Good Confucianism book (pdf) - Department of Physics

Opponents 83“ t - a - b - l - e ” a table? If not, what is it? The most well - known of theseLogicians was Gongsun Long. 26 He said that there are names/words forparticular, concrete, things and for abstract things, but they do not work inthe same way. His most famous statement is “ a white horse is not a horse ” :The name/word “ horse ” points to a certain shape, while the name/word“ white ” points to a color. … When a horse is needed, yellow and black oneswill do, but when one needs a white horse, yellow or black horses will notdo … therefore yellow and black horses are separate kinds and can respondto the call for a horse, but not to the call for a white horse. … A white horseis “ horse ” plus “ white. ” “ Horse ” plus “ white ” is not “ horse. ” Thus, a whitehorse is not a horse. 27Words/names like “ white ” are abstract, 28 what Gongsun Long calls an“ idea, ” a “ universal. ” You can show me white paint, white paper, whitewalls, but you cannot show me “ white. ” “ White ” cannot exist by itself,but only as an abstract term that, when paired with another word, like“ paper, ” becomes the concrete particular “ white paper. ”Concrete, particular things exist in time and space and we have wordsfor them. Abstract words/names do not exist in time and space. “ Horse ” isanother abstract word. It defines a certain genus and species, but does notrefer to a particular horse. A white horse is a concrete, particular thing. Aconcrete white horse is not an abstract, so it is not a “ horse. ” Thus a whitehorse is not a horse. 29Strategists like Sunzi, the Sophists, and Logicians like Hui Shi andGongsun Long were not interested in talking about morality. They couldargue about all sorts of things, but none of them were interested in committingthemselves to moral behavior. Some, like Hui Shi, may have arguedthat morality was just a matter of taste, just as his friend Zhuangzi did.LegalismAs the Warring States era drew to a close, a number of thinkers began totalk about government in a particular way. Again, this was a very diversegroup and the label “ Legalism ” was applied by later Han organizers.Most of the thinkers we will look at here assume a pain – pleasure modelof human nature and, like Mozi, the idea that human nature is basicallyself - interested. Human beings want to maximize pleasure and minimizepain. Politically, this means that a government can use rewards and penaltiesto motivate people. Like the Mohists, Legalists present their ideas asutilitarian and logical, claiming that the result for rulers will be wealth andpower. Because of this, they are sometimes, astonishingly, called “ realists. ”