Speaker: Jincheng Zhai (Professor, School of Philosophy, Nankai University)

Moderator: Liuxiang Hao (Professor, Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Time: Friday, March 15, 2024, 15:30 - 17:00

Venue: Lecture Hall, Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (4th Floor, South Building, Building 4, Software Park, No. 4 Zhongguancun South Street)

Organizer: Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Abstract:
Logic is a science of argumentation with strong instrumental value, deeply intertwined with the development of Western philosophy throughout history. However, contemporary Chinese logic (often referred to as "School of Names and Debate") has largely been constructed in comparison to the teaching framework of Western traditional logic, which prevents it from serving as a foundational tool for Chinese traditional philosophy in the same way that logic supports Western philosophy.

Authentic Chinese logic, rooted in the intellectual and cultural ecosystem of Chinese tradition, focuses on relationships such as name-reality, category-thing, and image-object. Its aim is rectification of names, its foundation lies in categories, and its primary method is analogy. Chinese logic studies names and their related issues through methods like examining reality, distinguishing things, and categorization, ultimately leading to the rectification of names. Categorization is based on similarity and difference within categories, using a reasoning method that transitions from names to categories and vice versa. Importantly, Chinese logic is deeply integrated with the development and evolution of traditional Chinese philosophy.

Speaker Bio:
Jincheng Zhai holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is the Dean of the School of Philosophy at Nankai University, where he is also a professor and doctoral supervisor. He serves as the chief expert of the major National Social Science Fund project A History of Chinese Logic in Eight Volumes and the principal investigator of key projects. He is a member of the Philosophy Teaching Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Education and Vice President of the Chinese Logic Society.

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