The Yǐmwenzǐ presents a comprehensive reflection on the 'rectification of names'. The dat... more The Yǐmwenzǐ presents a comprehensive reflection on the 'rectification of names'. The date of its composition is controversial. Scholars either accept it as a genuine work of the Warring States period, or regard it as a later compilation arranged sometime between the 3 rd and 6 th centuries AD. With respect to both its content and its linguistic characteristics, the text seems to consist of at least two layers. Its eclectic and syncretistic nature has led sinologists to regard it as a collection of rather loosely related paragraphs. The present paper aims at a coherent reading, intending to show that, by doing so, both the terminology as well as the rhetorical structure of the text can be consistently interpreted. References to selected texts of the Warring States period are resorted to in order to acquire a more intimate understanding of the terminology. In the light of other texts on names and their relation to reality, the strands of argumentation in the Yǐmenzǐ gain in clarity and persuasiveness. Although the text focuses on the use of names in state administration, the discussion shows a considerable level of philosophical reflection. The volatility of the nexus between words and the realities they represent is considered here. As the system of names does not contain any inherent criterion of adequacy, names have constantly to be adjusted to what they refer to by using them in the correct way. The relationship between names and forms - which are the criteria allowing for discerning things, not things themselves - is conceived of in terms of a weighing process, the forms representing the weights to be measured while the names are regarded as the measuring weights. The criterion of accuracy of their mutual relationship is the fact of their being counterbalanced. The problem of language therefore is not the failure to represent, but rather that it is void of any inherent constancy. The metaphor of the balance is resumed in order to represent the way how language works: While names for forms (shapes) xing and textures ran are linked to criteria determining the possible items selectable by them, names can also function in a different way: Some of them refer to the way how a speaker relates names to each other. These rely on the first group of names in order to comprise sections of reality not differentiated by any common criterion. 'To like' () spreads to all items which are selected by the names with object reference which constitute its arguments, e.g. 'cows', 'horses' and 'men'. This way of using names is called 'weighing'. The ensuing discussion of the relationship between affects and naming hints at the crucial role of affectivity for cognition: As the possible objects of recognition are countless, personal preference is decisive with respect to the choice made. The conclusion is that there is a hedonistic principle governing man's way of referring to the world.
The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts, 2020
This chapter follows the research of A. C. Graham (1919-1991) and ShěnYǒudǐng 沈有鼎 (1908-1993) on ... more This chapter follows the research of A. C. Graham (1919-1991) and ShěnYǒudǐng 沈有鼎 (1908-1993) on the textual history of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ 公孫龍子 (hereafter GSLZ). After a few introductory remarks in the first section, the second section illustrates the secondary nature of the GSLZ by giving a concise overview of the various ways its compilers drew on the "dialectical chapters" of the Mòzǐ (Mohist 'Canons'). In the third section, I gather evidence for the medieval renaissance of Mohist dialectics, which was closely associated with the figure of Gōngsūn Lóng from its beginning, in order to suggest that it was in the light of this renewed interest in language and argument that the extant GSLZ was composed. If the GSLZ is indeed as late as this, its compilation would coincide with a period during which Buddhist scholastics enjoyed increasing influence in China. Thus the main part of the chapter is dedicated to disclosing traces of a Buddhist impact on the argument, structure, and compilation of the GSLZ,o r some of its parts. Even if the GSLZ lacks manifest traces of Buddhist influence, such as quotations of Buddhist works or explicitly Buddhist terminology, there is evidence to suggest that a strong Buddhist background informed the compiler(s) of the work. In section four, I show that the argument in the 'Discourse on Hard and White' (Jiānbái lùn 堅白論, hereafter JBL) closely resembles a line of reasoning in a Buddhist work translated in the early fifth century CE. In section five, I demonstrate how certain Buddhist discourses about the nature of causation, time, and language provide the very rationale that structures the 'Discourse on Penetrating Change' (Tōngbiàn lùn 通變論, hereafter TBL) and the 'Discourse on Names and Substances' (Míngshí lùn 名 實論, hereafter MSL). The sixth section explores the composition of JBL and its pivotal role in the compilation of the entire GSLZ from the perspective of three of its crucial terms and their probable Buddhist implications. Section seven returns to Graham'sa n dS h ěn's arguments for dating the composition of the received GSLZ as late as in the second half of the seventh century CE. On the basis of various Buddhist references, this section attempts to gain additional insights into the possible history of compilation of the GSLZ. The peculiar nature of the parallels in Buddhist texts, along with internal evidence in JBL and TBL, suggest that the GSLZand especially these two chapterspossibly assumed their present shape through two different stages of editorial activity, in the fifth and the late seventh centuries CE, respectively.
International Workshop "The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts – Aligning Philosophica... more International Workshop "The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts – Aligning Philosophical and Philological Perspectives": Conference outline, program, and general information
Other titles: Mou Zongsan de "yuanshan" gainian yiji Kangde zai daotong chongjian zhong de diwei ... more Other titles: Mou Zongsan de "yuanshan" gainian yiji Kangde zai daotong chongjian zhong de diwei [Mou Zongsan's Concept of the «Highest Good» and Kant's Role for the Reconstruction of the Transmission of the Confucian Way (daotong)]
The Yǐmwenzǐ presents a comprehensive reflection on the 'rectification of names'. The dat... more The Yǐmwenzǐ presents a comprehensive reflection on the 'rectification of names'. The date of its composition is controversial. Scholars either accept it as a genuine work of the Warring States period, or regard it as a later compilation arranged sometime between the 3 rd and 6 th centuries AD. With respect to both its content and its linguistic characteristics, the text seems to consist of at least two layers. Its eclectic and syncretistic nature has led sinologists to regard it as a collection of rather loosely related paragraphs. The present paper aims at a coherent reading, intending to show that, by doing so, both the terminology as well as the rhetorical structure of the text can be consistently interpreted. References to selected texts of the Warring States period are resorted to in order to acquire a more intimate understanding of the terminology. In the light of other texts on names and their relation to reality, the strands of argumentation in the Yǐmenzǐ gain in clarity and persuasiveness. Although the text focuses on the use of names in state administration, the discussion shows a considerable level of philosophical reflection. The volatility of the nexus between words and the realities they represent is considered here. As the system of names does not contain any inherent criterion of adequacy, names have constantly to be adjusted to what they refer to by using them in the correct way. The relationship between names and forms - which are the criteria allowing for discerning things, not things themselves - is conceived of in terms of a weighing process, the forms representing the weights to be measured while the names are regarded as the measuring weights. The criterion of accuracy of their mutual relationship is the fact of their being counterbalanced. The problem of language therefore is not the failure to represent, but rather that it is void of any inherent constancy. The metaphor of the balance is resumed in order to represent the way how language works: While names for forms (shapes) xing and textures ran are linked to criteria determining the possible items selectable by them, names can also function in a different way: Some of them refer to the way how a speaker relates names to each other. These rely on the first group of names in order to comprise sections of reality not differentiated by any common criterion. 'To like' () spreads to all items which are selected by the names with object reference which constitute its arguments, e.g. 'cows', 'horses' and 'men'. This way of using names is called 'weighing'. The ensuing discussion of the relationship between affects and naming hints at the crucial role of affectivity for cognition: As the possible objects of recognition are countless, personal preference is decisive with respect to the choice made. The conclusion is that there is a hedonistic principle governing man's way of referring to the world.
The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts, 2020
This chapter follows the research of A. C. Graham (1919-1991) and ShěnYǒudǐng 沈有鼎 (1908-1993) on ... more This chapter follows the research of A. C. Graham (1919-1991) and ShěnYǒudǐng 沈有鼎 (1908-1993) on the textual history of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ 公孫龍子 (hereafter GSLZ). After a few introductory remarks in the first section, the second section illustrates the secondary nature of the GSLZ by giving a concise overview of the various ways its compilers drew on the "dialectical chapters" of the Mòzǐ (Mohist 'Canons'). In the third section, I gather evidence for the medieval renaissance of Mohist dialectics, which was closely associated with the figure of Gōngsūn Lóng from its beginning, in order to suggest that it was in the light of this renewed interest in language and argument that the extant GSLZ was composed. If the GSLZ is indeed as late as this, its compilation would coincide with a period during which Buddhist scholastics enjoyed increasing influence in China. Thus the main part of the chapter is dedicated to disclosing traces of a Buddhist impact on the argument, structure, and compilation of the GSLZ,o r some of its parts. Even if the GSLZ lacks manifest traces of Buddhist influence, such as quotations of Buddhist works or explicitly Buddhist terminology, there is evidence to suggest that a strong Buddhist background informed the compiler(s) of the work. In section four, I show that the argument in the 'Discourse on Hard and White' (Jiānbái lùn 堅白論, hereafter JBL) closely resembles a line of reasoning in a Buddhist work translated in the early fifth century CE. In section five, I demonstrate how certain Buddhist discourses about the nature of causation, time, and language provide the very rationale that structures the 'Discourse on Penetrating Change' (Tōngbiàn lùn 通變論, hereafter TBL) and the 'Discourse on Names and Substances' (Míngshí lùn 名 實論, hereafter MSL). The sixth section explores the composition of JBL and its pivotal role in the compilation of the entire GSLZ from the perspective of three of its crucial terms and their probable Buddhist implications. Section seven returns to Graham'sa n dS h ěn's arguments for dating the composition of the received GSLZ as late as in the second half of the seventh century CE. On the basis of various Buddhist references, this section attempts to gain additional insights into the possible history of compilation of the GSLZ. The peculiar nature of the parallels in Buddhist texts, along with internal evidence in JBL and TBL, suggest that the GSLZand especially these two chapterspossibly assumed their present shape through two different stages of editorial activity, in the fifth and the late seventh centuries CE, respectively.
International Workshop "The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts – Aligning Philosophica... more International Workshop "The Gongsun Longzi and Other Neglected Texts – Aligning Philosophical and Philological Perspectives": Conference outline, program, and general information
Other titles: Mou Zongsan de "yuanshan" gainian yiji Kangde zai daotong chongjian zhong de diwei ... more Other titles: Mou Zongsan de "yuanshan" gainian yiji Kangde zai daotong chongjian zhong de diwei [Mou Zongsan's Concept of the «Highest Good» and Kant's Role for the Reconstruction of the Transmission of the Confucian Way (daotong)]
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