Gongsun Longzi

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Gongsun Longzi ( Chinese  公 孫龍子 , Pinyin Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ , W.-G. Kung-sun Lung Tzu ) is the only remaining work by a representative of a school, which in the sources from the Han dynasty as Míng jiā; ( Chinese  名家 ) is called. In Western literature, the term Chinese Sophists has become established for the representatives of the Míng jiā (literally school of names ). The author of this little book is assumed to be a Gongsun Long ( Chinese  公孫龍 ; approx. 320-250 BC), which , according to Shiji , came from the state of Zhao ( Chinese  趙 ; see also Period of the Warring States ).

The version of the Gongsun Longzi that has survived to us is divided into six essays, the first of which, titled Trace Collection ( Chinese  跡 府 , Pinyin jī fǔ ) contains three excerpts from no longer preserved works on the life of Gongsun Long. Of the five remaining chapters, only two, About the White Horse ( Chinese  白馬 論 , Pinyin bái mǎ lùn ) and About Names and Things ( Chinese  指物 論 , Pinyin zhǐ wù lùn ), are considered representative of the philosopher's teaching. The better known of these two is About the White Horse , who asked, "Can you say that a white horse is not a horse?" ( Chinese  白馬非馬 可 乎 , Pinyin bái mǎ fēi mǎ hě hu ) begins. This text is structured as a dispute between two people A and B, where A assumes the truth of the statement and B doubts it. The subject of this discussion is actually the meaning of non-formal language, more precisely the correct use of the word sein (in the sense of belonging):

A: "Belonging is given if an element can be assigned to a set of objects with a certain constant property without all properties of the elements of the set having to be the same."

B: "Belonging is only given if an element can only be assigned to a set of objects if all properties of the elements are the same."

If the final rule A is applied, a white horse is an element of the set of all horses. If the final rule B is applied, a white horse is not an element of the set of all horses, because the elements of this set do not have the property white. The purpose of this text is to encourage the reader to consider which rule of inference by using the word "to be" should be applied. The text therefore discusses different types of equality and at the same time comes up against the inadequacies of non-formal language without attempting to formalize it.

The other essays contained in the Gongsun Longzi are:

  • Understand the change ( Chinese  通 變 論 , Pinyin tōng biàn lùn )
  • About the hard and the white ( Chinese  堅 白 論 , Pinyin jiān bái lùn )
  • About names and facts ( Chinese  名 實 論 , Pinyin míng shí lùn )

literature

  • Wing-Tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy , Princeton 1969, pp. 235-243, ISBN 0-691-01964-9
  • Ralf Moritz, Philosophy in old China , Berlin 1990, pp. 155–167, ISBN 3-326-00466-4
  • Hubert Schleichert, Classical Chinese Philosophy , Frankfurt 1990, pp. 332–343, ISBN 3-465-02259-9

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