The Metaphysics of Chinese Academic Thought

Metaphysics is not only the core of a certain philosophy, but also the core of a certain cultural system, so it can best reflect the characteristics of an academic thought.

The most common existence discussed in metaphysics is beyond everything and has nothing to do with the real world.

That is to say, it is entirely designed by the human heart.

In this way, we cannot avoid the concept of mind.

As mentioned above, the heart contains two levels: the heart of life and the heart of cognition.

I believe that there are two types of corresponding topography, namely life metaphysics and cognitive metaphysics, which are respectively constructed by the life mind and the cognitive mind.

The former is the projection of the fundamental characteristics of life.

Philosophers project their understanding and grasp of the fundamental qualities of the mind (or life) onto the highest metaphysical concept, and then use it to define and settle the mind.

The latter is the projection of the fundamental characteristics of the objective world.

The fundamental characteristics of the objective world are first projected onto the cognitive mind, and then projected onto the highest metaphysical concepts from the cognitive mind.

Because philosophers have different understandings of the fundamental characteristics of life and the fundamental characteristics of the objective world, various metaphysics of life and cognitive metaphysics have been formed.

Huang Lizhou said: "The mind has no essence, and whatever the effort reaches is its essence." [6] Here, I would like to follow his words: Existence (the most universal existence) has no essence, and whatever the effort reaches is its essence.

Since the highest metaphysical concept is the projection of the heart, the ontology of existence is also the ontology of the heart; the difference in "gongfu" determines the difference between the ontology of the heart and the ontology of existence.

"Kung Fu" is, of course, the work of the heart.

Chinese and Western traditional metaphysics belong to different types.

From the very beginning, Western philosophy was a kind of knowledge that “loved wisdom”. The mainstream of traditional Western metaphysics after Aristotle formed from this is grasped by the theoretical knowledge system of scientific concepts, judgments, and reasoning. This is

Certainly a cognitive metaphysics (presocratic philosophy may be different).

Chinese philosophy has been based on the value of life from the beginning, so the mainstream of its traditional metaphysics is the metaphysics of life.

The highest categories of metaphysics in the three schools of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are Heaven, Dao, and Zhenru, and the essences of these categories are goodness, nature, and emptiness.

That is to say, the three parties’ understanding of the fundamental characteristics of life are goodness, nature and emptiness respectively.

However, the metaphysics of the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties is a kind of cognitive metaphysics.

Although it claims that its highest category "reason" is universal, in its actual demonstration it focuses more on social and human ethics, so it is different from Western cognitive metaphysics.

Since the function of the vital mind is the realization of itself, it is both subject and object, and in the final analysis it is the actual bearer of subjectivity.

This is the root of the characteristic of Chinese philosophy that combines subject and object.

In contrast, objectification is a distinctive feature of the cognitive mind.

It always recognizes the objective world as an object; even for itself, it first objectifies it and then recognizes it.

In other words, the cognitive mind and the objective world are inherently dichotomous.

On the other hand, the cognitive mind and the vital mind as the actual bearers of subjectivity are dichotomous.

This leads to the dichotomy of subject and object in traditional Western philosophy.

Since Chinese philosophy was born out of early religion, it inevitably bears the characteristics of early Chinese religion.

Just as in primitive religions, human destiny is given by heaven, in Chinese philosophy, human nature is also given by the highest metaphysical entities such as heaven and Tao, and is thus inherent in human beings.

This point is also very different from Western metaphysics.

What needs to be pointed out is that the essence of the trend of doubting and denying traditional metaphysics in the West since modern times, especially in modern times, lies in the departure from the metaphysics of cognition and the approach to the metaphysics of life.

In this way, it is not surprising that some Western philosophers consciously absorb nutrients from Chinese philosophy.