The contents of this thesis is to consider whether the so-called 'Wang Bi's theory of the things and their functions' that has been discussed a lot in the academia and has been generally recognized can, indeed, be established. A lot of scholars argue ...
The contents of this thesis is to consider whether the so-called 'Wang Bi's theory of the things and their functions' that has been discussed a lot in the academia and has been generally recognized can, indeed, be established. A lot of scholars argue that Wang Bi established the theory of the things and their functions for the first time in the history of the philosophy of China. But, some scholars deny such a view. They argue that the theory of the things and their functions was established by Geyi during the Qin Dynasty when Buddhism became settled down in China. The arguer agrees with the latter position. In this thesis, the contents that criticize the view that Wang Bi is the pioneer of the theory of the things and their functions and that prove the argument that Wang Bi is a person professing the theory of the uselessness are in the center.
The core lines that the scholars have been mentioning in order to prove Wang Bi's theory of the things and their functions are 'imuwibon', 'imuwiyong', and 'imuwiche'. The two lines at the front are the direct words by Wang Bi. And the one line at the back is a word made up by the researchers on Wang Bi. Scholars explain by bundling up together the theory of uselessness, the theory of the beginning and the end, and the theory of the things and their functions of Wang Bi. However, the 'body‘ Wang Bi talks about means not the main body but means the form. The meanings of the use, usefulness, and utility of the 'use' are stronger than the meanings of the action and the phenomenon of the 'use'. Hence, there are the differences with the meanings of the body and the use in the theory of the things and their functions, which is a theory (category) of Buddhism and neo-Confucianism. In Wang Bi's philosophy, the nothingness is the main body and, at the same time, is the usefulness. As in Wang Bi's philosophy, the theory of the things and their functions does not get established, it is a mistake to explain his theory of uselessness, theory of the beginning and the end, and the theory of the things and their functions by bundling them together. Except, Wang Bi's philosophy can be interpreted in the viewpoint of the theory of the things and their functions that was established later on. Wang Bi is not a person espousing the theory of the things and their functions but a person having the theory of the uselessness.
The argument by the scholars of China arguing that Wang Bi is the pioneer of the theory of the things and their functions is related to the democracy of China. They do not want to recognize that the theory of the things and their functions, which is one of the important theories (categories) of the Chinese philosophy, was established by receiving the influences of a foreign ideology. In order to argue that the theory of the things and their functions is an exclusive ideology of China, Wang Bi, who mentioned the body and the use a lot, is driven as the pioneer of the theory of the things and their functions. However, such an argument is farfetched without any feasibility. Wang Bi merely spoke about the body and the use. Actually, he did not have any interest in the theory of the things and their functions.