Skip to main content

Problems of Language and Logic in Daoism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Dao Companion to Chinese Philosophy of Logic

Part of the book series: Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy ((DCCP,volume 12))

Abstract

The chapter considers the relation between language and logic in early Daoism. It explains the Daoist experience of language, which is closely related to the Daoist experience of the Way (dao). It is shown how Daoist logic differs from the Confucian logic of correctness and the Mohist logic of naming. Even if Daoist discourse does not follow these more familiar forms of logic, it does not negate the law of non-contradiction nor does it fall into the performative contradiction. Through readings of significant Daoist stories the Daoist logic beyond logic is brought to view.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agamben, Giorgio. 2000. “Language and History: Linguistic and Historical Categories in Benjamin’s Thought.” In Daniel Heller-Roazen ed. and trans., Potentialities: Collected Essays in Philosophy. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agamben, Giorgio. 2011. The Sacrament of Language: An Archaeology of the Oath. Translated by Adam Kotsko. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aristotle. 1984. The Complete Works of Aristotle, edited by Jonathan Barnes. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassin, Barbara ed. 2014. Dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cui, Dahua 崔大華. 2012. Zhuangzi qijie 庄子歧解 (Divergent interpretations of the Zhuangzi). Beijing: Zhonghua.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fang, Yong 方勇. 2012. Zhuangzi zuanyao 莊子纂要 (Collected material for the Zhuangzi), 8 volumes. Beijing: Xueyuan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadamer, H. G. 1991. Plato’s Dialectical Ethics: Phenomenological Interpretations Relating to the Philebus, translated by R. M. Wallace. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, A. C. 1981. Chuang-tzu: The Inner Chapters. London: Allan and Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, A. C. 1989. Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China. La Salle: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hadot, Pierre. 2004. What is Ancient Philosophy. translated by Michael Chase. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, Chad. 1992. A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harbsmeier, Christoph. 1993. “Conceptions of Knowledge in Ancient China,” In Hans Lenk and Gregor Paul, eds., Epistemological Issues in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harbsmeier, Christoph. 1998. Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 7, part 1, Language and Logic in China, edited by Joseph Needham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidegger, Martin. 2009. “Indication of the Hermeneutical Situation.” In The Heidegger Reader, edited by Günter Figal, translated by Jerome Veith. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, Ian trans. 2014. Mo Zi: The Book of Master Mo. London: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroll, Paul W. 2015. A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese. Leiden: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, Burton. 1968. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhuangzi. 2000. Zhuangzi zhuzi suoyin 莊子逐字索引 (A Concordance to the Zhuangzi, the ICS Ancient Chinese Texts Concordance Series). Hong Kong: The Commercial Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziporyn, Brook. 2009. Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eske J. Møllgaard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Møllgaard, E.J. (2020). Problems of Language and Logic in Daoism. In: Fung, Ym. (eds) Dao Companion to Chinese Philosophy of Logic. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29033-7_20

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics