Does Chinese philosophy deal with the idea of ’ non sequitur’? If so, how is that phrased in Mandarin Chinese?
1 Like
中國特色的邏輯
3 Likes
Google says “不合邏輯的推論”, sounds reasonable in philosophical terms.
2 Likes
I’d just say something like 前後矛盾.
4 Likes
If I was in a conversation I think I’d say “不合邏輯因為。。。”
3 Likes
It could be translated as 未根據前提的推理, but that’s a mouthful. As mentioned above, Mandarin speakers would use expressions like 前後矛盾 etc unless alluding specifically to philosophical logic.
Ancient China did have a school of logicians with their own technical terms — an annoying bunch, it seems, who did things like ride their horses into an area where horses where prohibited and then, when confronted by the hapless guard, wrangle: sign sez “no horses,” see? This is a white horse. A white horse is not a horse. 白馬非馬. No wonder Zhuangzi (AKA the Fish Grokking Sage) made fun of them!
6 Likes
Thanks.
1 Like
Although I wasn’t entirely serious above, that’s the sort of thing I was alluding to. I remember we actually had a whole thread about this years ago. There definitely was a school of thought where the sages attempted to squeeze what westerners would call a “non sequitur” into the philosopher’s worldview. For some reason different-coloured horses cropped up a lot.
1 Like
My basic Chinese translation would be 這樣沒有道理啊.
1 Like
Unfortunately most of the works of the 名家 “School of Names” were lost. Only fragments and references to them in opposing philosophical writings remain. They were clearly an influential school, and Mengzi, Mozi, Hanfeizi and Zhuangzi all allude to the white horse problem.
The famous story in Zhuangzi about being able to know that the fish in the stream are happy might be thought of as an attempt to think beyond verbal and logical reasoning — an invitation to take a leap across what appears to be a gaping non sequitur.
Analogous attempts to think beyond the impasses of linguistic logic are found in Zen Buddhism (which was influenced by Zhuangzi’s thought). Hippies everywhere know the famous “Koan of the Cow,” right? The one that goes like this:
— Master, does a cow have Buddha nature?
— ….
— Well, does it?
— Moooooooooo!
2 Likes