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Philosophy and Chinese metaphysics_2
Author: Independent Contributor
I. The Concrete and Observable
Human cognition of the external world is both innate and acquired. What comes from innate sources includes intuition and sensation; what is acquired includes experience and science. All of these fall within the category of “the concrete and observable.”
The ancient Huaxia people of the agricultural civilization believed that innate intuition and sensation were the most important. A typical example is Confucius’s saying: “Those who know by birth are the highest; those who know by learning are next; those who learn because they are perplexed are next after that.” From the perspective of nature, all animals can reproduce from generation to generation through their inborn sensations and intuition. Of course, the material resources, knowledge, and range of activity of the ancients were limited; those with stronger instincts had stronger survival abilities.
The greatest difference between humans and animals is that the wealth, experience, and knowledge accumulated and transmitted over thousands of years by humanity mean that people are born at different starting lines and have more and more things to learn.
The ancient Greek civilization, which emphasized industry and commerce, and the Western civilization derived from it, formed a relatively rational culture because their special alphabetic languages required logical grammar and because there were many horizontal connections among different cultures. This relatively rational culture nurtured modern science.
The development of modern science has caused modern people to live within a technological environment, and some even worship science.
II. The Metaphysical
However, when this concrete and observable knowledge is insufficient to explain various phenomena, or when various forms of cognition are summarized, refined, and elevated into theory, there arise the “metaphysical” fields of philosophy, Chinese metaphysics, and theology. Of these three, theology is at the highest level; philosophy is the lowest and has essentially no overlap with theology; Chinese metaphysics lies in the middle and overlaps somewhat with both theology and philosophy. A brief explanation follows.
1. Philosophy
Philosophy, or Philosophy, is mainly based on science; or, one could say, philosophy begins where science ends. Through objective and detailed research into a particular discipline, and reasoning through rigorous logic, one arrives at a theory or worldview, such as idealism, materialism, or a view in biology, medicine, or physics. Darwin’s theory of evolution, for example, belongs to philosophy.
In modern Western-style universities or research institutes, when a student’s scientific research in a particular discipline reaches the highest standard of the time, the student may receive a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Philosophy occupies the lowest level of the metaphysical, is the closest to everyday reality, and comes directly from scientific reasoning; therefore, it has the greatest practical value. Most modern people use philosophy as a guiding outlook in daily life.
However, because scientific research is highly specialized, or often local in scope, the theories formed from it are frequently one-sided and thereby carry subjectivity, as seen in various ideologies, schools of thought, and intellectual movements.
If science and philosophy can no longer provide answers, one may possibly leap into theology.
2. Theology
Theology is the highest level of metaphysical cognition, but is basically based only on intuition and sensation. Human civilizations generally develop cultures of “many gods,” which can encompass a very broad range—for example, gods of trees, mountains, stoves, and the Earth God. Some civilizations evolve toward monotheism, believing in and worshiping only one omnipotent god.
The one-sidedness of theology is probably even stronger, which is why theologies with extremely different contents exist. Obviously, humanity cannot fully know God, if God truly exists.
Although theology occupies the highest level, it is relatively simple to put into practice. However, few modern people still believe in gods; believers often use theology as spiritual consolation.
3. Chinese Metaphysics
Chinese metaphysics, or Metaphysics, differs from philosophy. Its development is based mainly on intuition, sensation, the summary of experience, and insight, and less on science.
Every ethnic civilization develops some form of Chinese metaphysics or Xuanxue, but only Chinese civilization developed a broad, systematic, and profound metaphysical culture. The name Xuanxue is generally considered to come from Laozi’s Dao De Jing: “Always be without desires in order to observe its wonders; always have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two arise from the same source but have different names; together they are called xuan. Xuan upon xuan—the gate of all wonders.” Yet the concept of Chinese metaphysics began much earlier, when the Hetu, Luoshu, and I Ching appeared.According to current sources, most metaphysical content related to medicine had already taken shape during the Shang dynasty, or even earlier, including yin-yang and the five phases, the five zang and six fu organs, visceral manifestations, meridians, pulse diagnosis, and the spirit, ethereal soul, and corporeal soul (note: the shen of Chinese medicine is the metaphysical shen, not the god of theology).
Chinese metaphysics later developed five main branches: Mountain, Medicine, Destiny, Divination, and Physiognomy. Simply put, Mountain includes health cultivation, qigong training, and spiritual practice; Medicine includes decoctions, acupuncture, moxibustion, gua sha, and massage; Destiny includes astrology and the heavenly-stem-and-earthly-branch arts, with important books such as Zi Wei Dou Shu and Sanming Tonghui; Divination is the oldest and most far-reaching branch, including hexagram divination, dream divination, character divination, and name studies, with famous works such as the I Ching, Plum Blossom Numerology, and Qimen Dunjia.Physiognomy includes palmistry, face reading, body reading, bone reading, and mole reading; geomancy refers to feng shui.
Chinese metaphysics is comparatively difficult. Most of its principles do not come from science, often cannot be scientifically proven, and are difficult to quantify; individual phenomena that deviate from or even contradict metaphysical principles occasionally occur. Because the field is difficult and broad, scholars can usually explore only part of it, so it may be said that their views are all somewhat biased.
Chinese metaphysics also includes some simple yet mysterious things, as well as things that seem to lack logical reason—for example, names really are related to the fate of some people; in I Ching hexagram calculations, no information is needed, yet the accuracy is often around 80%, and so on.
III. Social Change
From its founding, the United States was primarily guided by theology, since the overwhelming majority of its citizens were believers at the time. Hence “In God We Trust” became the national motto. Presidents take the oath of office, as do people in many other oath-taking settings, with a hand placed on the Bible. Today, most Americans are no longer religious; society basically operates according to secular philosophy, but the tradition remains.
At the dawn of Huaxia civilization, however, Chinese metaphysics was the guiding force, represented by such works as the Hetu, Luoshu, and I Ching. For example, during the Shang dynasty, major decisions basically had to rely on divination.
During the Spring and Autumn period, the Hundred Schools contended; typical schools included Daoism, Mohism, and Confucianism: Daoist metaphysics, Mohist science, and Confucian philosophy.
Mohism emphasized science and technology, logical reasoning, industry and commerce, transportation, equality, and universal love. It can be classified as science-led, and it was also disliked by feudal dynasties.
Confucianism advocated the Three Bonds and Five Constants, studying for office (that is, “when learning is excellent, one serves in government”), ordering the family, and governing the state, so it was favored by the imperial court. Of course: the ruler as the bond for the subject, the father as the bond for the son, the father as the bond for the wife, and the emperor as the supreme bond—what a delight.
Daoism consistently took Chinese metaphysics as its guiding force. The Han and Tang dynasties once made metaphysics their guiding force and created the flourishing eras of Han and Tang. Yet the feudal dynasties ultimately favored Confucian learning more. It can be said that, beginning with the Han dynasty, society gradually shifted toward philosophy as its guiding force.
In the Central Plains and nearby regions, only the Tibetan people seem to have consistently taken theology as their guiding force. There were a few rulers in the Central Plains who favored theology, but that was merely a case of the Duke of Ye loving dragons.
Conclusion: Chinese metaphysics is not philosophy, although it overlaps with philosophy to a small extent. Chinese metaphysics accompanied the origin and development of Chinese civilization and has always exerted a major yet unique influence on Chinese culture, especially in traditional Chinese medicine, where it provides the theoretical guidance. However, social development, especially technological development, has made today’s world primarily a domain of philosophy.
I. The Concrete and Observable
Human cognition of the external world is both innate and acquired. What comes from innate sources includes intuition and sensation; what is acquired includes experience and science. All of these fall within the category of “the concrete and observable.”
The ancient Huaxia people of the agricultural civilization believed that innate intuition and sensation were the most important. A typical example is Confucius’s saying: “Those who know by birth are the highest; those who know by learning are next; those who learn because they are perplexed are next after that.” From the perspective of nature, all animals can reproduce from generation to generation through their inborn sensations and intuition. Of course, the material resources, knowledge, and range of activity of the ancients were limited; those with stronger instincts had stronger survival abilities.
The greatest difference between humans and animals is that the wealth, experience, and knowledge accumulated and transmitted over thousands of years by humanity mean that people are born at different starting lines and have more and more things to learn.
The ancient Greek civilization, which emphasized industry and commerce, and the Western civilization derived from it, formed a relatively rational culture because their special alphabetic languages required logical grammar and because there were many horizontal connections among different cultures. This relatively rational culture nurtured modern science.
The development of modern science has caused modern people to live within a technological environment, and some even worship science.
II. The Metaphysical
However, when this concrete and observable knowledge is insufficient to explain various phenomena, or when various forms of cognition are summarized, refined, and elevated into theory, there arise the “metaphysical” fields of philosophy, Chinese metaphysics, and theology. Of these three, theology is at the highest level; philosophy is the lowest and has essentially no overlap with theology; Chinese metaphysics lies in the middle and overlaps somewhat with both theology and philosophy. A brief explanation follows.
1. Philosophy
Philosophy, or Philosophy, is mainly based on science; or, one could say, philosophy begins where science ends. Through objective and detailed research into a particular discipline, and reasoning through rigorous logic, one arrives at a theory or worldview, such as idealism, materialism, or a view in biology, medicine, or physics. Darwin’s theory of evolution, for example, belongs to philosophy.
In modern Western-style universities or research institutes, when a student’s scientific research in a particular discipline reaches the highest standard of the time, the student may receive a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Philosophy occupies the lowest level of the metaphysical, is the closest to everyday reality, and comes directly from scientific reasoning; therefore, it has the greatest practical value. Most modern people use philosophy as a guiding outlook in daily life.
However, because scientific research is highly specialized, or often local in scope, the theories formed from it are frequently one-sided and thereby carry subjectivity, as seen in various ideologies, schools of thought, and intellectual movements.
If science and philosophy can no longer provide answers, one may possibly leap into theology.
2. Theology
Theology is the highest level of metaphysical cognition, but is basically based only on intuition and sensation. Human civilizations generally develop cultures of “many gods,” which can encompass a very broad range—for example, gods of trees, mountains, stoves, and the Earth God. Some civilizations evolve toward monotheism, believing in and worshiping only one omnipotent god.
The one-sidedness of theology is probably even stronger, which is why theologies with extremely different contents exist. Obviously, humanity cannot fully know God, if God truly exists.
Although theology occupies the highest level, it is relatively simple to put into practice. However, few modern people still believe in gods; believers often use theology as spiritual consolation.
3. Chinese Metaphysics
Chinese metaphysics, or Metaphysics, differs from philosophy. Its development is based mainly on intuition, sensation, the summary of experience, and insight, and less on science.
Every ethnic civilization develops some form of Chinese metaphysics or Xuanxue, but only Chinese civilization developed a broad, systematic, and profound metaphysical culture. The name Xuanxue is generally considered to come from Laozi’s Dao De Jing: “Always be without desires in order to observe its wonders; always have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two arise from the same source but have different names; together they are called xuan. Xuan upon xuan—the gate of all wonders.” Yet the concept of Chinese metaphysics began much earlier, when the Hetu, Luoshu, and I Ching appeared.According to current sources, most metaphysical content related to medicine had already taken shape during the Shang dynasty, or even earlier, including yin-yang and the five phases, the five zang and six fu organs, visceral manifestations, meridians, pulse diagnosis, and the spirit, ethereal soul, and corporeal soul (note: the shen of Chinese medicine is the metaphysical shen, not the god of theology).
Chinese metaphysics later developed five main branches: Mountain, Medicine, Destiny, Divination, and Physiognomy. Simply put, Mountain includes health cultivation, qigong training, and spiritual practice; Medicine includes decoctions, acupuncture, moxibustion, gua sha, and massage; Destiny includes astrology and the heavenly-stem-and-earthly-branch arts, with important books such as Zi Wei Dou Shu and Sanming Tonghui; Divination is the oldest and most far-reaching branch, including hexagram divination, dream divination, character divination, and name studies, with famous works such as the I Ching, Plum Blossom Numerology, and Qimen Dunjia.Physiognomy includes palmistry, face reading, body reading, bone reading, and mole reading; geomancy refers to feng shui.
Chinese metaphysics is comparatively difficult. Most of its principles do not come from science, often cannot be scientifically proven, and are difficult to quantify; individual phenomena that deviate from or even contradict metaphysical principles occasionally occur. Because the field is difficult and broad, scholars can usually explore only part of it, so it may be said that their views are all somewhat biased.
Chinese metaphysics also includes some simple yet mysterious things, as well as things that seem to lack logical reason—for example, names really are related to the fate of some people; in I Ching hexagram calculations, no information is needed, yet the accuracy is often around 80%, and so on.
III. Social Change
From its founding, the United States was primarily guided by theology, since the overwhelming majority of its citizens were believers at the time. Hence “In God We Trust” became the national motto. Presidents take the oath of office, as do people in many other oath-taking settings, with a hand placed on the Bible. Today, most Americans are no longer religious; society basically operates according to secular philosophy, but the tradition remains.
At the dawn of Huaxia civilization, however, Chinese metaphysics was the guiding force, represented by such works as the Hetu, Luoshu, and I Ching. For example, during the Shang dynasty, major decisions basically had to rely on divination.
During the Spring and Autumn period, the Hundred Schools contended; typical schools included Daoism, Mohism, and Confucianism: Daoist metaphysics, Mohist science, and Confucian philosophy.
Mohism emphasized science and technology, logical reasoning, industry and commerce, transportation, equality, and universal love. It can be classified as science-led, and it was also disliked by feudal dynasties.
Confucianism advocated the Three Bonds and Five Constants, studying for office (that is, “when learning is excellent, one serves in government”), ordering the family, and governing the state, so it was favored by the imperial court. Of course: the ruler as the bond for the subject, the father as the bond for the son, the father as the bond for the wife, and the emperor as the supreme bond—what a delight.
Daoism consistently took Chinese metaphysics as its guiding force. The Han and Tang dynasties once made metaphysics their guiding force and created the flourishing eras of Han and Tang. Yet the feudal dynasties ultimately favored Confucian learning more. It can be said that, beginning with the Han dynasty, society gradually shifted toward philosophy as its guiding force.
In the Central Plains and nearby regions, only the Tibetan people seem to have consistently taken theology as their guiding force. There were a few rulers in the Central Plains who favored theology, but that was merely a case of the Duke of Ye loving dragons.
Conclusion: Chinese metaphysics is not philosophy, although it overlaps with philosophy to a small extent. Chinese metaphysics accompanied the origin and development of Chinese civilization and has always exerted a major yet unique influence on Chinese culture, especially in traditional Chinese medicine, where it provides the theoretical guidance. However, social development, especially technological development, has made today’s world primarily a domain of philosophy.