Gongsun Longzi
Encyclopedia
Gongsun Long was a member of the School of Names (名家; Míng jiā; Ming-chia; ming=names) of ancient Chinese philosophy
. He also ran a school and enjoyed the support of rulers, and supported peaceful means of resolving disputes in contrast to the wars which were common in the period (the so-called Warring States Period
). However, little is known about the particulars of his life, and furthermore many of his writings have been lost. All of his essays, fourteen originally but only six extant, are included in the book Gongsun Longzi (公孫龍子).
In Book 17 of the Zhuangzi
anthology Gongsun thus speaks of himself:
He is best known for a series of paradox
es in the tradition of Hui Shi
, including "White horses are not horses," "When no thing is not the pointed-out, to point out is not to point out," and "There is no 1 in 2."
"Whales are not fish" and "You are not a philosopher" are examples of the former use of "is not." An example of the second use of "is not" is "Jimmy Olsen is not Superman." Normally, in Chinese and English, it is clear from context which sense is intended, so we do not notice the ambiguity. So the sentence "White horses are not horses" would normally be taken to assert the obviously false claim that white horses are not part of the group of horses. However, the "sophist" in the White Horse Dialogue
defends the statement under the interpretation, "White horses are not identical with horses." The latter statement is actually true, since (as the "sophist" in the dialogue explains) "horses" includes horses that are white, yellow, brown, etc., while "white horses" includes only white horses, and excludes the others.
This work has been viewed by some as a serious logical discourse, by others as a facetious work of sophistry, and finally by some as a combination of the two.
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. The majority of traditional Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States era, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and...
. He also ran a school and enjoyed the support of rulers, and supported peaceful means of resolving disputes in contrast to the wars which were common in the period (the so-called Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
). However, little is known about the particulars of his life, and furthermore many of his writings have been lost. All of his essays, fourteen originally but only six extant, are included in the book Gongsun Longzi (公孫龍子).
In Book 17 of the Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese thought — the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name,...
anthology Gongsun thus speaks of himself:
"When young, I studied the way of the former kings. When I grew up, I understood the practice of kindness and duty. I united the same and different, separated hard from white, made so the not-so and admissible the inadmissible. I confounded the wits of the hundred schools and exhausted the eloquence of countless speakers. I took myself to have reached the ultimate".
He is best known for a series of paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
es in the tradition of Hui Shi
Hui Shi
Hui Shi , or Huizi , was a Chinese philosopher during the Warring States Period. He was a representative of the School of Names , and is famous for ten paradoxes about the relativity of time and space, for instance, "I set off for Yue today and came there yesterday."-Works mentioning Hui Shi:The...
, including "White horses are not horses," "When no thing is not the pointed-out, to point out is not to point out," and "There is no 1 in 2."
White Horse Dialogue
In the White Horse Dialogue (白馬論, Báimǎ Lùn), one interlocutor (sometimes called the "sophist") defends the truth of the statement "White horses are not horses," while the other interlocutor (sometimes called the "objector") disputes the truth of this statement. The argument plays upon an ambiguity in Chinese (which happens to also exist in English). The expression "X is not Y" (X非Y) can mean either- "X is not a member (or subset) of set Y"
- "X is not identical to Y"
"Whales are not fish" and "You are not a philosopher" are examples of the former use of "is not." An example of the second use of "is not" is "Jimmy Olsen is not Superman." Normally, in Chinese and English, it is clear from context which sense is intended, so we do not notice the ambiguity. So the sentence "White horses are not horses" would normally be taken to assert the obviously false claim that white horses are not part of the group of horses. However, the "sophist" in the White Horse Dialogue
White Horse Dialogue
When a white horse is not a horse , also known as the White Horse Dialogue , is a famous paradox in Chinese philosophy. Gongsun Long wrote this circa 300 BCE dialectic analysis of the question Can it be that a white horse is not a horse?....
defends the statement under the interpretation, "White horses are not identical with horses." The latter statement is actually true, since (as the "sophist" in the dialogue explains) "horses" includes horses that are white, yellow, brown, etc., while "white horses" includes only white horses, and excludes the others.
This work has been viewed by some as a serious logical discourse, by others as a facetious work of sophistry, and finally by some as a combination of the two.
Other works
- 指物論 (Zhǐwù Lùn)
- 通變論 (Tōngbiàn Lùn)
- 堅白論 (Jiānbái Lùn)
- 名實論 (Míngshí Lùn)
- 跡府 (Jifǔ) "Storehouse of Traces"