproceedsto describea dynamicprocessof categorization

by
wayofanalogy.

In categorizing,thingscan be put into a categoryor sub-categories,

depending considered.
on thefeatures For instance,
in counting
horsesand
animals;iftheirrespective
theyarefour-legged
cattle, features
areconsidered,
theyare countedseparately.

The above analysisshowsthatearlyChinesethinkers firmlygaspedthe

and analogy.It was usedto deal
by wayof induction
methodof categorization
with many problemsin the humanitiesand social sciences. Based on
categorizations,
judgmentscan be madenaturally.
If,forexample,one's deeds
belongtothecategory hischaracter
ofbenevolence, is automatically
recognized.
Whatarecriteria then?Weturntothisquestioninthefinalsection.
forjudgments

7 The Principles of Inference Based on Categorization:

ofNames and the Doctrineofthe Mean
Rectification
It is wellknownthatConfucianism tremendously influencedChineseideology,
including of
ways thinking. What is centralto Chinesewaysof thinking? As
discussedearlier,ancientthinkers firstsortedout complicatedproblems,them
examinedthem fromstartingpoints,which are, metaphysically, Dao or
benevolence.Now, we will analyzeprinciplesof inference - rectification
of
namesandthedoctrine ofthemean.
In "Zi Lu" of TheAnalects,a discipleaskedConfucius,"Iftheemperor asks
youtohelpwithgovernance, whatwillyoudo first?" He repliedcrisply,
"Rectify
names."Whatfollowsis hisreasoning:

If names are not rectified,communication cannot be smooth; if

communication is notsmooth,thingswill notbe done ifthings
successfully;
arenotdonesuccessfully,ritesandmusiccan notbe established;ifritesand
musicare not established,penaltywill not be appropriately
exercised;if
penaltyis notappropriately thecitizenshaveno rulesto abideby.
exercised,
Therefore, a gentlemanmustuse names thatcan be communicated and
communicate whatcanbe done.

Whatdid he meanby rectification

of names?Section4 pointsout thatin
ancientChina,"names"refer
topredicate
in a definition. namescome
Logically,
fromthings,
thingscome before
names.But in the of this
writings earlythinkers,

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428 SHI Ningzhong

was a uniqueway of thinking: A starting pointis firstgiven,thenitsnameis

analyzed in reference to the categoryit belongsto, and finallythenameis
- namely,
rectified all themembers ofthecategory agreeto thename,ifnot,the
thingunder consideration is putinto a differentcategory.It shouldbe notedthat
thiswayofthinking is effective in dealingwithproblems in thehumanities and
social sciences.For instance, Confuciussaid in TheAnalects:"If thestateis
governed withDao, theemperor proposesritesandpunitive expeditions;ifnot,
dukesproposethem."In thisproposition, thestartingpoint is Dao. The category
discussedis therightto establish ritesand to launchexpeditions; theso-called
nameis thattheright belongsto theemperor. Whatis meantbyrectification of
namesis, thosematters mustbe handledin accordancewithDao. To rectify
namesrequires thatactualitiescorrespond tonames.
Thisreasoning is also illustratedby theconceptofbenevolence as a starting
pointthatis appliedto different categories.Regardingbenevolencein the
category ofpersonal behavior, "XueEr"in TheAnalectscontains theselines:

It is rarethata filialpersondisobeyshissuperiors,andevenrarerfora person

whoneverdisobeys tooftenmaketrouble. A gentlemancultivates and
himself,
Dao is established. Therefore,beingfilial
is theverybasisofbenevolence.

Thismaybe thereasonwhythestatewas governed bytheconceptoffiliality

in manydynasties.The line exhibitsa typicalmode of reasoningwithina
category. Theconclusion is thatfilialityis thecoreofbenevolence. Thecategory
in questionis personaldeeds. Whenanotherdiscipleasked Confuciuswhat
benevolence was,he replied, "benevolence meanstorestrain oneselftorevitalize
rites.If everyonedoes thiseveryday, benevolence is everywhere." Apparently,
heretheconceptofbenevolence is appliedto thecategory ofgovernance.Now,
we cansee thatbenevolence as a vaguestarting pointis clarified
incategories
in
a specific tomakeactualities
context andnamescorrespond.
In addition
toDao andbenevolence, Menciusputforward shan # (kindness)
as a starting He
point. emphasized moral education. He explainedethicsin
"Tengwen GongShang" of The Book ofMaster Meng:

and son,loyaltybetweentheemperor
betweenfather
Thereis affection and
between
distinction
ministers, husbandand and
wife, order
between
brothers,
between
andsincerity friends.

inthecategory
Shanis thusspecified shanas a starting
ofethics.He defended
of
point ethicaltheory:

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 Definition
Proposition, inAncient
andInference Chinese
Philosophy 429

Humanbeingshavean unbearing mind.. . . Withthiswe canjudgewhois not

humanin character,who is notsympathetic, whodoes notknowshameand
evil,who is notpolite,and who cannottell rightfromwrong.Havingan
unbearingmindis thebeginningofbenevolence, knowing thatshameandevil
is thebeginningofrighteousness,
beingpoliteis thebeginning ofvirtue,
and
knowing rightandwrongis thebeginning ofwisdom.

Wefindthepropositions resoluteanddecisive.Menciusputforward kindness,

righteousness, politeness,and wisdomas subcategories of virtue.In theHan
Dynasty, thesubcategory xin in (sincerity)
was added.The fivequalitiesare
seenas necessary components ofmorality.As pointedoutby Lao Zi, a starting
point thatis concreteis opento debate.
XunZi, another Confucian putforward
scholar, a different
startingpoint,"All
menwerebornevil."Thisis a daringproposition. In factthetwostarting points
by Mencius and Xun Zi arebased on Dao and benevolence.The differenceis that
theonebyXunZi emphasizes theeffectsofcultivating
oneself.He said inXun
Zi íjj^f (The Book of MasterXun):"As menare bornevil,theymustreceive
education to becomevirtuous and learnritesandrighteousness so thatthestate
canbe inorder."
His starting pointis also opento discussion.He placedmoreemphasison
rectificationofnames.Thisis expressed inthefollowingquotation:

Theemperor coinednamestodefinethings andtounitepeople....

Without the
emperor,peopleneglectabidingbynamesandconsequently therearedifferent
voicesaboutmatters,namesdo notcorrespond to actualities,
rightandwrong
are mixed....Whena new emperor is crowned,he will continueto use old
namesandaddnewnames....Wisemenmakenamesto differentiate between
people and and
things, to between
distinguish similaritiesand differences.
Thus,communication is smooth,andthingsaredonesuccessfully.Thatis why
theremustbe names.

Summarizing thethoughtsof Confucius,

MenciusandXunZi on names,we
can see thatnamesstandforcategories. Althoughtheysaid thattheemperor
coinednames,it was actuallythe scholarswho proposedthem.Theymade
aboutthingsand behaviorsthroughinduction.
generalizations As such,the
proposed namesimpliedtheirjudgmentandevaluation.
Another principleof reasoningbased on categorization
is zhongyong^Ä
(the doctrineof the zhongmeansjust right,
mean).Literally, yongclose to

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430 SHI Ningzhong

commonin sense.In SishuJizhuEl^Uffi (CollectedCommentries

on theFour
Classics)byZhuXi,itinterprets
thedoctrine
ofthemeanbyConfucius.

Gentlemen followthedoctrineofthemean,snobsareagainstit.Gentlemen do
notgo toextremes,snobsdo notrestrain ... I think
themselves. thesecontradict
Dao: Those who knowextremes go beyond;unworthy descendants
do not
knowthem....If one is wellawareofthetwoextremes andemploystheway
ofthemean,he is comparable toShun# (an emperor inancientChina)(Zhu
2004,pp.23-24).

Thisquotation clearlyexpresses thecoretenetofthedoctrine ofthemean.We

can see thatthemeanis understood in reference to a category of things.The
meanis contextualized and takenas the criterion of judgment. Interestingly,
Aristotleexpressed a similaridea, "Virtue. . . is a mean state inthe sense thatitis
able to hit the mean.""... excess and deficiency are a markof vice, and
observance ofthemeana markofvirtue" (Aristotle 1926,p. 95).
In summary, Confuciusestablished criteria forjudgment and principles for
inferencebasedoncategorization byrectifying namesandproposing thedoctrine
of the mean. This thought has exertedfar and wide influencein Chinese
civilization
andpermeated ourcultural genes.In everyday life,whenwe think
aboutsomething, we automatically think ofitinterms ofthenameandnormofa
category. Although of
ways thinking vary from individual to individual, as a
social man,everyoneabidesby theconventions, including makingjudgments
andinferences.
Thethinking modeoftheearlyChinesethinkers is humanistic andeffective in
dealingwithsocialproblems. Nevertheless, itis notenoughto think inthisway,
forinmodern is
societycertaintyabsolutely in
necessary handling variouskinds
ofaffair.Therefore, thinking modes ofnatural sciences have been introduced.A
pointthatshouldbe emphasizedis thatbothways of thinking have their
so
advantages, they should be integrated, and neither of them discarded.
To conclude,I wantto reiterate thatcategorization is a thinking method.In
modern society, withtherapiddevelopment ofscienceandtechnology, newand
complexproblems have appeared, one of which is how to deal with large
amounts of information. The complexity of massive amounts of data cannot be
dealt withby a unitarymodel,and researchers mustanalyzethe data by
it
categorizingaccording to their features. Therefore, we can predict thatin the
future categorization will becomemore and more important methodologically.
Researchers shouldnotjustcareaboutspecificity andgenerality, butalso lookat
commonalities anddifferences between categories.

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 andInference
Definition
Proposition, inAncientChinesePhilosophy 43 1

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