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A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation, New York, Oxford University Press, 1992. pp. xv-448

Sinologists usually present Chinese thought as philosophy for non-philosophers. They present Daoism (Taoism) as a paradigm. I agree that Daoism is a paradigm, but proceed on the hypothesis that it is serious philosophy. My view of Daoism obviously differs from the tradition. I treat Daoism as a skeptical, reflective, and philosophically mature critique of the ethical dispute between Confucianism and Mohism. The famous paradoxes serve to motivate doubt and further reflection; they do not signal a devotion to mystical or anti-rational nonsense. I proceed on the hypothesis that most of the familiar central thinkers asked serious, genuine questions and sought sound answers. The questions, however, were different as were the background assumptions that influenced their assessment of the answers.

Since Graham's monumental study of the Later Mohists[1], most scholars now allow that some Chinese thinkers thought in ways that we would now call "philosophical." Still, they bifurcate the tradition and maintain that the mainstream traditional thinkers, particularly the Daoists, had a radically different way of thinking. The two strands of Classical thought never touched. I disagree and attempt to produce a unified interpretive theory which integrates philosophy of language in the social-political dialogue of the period. I argue here that the alleged uniquely Chinese way of thinking is an artifact of naive interpretation and uncritical parroting of a traditional Confucian credo. Two millennia of Confucian and other religious reading have buried the philosophical integrity of Laozi and Zhuangzi under piles of dogma.

I divide the period into four phases, three represent a dialectal growth of philosophical insight. The fourth invites its decline and eventual destruction under political repression. The detailed table of contents comes in two sections.

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Acknowledgements

An Introduction with Work to Do

The Context of Chinese Philosophy: Language and Theory of Language

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Part I: The Positive Dao Period

Confucius: The Baseline

Mozi: Setting the Philosophical Agenda

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Part 2: The Antilanguage Period

Mencius: The Establishment Strikes Back

Laozi: Language and Society

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Part Three: Analysis and Skepticism

The Schools of Names: Linguisic Analysis in China

Zhuang-zi: Discriminating about Discriminating

 

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Part Four: The Authoritarian Response

Xunzi: Pragmatic Confucianism

Hanfei-zi: Legalist Synthesis

 

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A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation, New York, Oxford University Press, 1992. pp. xv-448

Table of Contents:

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Acknowledgements

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An Introduction with Work to Do

* The New Perspective and Philosophical Progress * The Ruling Interpretive Theory * The translation paradigm * The Fragmented-Schools View * The Meaning Change Hypothesis Indo-European Theory of Language and Mind * The Philosophical Worth of Chinese Thought * The Rehabilitation of Daoism * Summary
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The Context of Chinese Philosophy: Language and Theory of Language

* Geographical Setting * Pre-Historic Influences Language * Geographical Setting * The Social Context: Some Conclusions
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Part I: The Positive Dao Period

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Confucius: The Baseline

* The Confucian Analects: Some Preliminary Hypotheses The Well Ordered Society Theory of Human Nature The Confucian Conceptual Scheme: Dao Ren and Confucian Theory of Language * Miscellaneous Other Topics
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* Mozi: Setting the Philosophical Agenda * Rehabilitation * Life of Mozi * Crafts and Guiding, Objective Standards * The Process of Enculturation * The Attack on Traditionalism * The Utilitarian Standard * The Conceptual Structure of Mozi's Utilitarianism * The Role of the Natural Urge * Morality: Motivation and Justification * Universal Love in Interpersonal Relations * The Doctrine of Agreement with the Superior * Miscellaneous Consequences of Utilitarianism * Reason and Right in the Mozi * Pragmatics v. Semantics * Mozi's Theory of Language * The Three Standards of Language
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* Part Two: The Antilanguage Period
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Mencius: The Establishment Strikes Back

* Background: The Double Challenge to Confucianism * Mencius' Philosophical Calling * Mencius' Theory of Moral Psychology * Reflections on Mencius' Moral Psychology * Mencius' Attitude Toward Language and the Heart-mind * Mencius' Lasting Influence
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Laozi: Language and Society

* Theoretical Interpretation * The Text of the Daode Jing * Historical Background of Daoism * Laozi: Non-Life and Tradition * The First Chapter:The Interpretation * Reversal of opposites in the Daode Jing
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Part Three: Analysis and Skepticism

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The Schools of Names: Linguisic Analysis in China

* The Neo-Mohist Text: Importance and Problems * The Realist Move * Strings and Reference: Extending the System * Ethics and Realist Language * Neo-Mohist epistemology * Neo-Mohist Logic * Gongsun Long: The Defense of Confucian Language * Hui Shi's Paradoxes The World is One * Summary: The School of Names
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Zhuang-zi: Discriminating about Discriminating

* An Interpretive Manifesto * Zhuangzi's Place in the Pre-Han Dialogue * Zhuangzi: Textual and Historical Issues * Language and its Adequacy * The Refutation of Mencius * The Refutation of the Neo-Mohists * The Refutation of Absolute Monism (Primitive Daoism) * Dreaming and Skepticism in Zhuangzi * Science and the Division of Fact and Value * Practical Advice
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Part Four: The Authoritarian Response

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Xunzi: Pragmatic Confucianism

* The Interpretive Dilemma * Xunzi's Intellectual Influences * Outline of Xunzi's Thought * New Rectifying Names * Is Human Nature Evil? * Philosophy of Heart Mind
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Hanfei-zi: Legalist Synthesis

* Han Feizi's Life and the Ruling Image * Confucian Rule of Man and Western Rule of Law * Historical Survey of Statecraft in China * Language and the Danger of Interpretive Anarchy * Authoritarian Taoism * The Aftermath
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Indo-European Theory of Language and Mind

1.      The Computer Analogy 2.      The Computer Analogy and Human Dignity 3.      Mentalese and Conventional Language 4.      The Theory of Ideas and Chinese Language

Return to Intro

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Language

1.      Pictographs and Ideographs 2.      Meaning, Translation and the Mental 3.      Emotionless Tone 4.      Ordered Grammar 5.      Building Blocks of Language 6.      Structure and Interpretation 7.      Mass Terms and Scope Metaphysics 8.      Scope and Grammatical Categories 9.      Scope and Ontological Relativity 10. The Regulative Role of Language 11. Language and Psychology


Return to Context

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The Well-Ordered Society

1.      The Educational Hierarchy 2.      The Role of Rulers 3.      Confucian opposition to Law and Punishment 4.      Rectifying Names

Return to Confucius

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Theory of Human Nature

1.      Injecting Human Nature 2.      The Importance of Modeling 3.      The Role of Intuition 4.      Language: A Paradigm 5.      Confucian Conventionalism and Western Folk Psychology 6.      Applied Psychology of Education 7.      Human Nature and the Role of Ren 8.      Morality and Human Nature

Return to Confucius

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The Confucian Conceptual Scheme: Dao

1.      Dao and Metaphysics 2.      Literature: Li, Music, and Poetry

Return to Confucius

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Ren and Confucian Theory of Language

1.      Innatism and the Unspoken Dao 2.      Philosophy and Code Skepticism

Return to Confucius

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Rehabilitation

1.      The Effect of Confucian Ideology on Translation 2.      Style Slander

Return to Mozi

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The Process of Enculturation

1.      Cultivation, Character and the Heart-mind 2.      Models of Dao

Return to Mozi

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The Utilitarian Standard

* The Paradox of Moral Reform * Varieties of Constancy
Inheritance Constancy
Projection Constancy
Pragmatic Constancy
* The Self-Defeating Nature of a Dao of Partiality Might Mozi's Dao be self-effacing? The Natural or Heavenly Dao

Return to Mozi

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The Conceptual Structure of Mozi's Utilitarianism * Guidance by Name-Pairs The Malleability of Human Moral Character Spirits and Fate

Return to Mozi

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The Doctrine of Agreement with the Superior 1.      Comparison to Hobbes 2.      Comparison to Confucius

Return to Mozi

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Miscellaneous Consequences of Utilitarianism 1.      The Opposition to Music 2.      The Opposition to Aggressive War 3.      Criticism of Confucius

Return to Mozi

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Pragmatics versus Semantics * Euclidean Rationality and Duty Ethics The Euclidean Model The Euclidean Model in Practical Reasoning--The Practical Syllogism.

Return to Mozi

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The Three Standards of Language * The Social Character of Language * Operational Test of Knowledge of Words and Distinctions * The Unity of Mozi and Confucius

Return to Mozi

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Mencius' Theory of Moral Psychology 1.      Borrowing Yang-zhu's Naturalism 2.      The Heart-mind 3.      The Four Fonts

Return to Mencius

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Reflections on Mencius' Moral Psychology 1.      Problems with Heart-mind Theory 2.      Cultivating the Heart-mind: The Plant Analogy 3.      The Justification of Intuitionism

Return to Mencius

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Mencius' Attitude Toward Language and the Heart-mind * Logic, Language and Analogy in The Mencius

Return to Mencius

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Historical Background of Daoism * Shendao and the Beginning of Daoist Theory 1.      Dao as a Philosophical Topic 2.      The Meaning-Change Hypothesis 3.      The Rejection of Egoism 4.      The Paradox of Primitive Daoism

Return to Laozi

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Laozi: Non-Life and Tradition * Basic Interpretive Hypothesis: Shendao and Language Analysis 1.      Distinctions and Opposite Names 2.      Distinctions and Desires 3.      Wei and Wu-wei

Return to Laozi

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The First Chapter:The Interpretation * The Single Ineffable Dao * The Inconstancy of Prescription in Language * The Paradox of the Terms Being and Non Being

Return to Laozi

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Reversal of opposites in the Daode Jing * Negative Discourse, Negative Know how * Scheming Political Methods * Opposition to use of the Senses

Return to Laozi

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The Neo-Mohist Text: Importance and Problems The Centrality of Bian

Return to School of Names

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The Realist Move 1.      The Paradox of Relativism 2.      The Pragmatic Focus

Return to School of Names

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Strings and Reference: Extending the System The Analysis: What Phrases are Assertable of Others?

Return to School of Names

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Ethics and Realist Language Rectifying Intensional Phrases Killing Thieves is not Killing Men Defense of Universal Love

Return to School of Names

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Neo-Mohist epistemology * Know (How) To

Return to School of Names

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Neo-Mohist Logic * Neo-Mohist Semantics and Chinese Logic

Return to School of Names

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Gongsun Long: The Defense of Confucian Language 1.      The White Horse Paradox 2.      The Dialogue on Pointing to Things

Return to School of Names

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Language and its Adequacy Knowledge and Language

Return to Zhuangzi

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The Refutation of the Neo-Mohists Language and Indexicality

Return to Zhuangzi

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Science and the Division of Fact and Value Evaluation and Reason

Return to Zhuangzi

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Outline of Xunzi's Thought 1.      Naturalism 2.      The Chain of Life 3.      Language and Morality

Return to Xunzi

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New Rectifying Names * Xunzi's Definitions * Political Control of the Use of Names * Convention and Pragmatic Utility * The Creation of New Names * The Theory of Naming The Reason for Having Names The Basis for Distinctions of Similar-Different. * The Basic Requirements of Regulating Names * Pragmatic Treatment of the Paradoxes Using theory of naming to confuse naming Using Perspectives on Reality to Confuse Names Using Theory of Naming to Confuse Reality

Return to Xunzi

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Is Human Nature Evil? 1.      Dao and Desires 2.      The Textual Problem

Return to Xunzi

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Han Feizi's Life and the Ruling Image Fa: Problems about Meaning The Historical Theory of Meaning The Distinction of Meaning and Reference Coherence of Nominal and Verbal Usage Meaning Gaps and Meaning Efficiency Fa (objective standards) and Elite Intuition

Return to Hanfeizi

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Confucian Rule of Man and Western Rule of Law 1.      The Confucian Argument Against Punishment 2.      The Confucian Argument Against Publicly Accessible Daos 3.      The Liberal Western argument for Rule of Law

Return to Hanfeizi

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Language and the Danger of Interpretive Anarchy 1.      Shi: Situation authority 2.      Shu: Methods to Control the State Apparatus 3.      Fa: Public, Measurable Standards.

Return to Hanfeizi

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A. C. Graham, Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press) 1978.
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