weimin2009_chinese logic and abscence of theoretical science

8/8/2019 Weimin2009_chinese Logic and Abscence of Theoretical Science

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ORIGINAL PAPER

Chinese Logic and the Absence of Theoretical Sciences

in Ancient China

SUN Weimin

# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009

Abstract In this essay, I examine the nature of Chinese logic and Chinese sciences in the

history of China. I conclude that Chinese logic is essentially analogical, and that the

Chinese did not have theoretical sciences. I then connect these together and explain why

the Chinese failed to develop theoretical sciences, even though they enjoyed an advanced

civilization and great scientific and technological innovations. This is because a deductive

system of logic is necessary for the development of theoretical sciences, and analogical

logic cannot provide the deductive connections between a theory and empiricalobservations required by a theoretical science. This also offers a more satisfactory answer

to the long-standing Needham Problem.

Keywords Chinese logic . Chinese science . Theoretical science . The Needham problem

In this paper, I first examine the nature of Chinese logic and argue that Chinese logic is a

system of analogical inference. Then, I examine the features of theoretical sciences and

argue that Chinese sciences are not theoretical, at least not in the sense that modern sciences

are. I show that a system of deductive logic is necessary for theoretical sciences, andanalogical logic cannot provide the deductive connections between theory and experience

required in a theoretical science. As a result, the nature of Chinese logic explains why there

were no theoretical sciences in China. Since modern sciences are essentially theoretical, this

also answers the Needham problem: why they did not discover modern sciences.

1 Chinese Logic

Did the ancient Chinese have a logic? If they did, what kind of logic is it? And how should

we investigate this matter? Christoph Harbsmeier argued that the ancient Chinese had

explicitly and implicitly used almost all common valid logical forms in their argumentation.

Dao

DOI 10.1007/s11712-009-9133-x

SUN Weimin (*)

Department of Philosophy, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330-8253, USA

e-mail: [email protected]


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He finds many arguments in Chinese literature that follow common valid logical forms,

such as syllogism, sorites, Modus Tollens, Modus Ponens, and a fortiori (Harbsmeier 1998:

261286). For example, Harbsmeier cites the following story in Shi Shuo Xin Yu to

illustrate the implicit use of Modus Ponens:

When WANG Jung was seven years old, he was once roaming about with a group of

children and they saw a pear tree by the wayside. The tree had so much fruit that its

branches were breaking under the weight. All the children rushed forward to get the

fruit. Only Jung did not move. Someone asked him why. He replied: If the tree by

the wayside has much fruit, that must be because the pears are bitter. They picked

the pears and he turned out to be right. (Harbsmeier: 2689)

The following is a case of Modus Tollens in Mencius: For this reason there are no talented

men. If there were, I would be bound to know about them (Harbsmeier: 283; Mencius

6B6).

Harbsmeier aims to demonstrate that there was room in ancient Chinese culture for this

kind of [deductively valid] logical reasoning (Harbsmeier: 265). But his method of

investigation is deeply flawed. Many cultures have used valid logical forms in their

arguments, but only a few cultures can claim to have a logic system. Harbsmeiers approach

is more like a reconstruction of the logical reasoning of the ancient Chinese with Greek

logic (Aristotelian and Stoic logic). Though ample examples with valid argument forms can

be found in Chinese literature, this does not imply that the ancient Chinese were aware of

these logical forms. The fact that an argument can be formulated as a valid logical form

does not imply that this logical form is consciously used in logical reasoning. An argument

may be formulated in different ways, and in some cases it is even not clear whether there isan argument (understood as a way of justification).1 In order to have a logic system, the

people need to be aware of these forms of logical arguments and use them consciously and

explicitly in their argumentation.

There is strong evidence to indicate that the ancient Chinese did not have a system of

deductive logic. First, there were no Chinese logicians who studied these forms. As a result,

the forms were never explicitly formulated, and were never used as the guide of reasoning

or the justification of arguments. Instead, many Chinese logicians (the Moist School in

particular) studied the structure of analogical inference. Second, many arguments of valid

forms can be made by intuition alone. Anyone who has taught introductory logic knows

that a student without any knowledge of deductive logic may recognize a valid argumentwith their intuitions. Yet these intuitions are not always reliable. There is another story in

Shi Shuo Xin Yu: when the 10 year old KONG Rong ( 153208 CE) attended a party, his

cleverness impressed all, except CHEN Wei , who claimed: if one is bright at a young

age, he may not be any good later. Overhearing what Chen said, KONG Rong confronted

him: you must have been very bright when you were young. The fun part of the story is

that it assumes an implicit premise that Chen is not much good now. This argument is a

case of invalid argument (affirming the consequent), yet its flaw went unnoticed until the

modern age. Third, some analogical inferences are similar to syllogism. Many cases of

1 Harbsmeier is aware of these issues, as he is also concerned with how the ancient Chinese justified their

claims (Harbsmeier: 2612). And he admits that the ancient Chinese were more inclined to argue

analogically, by analogy or comparison, rather than logically by demonstration or proof (Harbsmeier:

264). Yet he does not think that analogical thinking is a rational way of thinking, so he is forced to discover

deductive arguments in Chinese thinking.

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syllogistic reasoning Harbsmeier cited can be and should be understood as cases of

analogical inference.

I think Chinese logic is a system of analogical inference. We can have a very coherent

picture of logical reasoning in Chinese thoughts if we understand Chinese logic as a system

of analogical inference. From extant ancient texts, we see that analogical inferences are prevalent patterns of argument in Chinese thought. The Daodejing of Laozi and the

Analects of Confucius do not contain many explicit arguments (the claims are often stated

but not argued), but when there is a need to justify their claims, analogical argument is the

primary means. For example, a typical pattern of persuasion in the Analects is to argue from

what was done by ancient kings or sages to what should be done by present kings or

gentlemen. We find more explicit forms of argumentations in later works such as Mencius

and Zhuangzi, and these arguments overwhelmingly are analogical inferences. Later, Xunzi

and the Moist School gave some systematic and reflective studies on the patterns of

argumentation and reasoning, which again focused on analogical inferences. Analogical

inference continued to dominate the reasoning of Chinese minds in later ages. In the Han

Dynasty there was a boom of correlative thinking when analogical inferences were

extended to cover almost everything. Even the opponents of correlative thinking cannot

avoid analogical inference. WANG Chong ( 2797 CE) sharply criticized DONG

Zhongshus correlative system, yet his reasoning also relied on analogical inference. There

were few formal studies of logic in later times, but the dominant pattern of reasoning was

analogical. Also, analogical inference was used as a way of reasoning and justification in

almost all fields of study, whether they were scientific, political, or philosophical.

We get a clearer picture of analogical inference from a detailed study of Chinese logical

works. In this essay, I will focus only on the Moist School.

2

The Moist Canons contain therichest and the deepest discussions on logic in Chinese history. Though the texts are

significantly corrupted and often hard to decipher, there is no doubt that the Canons present

a systematic study of logical reasoning and may have opened a window for us to

understand logical reasoning in ancient China.3

The Moist Canons include six parts, two canons, two corresponding explanations, and

Daqu ( Big Selection) and Xiaoqu (Small Selection) which were clearly works of later

Moists. The opening statement in the canons says: The gu (reason/cause) of something is

what it must get before it can come about (Graham: 263). This shows that Moists required

that statements must be accepted based on good reasons; that is, they must be properly

justified. This statement is further explained in explanations: Minor reason: having this,it will not necessarily be so; lacking this, necessarily it will not be so. Major reason: having

this, it will necessarily be so; lacking this, necessarily it will not be so (Graham: 263).

Here Moists made a distinction between necessary conditions and sufficient conditions. The

characterization of major reason implies that if the major reason is true then the conclusion

it supports must also be true. So the Moists were looking for reasons, which, if true, would

guarantee the truth of their conclusion. They were not looking for probabilistic supports.

In Xiaoqu, after stating the purpose of argumentation (demonstrating what is true and

what is false, etc.), Moists outline the nature of logic: one (A) uses names to refer to

2 Antonio Cua argues that Xunzis logic is also analogical. Cua claims that Xunzi distinguishes between

explanation (shuo) and justification (bian), but understands both as analogical (in particular, in Cuas term,

the latter is understood as analogical projection) (Cua 1985). It seems to me that Xunzis approach is not

much different from the Moist School, and they might represent a common feature in contemporary thought.3 The Moist Canons were completely neglected in the later history of China. There are a lot of recent works

both in Chinese and in English devoted to the studies of Moist logic, such as A. C. Graham s comprehensive

study Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science.

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objects, (B) uses propositions to dredge out ideas, (C) uses explanations to bring out

reasons, and (D) accepts according to the kind, proposes according to the kind (Graham

4823).4 This statement defines the roles of names, propositions, and arguments

(explanations). In particular, it claims that argumentation should be based on kinds (lei

). This indicates that the argument forms the Moists were interested in are those based onkinds. The following passage in Daqu makes the nature of argumentation explicit:

The proposition is something which is engendered in accordance with the thing as it

inherently is, becomes full-grown according to a pattern, and proceeds according to

the kind. It is irresponsible to set up a proposition without being clear about what it is

engendered from. Now a man cannot proceed without a road; even if he has strong

thighs and arms, if he is not clear about the road it will not be long before he gets into

trouble. The proposition is something which proceeds according to the kind; if in

setting up a proposition you are not clear about the kind, you are certain to get into

trouble. (Graham: 478480)

This passage states that there are three aspects of an argument. First, ones proposition

(thesis) must be supported by reasons; otherwise one is held to be irresponsible. This is

similar to the requirement of epistemic responsibility; that is, in order for a person to know

something, the person must be able to provide reasons to justify it.5 This shows that the

Moists understood the need of justification for ones beliefs. Second, it claims that

justification is based on patterns (li ). It is not very clear what the patterns refer to, but the

last statement shows that the patterns must be related to kinds, and inferences should be

carried out based on kinds. It is likely that these patterns are shared characteristics of a kind.

And there is no doubt that the arguments Moists were interested in are those based onkinds.

What are the inferences based on kinds? Let us first take a look at what a kind is. In his

book, Harbsmeier discusses the historical development of the term kind (Harbsmeier:

218229), and finds that the term kind (lei) had its origin in defining a racial group of a

common ancestor and was gradually extended to cover biological kinds (such as tigers and

trees) and natural kinds (such as fire and metals). Harbsmeier claims that Moists further

extended the notion of kind from natural kinds to similarity groups: for Mo Tzu in this

dialogue a lei [] is not just a fixed natural kind, it is a relevant similarity group, a set of

things that are similar in a relevant respect (Harbsmeier: 224). The difference between

natural kinds and similarity groups, according to Harbsmeier, seems to be that the latternotion understands the kind in a nominal way: Categories were no longer entirely

traditional or given by nature. They were also conceived as set up by man (Harbsmeier:

223). Yet Harbsmeiers arguments for the nominal interpretation of kind are very weak, and

the texts he cites can be better understood with the realistic interpretation of kind. More

importantly, I do not think ancient Chinese philosophers were concerned with the

metaphysical nature of kinds. There are a lot of discussions on this issue today,6 yet most

of the debates put too many contemporary philosophical concerns onto ancient Chinese

philosophy.

4 Unless indicated otherwise, all translations of the Canons are from Graham 1978/2003.5 Epistemic responsibility is a key concept in epistemology. It is required by the internalist approach to

knowledge, though not by the externalist approach, such as Goldmans reliability theory. See BonJour 1985:

Chapter 1, for a more detailed discussion of epistemic responsibility.6 For example, Graham has a nominal interpretation of kinds; FENG You-lan takes a stronger realist approach

(kinds as Platonic universals).

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I think that the ancient Chinese had a nave version of realism about kinds. They simply

understood a kind as a class of things bound together in an objective and natural way. This

implies that a kind is not arbitrarily or conventionally defined. For example, ma (horse) is a

natural kind. The ancient Chinese were certainly aware that the class of horses is different

from that of dogs, that two horses are similar, and that there are common aspects shared byall horses. But they never bothered to explain why a horse belongs to the horse kind by the

shared attributes (universals) or by the similarity relation among their members. It never

occurred to the ancient Chinese that there is a need to explain why two horses belong to the

same class or why two horses are similar. These were simply taken for granted.

This nave theory of natural kinds is sufficient for studies of nature and can provide

explanations and predictions of natural phenomena. The ancient Chinese understood natural

kinds in a broad way, which included not only physical and biological kinds but also kinds

in human and social affairs. For Chinese thinkers, knowledge is knowledge of kinds. All

major schools of Chinese thought emphasized the notion of kinds, though only a few of

them (such as the Moists) paid attention to formal studies of kinds and inferences based on

kinds.

What is an argument according to a kind? I think the Moists meant them to be

analogical inference. In Xiaoqu, there is a passage discussing different kinds of arguments,

such as pi , mou , yuan , and tui . All these arguments are analogical inferences. Pi

is a kind of argument that uses other things (as analogy) to illustrate one s thesis; mou is an

inference between parallel kinds; yuan is to draw a conclusion which falls in the same kind

as the opponents position; tui is just the opposite to yuan (though their logical forms are

similar), as it aims to refute the opponents thesis by showing that it is in the same kind as

some ridiculously false statements. These arguments can be given a formal analysis. (1)Yuan is of the following form: The opponent says F(a); a and b are of the same kind; so

F(b); (2) Tui is of the following form: The opponent says F(a); a and b are of the same

kind; yet it is obvious thatF(b) is not the case; so we have to conclude F(a) is not the case;

(3) Mou is of this form: F and G are the same kind; F has property P; so G has property

P; (4) Pi is likely of this form: a and b are of the same kind; F(a); so F(b). Some people

may understand pi merely as an analogy (which aims to clarify a position), rather than an

inference (which aims to justify a position), but Moists treated this as an argument, not just

an explanation.7

The key step in the above analogical argument is to examine whether things are of the

same kind. Moists had a detailed discussion on this topic. The idea is that each kind has amodel orfa (), which Graham translates as standard. Mozi explained whatfa is in A-70:

the fa is that in being like which something is so. The idea, the compasses, a circle, all

three may serve as fa (Graham: 316). From this explanation, it seems that Mozi understood

fa not only as a typical exemplar (circle), but also as the means that can produce the typical

exemplar (compasses), and probably also as the general characteristics of a kind (the idea of

a circle, which is defined as having the same length from one center). If a kind can be

understood from the above different aspects, a statement in Xiaoqu seems to imply the

exemplars are necessary for analogical inference: what is an exemplar (xiao ) is what is

set up as a standard (fa), what conforms to the exemplar satisfies the standard. So whatconforms to the exemplar is true, what does not is false. This is [setting up] the exemplar

(see Graham: 4701; my translation). Even when the standard (fa) is understood as a

7 Today analogies are often used to explain difficult concepts and issues. Ancient Chinese thinkers used

analogies in this way, but they also used analogies as inferences to argue for their ideas and to discover new

knowledge.



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general characteristic, the actual inference still needs an exemplar that satisfies the standard.

It seems that there is no direct inference from general characteristics without an exemplar.

We can compare analogical argument with syllogistic argument: All members ofA are P; a

is a member of A; so, a is P. Such an argument does not need exemplars, but it is not an

analogical inference anymore. Moists did have a notion of universal statements, but thisnotion was discussed in the context of kinds. Moist arguments did not proceed in the

syllogistic way.8

Analogical inferences were widely used by Moists and other contemporary thinkers. For

example, when Mozi tried to persuade Gong-su-ban that it is not right for Chu to attack Song

(for the benefit of Chu), he used an exemplar that it was not right to kill a person for reward,

and Gong-su-ban agreed. Then Mozi claimed that these two cases were of the same kind, and

criticized Gong-su-ban for not knowing the kind. This argument can be formulated as the

following: Killing a person for reward is wrong. Killing a person for reward is of the same

kind as attacking a country for benefit. So attacking a country for benefit is wrong.

An important issue seems to arise: analogical arguments do not have a valid logical

form. The validity of an analogical argument depends on the particular kind and the

property in consideration. For example, with the typical yuan argument, if the property is

shared by all members of the kind, then it is a valid argument; otherwise it is not. If the

property is the essential property of the kind, then the inference can support counterfactual

statements and serve as an explanation. But formally speaking, analogical inferences are not

valid. You can find cases of the same argument form, which have all true premises but a

false conclusion. Does this imply that Moists (and Chinese logicians in general) had no idea

of logical validity?

I think that Moists did aim to discover valid argument patterns, though they did notsucceed in their pursuit. First, as we see above, they understood analogical inferences as

patterns of arguments rather than as particular inference. Second, they studied a variety of

patterns of inferences concerning kinds. The mou argument mentioned above is an

argument between kinds, and in Xiaoqu we see a more detailed study of this kind of

inference. The following passage summarizes five types of inference: of the things in

general, there are cases where (1) something is so if the instanced is this thing, or (2) is not

so though the instanced is this thing, or (3) is so though the instanced is not this thing, or

(4) applies without exception in one case but not in the other, or (5) the instanced in one

case is this and in the other is not (Graham: 485). The first type of argument includes the

following instances: white horses are horses, so riding a white horse is riding a horse.Jack is a person. To love Jack is to love people. The second type of argument includes

cases like the following: ones brother is a beauty; loving ones brother is not loving a

beauty; boat is wood; entering a boat is not entering wood; robbers are people; being

without robbers is not being without people; and the famous one: robbers are people;

killing robbers is not killing people. The third type includes the following cases: reading

a book is not a book; to love reading books is to love books; being about to fall into a

well is not falling into a well; to stop someone about to fall into a well is to stop him falling

into the well.

It is quite difficult to figure out what the later Moists accomplished here. But one thing isclear: they were trying to study the inference patterns between the kinds. The idea is to see

what kind of predicates can be extended from one kind to the other kind. The basic pattern

of the first three types of arguments is clear: there is a relation between two kinds, F and G

8 The Moists made a distinction between a true universal statement (all members of the kind have the

property) and its opposite (not all the members have the property).

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(eitherF Gor not); a predicate Kwhich can (or cannot) be attributed to the first kind; and

so the predicate K can (or cannot) be attributed to the second kind. In particular, the first

type of argument can be understood as the following form: x (Fx Gx) x (Fx & Kx Gx & Kx). This is a valid logical form. But the other patterns are much harder to

analyze. The second type has the same kind of premises but a contrary conclusion. Thisleads Chris Fraser to claim that The grounds for rejecting Killing robbers is killing

people reflect the fundamental orientation of the Moists project. The writers are not

seeking to identify formally valid inference procedures. They are investigating ways in

which formally parallel strings of claims involving terms correctly distinguished as

similar may fail to reliably produce further parallel, correct claims (Fraser: 7.3). Yet if we

look at the above study as an attempt to find inference patterns extending from one kind to

a different (larger) kind, then it seems that Moists were looking for valid inference patterns.

I agree with Fraser that such studies are not purely formal and syntactic, as this kind of

approach to validity relies on the meanings of predicates and the nature of kinds. But their

intention was to find valid inference patterns. The inference patterns Moists aimed to find

were based on analogical inference. If we understood their effort from this perspective, we

would have a clearer understanding of Moists claims. For example, regarding the second

type of argument, the typical cases Moists had in mind (e.g. loving ones brother who is a

beauty is not to love beauty, killing robbers is not to kill a person) have a common theme:

the predicate is not transferrable to the larger kind. Today our analysis of the issue is to

conclude that there are two different predicates referred to by the same word (such as

different loves and different killings). But Moists took a different approach, and seemed to

think that such predicates were context-dependent (that is, predicates might have different

uses when applied to different kinds), denying that they were ambiguous predicates.

9

A different worry is that analogical arguments, in standard cases, are no different from

syllogism. As we saw earlier, if the property in consideration is shared by all members of

the kind, then a typical analogical inference is a valid argument, and it is equivalent to a

syllogistic argument. But even in such cases, analogical inferences are still different from

syllogisms in two important aspects. On the one hand, analogical inferences are more

practical than syllogisms. A kind is often hard to characterize precisely. It is often easier to

find a typical example of a kind than to define it precisely. This is true for almost all

ordinary kinds, as Wittgenstein has shown us. So an analogical inference is more practical

to use than a syllogistic one.10 On the other hand, there is a serious limitation to analogical

inferences. Typically, an analogical argument requires exemplars. These exemplars must beobservable things, and are often things you are familiar with in experience. Unobservable

entities such as atoms and genes cannot serve as exemplars. Even though some analogical

arguments are about kinds, and the properties of kinds may be unobservable (such as yin

and yang), the kinds in such arguments are natural kinds, so the typical members of these

kinds are observable. There is not a kind of completely abstract and unobservable entities in

Chinese logic. So this kind of logic cannot reason about completely abstract and

unobservable things. Syllogism has no such limitation.

9

Many predicates are context-dependent. For example, in the statements John is a tall person and John is atall basketball player, the predicate tall is used in different senses. But if we put these senses as two different

meanings of the word tall in a dictionary, there would be too many entries for tall in the dictionary.10 The requirement of syllogism may be too strict for ordinary life arguments. The major premise of a

syllogistic argument is false in almost all the interesting cases. It is not true that all human beings have two

hands or are rational. On the other hand, an analogical argument does not rely upon the truth of a universal

statement but only an exemplar of the class. So analogical inferences are more productive in practical

reasoning and scientific discoveries.



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One may object that the theory/observation distinction does not really exist and is a

mistake of logical positivism. Many observable terms (such as red) are theory-laden; and

we can observe atoms and bacteria with microscopes. It can even be said that astronauts

saw high-energy electrons with their naked eyes (van Fraassen 1982: 58). These objections

are effective against the linguistic distinction that logical positivists drew between theoryand observation. But this does not imply that there is no distinction between theory and

observation. There are a couple of replies to these objections. First, when theories of atoms,

bacteria, or genes were proposed, Dalton, Pasteur, and Mendel did not have the instruments

to observe them. Also, contemporary scientists did not need to see them in order to accept

these theories. For these scientists, these terms are truly theoretical in the sense that they

were not observable. So the distinction could be drawn relative to a scientific background

(see Hempel 2001: 208217). Second, as van Fraassen shows, even though the linguistic

distinction between theory and observation does not hold up, a theory/observation

distinction can be made at the ontological level. As human beings, what we can directly

observe from our senses is a biological fact independent of theories, even though we need

the theory to tell us what kind of things are observable and what are not. So the theoretical

entities and properties can be properly defined, and the notion of theoretical science is

legitimate.

Why do we need theoretical sciences? Theoretical sciences enjoy great advantages over

sciences at a purely empirical level. First, theories can offer us great insights and deeper

understandings of the world, because they can provide a unified explanation to many

diverse phenomena. In contrast, sciences at a purely empirical level generalize their

principles directly from empirical observations. For example, Snells law of refraction is an

empirical generalization based on observations. Descartes, on the other hand, explains thesame law from fundamental principles concerning corpuscular particles. This gives us a

deeper understanding of the phenomenon of refraction. It not only establishes the empirical

laws, but it also explains why these laws are true. Second, theoretical sciences provide more

precise solutions to a broader scope of empirical problems than do empirical sciences. The

solutions from theoretical sciences are often more precise than are those from purely

empirical sciences. The applications of empirical laws are often limited in a specific area,

while theoretical laws can be connected to many diverse areas, many of which are distinct

from the area from which the theory arises. Also, theoretical sciences can explain the

failures of those empirical laws when things fall outside the scope of empirical laws. Third,

theoretical sciences have richer resources to resolve mismatches between predictions andempirical observations. Both Kuhns idea of paradigm and Lakatoss notion of research

program aim to capture such internal dynamics of a scientific theory. As Kuhn has shown

us (Kuhn 1996), when a theory faces empirical challenges, scientists often regard them as

puzzles that can be solved within the paradigm, rather than as anomalies whose solutions lie

outside the paradigm. And they have good reason to think so because a scientific theory

offers a systematic mechanism to resolve these puzzles.

Let me use an example to illustrate the power of theoretical science. The Chinese made

beautiful porcelain, dating back thousands of years. When porcelain was first brought to

Europe from China, even the best European minds (e.g. Francis Bacon) had no idea how itwas made.15 Porcelain making is a very delicate process, which needs the right material

(clay), rigorous temperature control, proper procedure, and well-built ovens (kilns). Other

15Various theories had been advanced: that it was some sort of precious stone; that it was a certain juice

that coalesced underground; or that it was crushed eggshells and seashells mixed with water (Kerr and

Wood 2004: 741).



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decorations such as colored glazes and pigment painting require more knowledge and

technology. It is no surprise that no other country had discovered the art of porcelain

making. In China, porcelain-making developed mostly by trial and error. For example, in

the case of glazes, Kerr and Wood suggest that in many cases the celebrated qualities of

Chinese glazes were fortuitous by-products of high temperature reaction between the glazematerials (Kerr and Wood 2004: 608).

Chinese porcelain was highly appreciated by the European upper class, and there was a

great demand. Though there were some early imitations of Chinese models, Europe had its

first successful porcelain factory, the Meissen factory in Germany in 1710. Led by the

eminent scientist, Ehrenfried von Tschirnhaus, and later by chemist Johann Bttger,

Meissen produced the first European porcelain equal to or better than the Chinese. In 1759

Josiah Wedgwood began to produce porcelain in England (he used Francis Xaviers

description of the famous Chinese porcelain factory Jingdezhen to set up the floor

production plan (Elman 2006: 7678)). However, Wedgwood soon produced better

porcelain than the Chinese did. So in a span of less than 200 years, Europeans found the

secret of porcelain-making and produced better porcelain products than the Chinese did.

This was only made possible by the contemporary development in sciences and technology

in Europe. Von Tschirnhaus and Bttger started as scientists. Wedgwood was also a

scientific porcelain-maker and a life-long friend of Joseph Priestly (the famous chemist),

and he was elected to the Royal Society in 1783 for his invention of a pyrometer (a

thermometer used for measuring high temperatures). Even though modern chemistry was

just beginning to mature, it offered enough theoretical guidance to rigorous experimentation

that accelerated the development of porcelain-making.

The third and last feature of theoretical sciences is that they are a system of deductivestructure. A theoretical science postulates only a few fundamental principles. Other true

propositions are derived from these fundamental principles. Euclids geometry provides a

paradigm example of the deductive structure of theories. It only has five postulates and all

other theorems are deduced from these five axioms plus definitions of terms.16 For a

scientific system, the end of the deductions must be empirical observations. That is, there

must be a connection between theories and empirical observations. Such a connection is

necessary in order for the theory to be tested and to be useful. Since theoretical entities are

not observable, theoretical principles alone cannot make any empirical prediction or

explanation. Some connections must be there for the theories to touch our experience. For

example, Rutherfords planetary model of atomic structure is used to explain the result of theGeiger-Marsden experiment, and Bohrs quantum mechnical model explains Balmers series of

hydrogen spectrum. Such empirical evidence provides crucial support to these theories. It must

be emphasized that in a theoretical science, the connection between theory and empirical

phenomena is a deductive one. This is obvious given that a theoretical science is a deductive

system. This implies that if an empirical observation is deduced from a theory with auxiliary

assumptions, if the observation does not occur as expected, then either the theory or one of the

auxiliary assumptions must be false. If the auxiliary assumptions are true, then the theory

should be rejected. This is how experience can put great pressure on any theory, since a theorys

predictions always put a theory at risk: it may be different from what one observes.Modern sciences are essentially theoretical. There are three important elements to the

emergence of modern sciences: Bacons experimental method, Galileos quantitative studies

16 It should be noted that the Euclidean system is a mathematical system. Also, modern sciences regard their

basic principles as basic hypotheses rather than as self-evident truths. But they all have the same deductive

structure.

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of motion, and mechanical philosophy shared by many philosophers and scientists (such as

Hobbes, Descartes, and Bacon). Bacon famously rejected Aristotles physics and logic, yet

a careful reading shows that Bacons sciences are not sciences at a purely empirical level, as

is commonly construed. Bacon did not object to the postulation of theoretical principles,

though he cautions that one should postulate such principles based on detailed and carefulexperimentations. What he objected to was the Aristotelian approach that postulates basic

principles from philosophical conjectures of first principles with little empirical evidence.

Bacon did not even object to the deductive structure of a theory, and conceded that

syllogistic logic was useful in this aspect. Galileos sciences are mathematical representa-

tions of the world, and they explain and predict empirical observations with unprecedented

precision. Mechanical philosophy, which aims to explain every phenomenon with only the

mechanical properties of small particles, is clearly a theory. Beginning with Descartes and

his contemporaries, the connection between mechanical philosophy and observable

phenomena was gradually made explicit by modern scientists.

The modern sciences which originated from these sources are clearly theoretical. To cite

just one example, Daltons atomic theory is a typical case of modern theoretical sciences.

Dalton was not the first (even among contemporary chemists) to conceive the notion of

atoms, nor the first to introduce the idea of quantity into chemistry. But he was the first

man in the history of science to connect the experimental idea of the definite chemical

composition of matter, expressed in stoichiometric laws, with the theoretical idea of the

atomic structure of the matter (Kedrov 1949: 648). Such deductive connections are

required for theoretical sciences, and as well see, they are absent in Chinese sciences.

3 Chinese Sciences

The ancient Chinese enjoyed great success in both the technological and scientific

aspects of human affairs. For a long time, Chinese had the most civilized life, the

best understanding of the world and human society, and the most advanced technologies

in agriculture, commerce, and military. Needhams volumes of Science and Civilization

in China leave no doubt that the Chinese had impressive knowledge in almost all

scientific fields. However, as I shall argue, there were no theoretical sciences in China.

Regarding the three features of theoretical sciences, Chinese sciences had scientific laws,

and postulated theoretical properties and entities, but did not have a system of deductivestructure.

The Chinese had theories. The theories of yin-yang, Five Elements, and Ba-gua were

widely applied in Chinese sciences. These elements are theoretical classifications of things.

There are also theoretical principles that characterize the dynamics between yin and yang,

the overcoming and the generating relations between Five Elements, and the more

complicated relations among different hexagrams. The ancient Chinese understood these

entities not as substance but as properties or functions of the things that can be observed.

For example, it is often a plant, a part of an animal, a person, or a dynasty that is attributed

to the properties of yin or yang (Five Elements should be similarly understood). So theseelements are theoretical properties. The most plausible candidates for theoretical entities

seem to be qi (the material force ) and li (principle ). In particular, these two concepts

were used as theoretical entities in Neo-Confucian cosmology.

But the Chinese did not have a theory with a structure of deductive system. Many

theories are philosophical conjectures, which are never properly aligned with empirical

observations. Many applied Chinese sciences, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and



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porcelain-making, are purely empirical sciences without theoretical elements.17 Sometimes

these sciences were connected to theories of yin-yangand hexagrams, but such connections

are superficial, and they were studied and developed in such a strictly empirical manner that

they can be readily separated from the attached theories. Most discoveries in these applied

sciences were made from empirical observations and generalizations, and these discoverieswere often made by technicians or workers (who often left no name behind) rather than by

philosophical thinkers. Scientific and technological discoveries were often secretly

transmitted within a clan or a family, and were regularly lost due to social upheavals.

There were some Chinese sciences with a rich source of theoretical elements, and it is of

great interest to see whether they had a deductive structure. I will consider two subjects:

mathematics and astronomy.18 I will show that Chinese mathematics enjoyed great success,

but it does not have a deductive structure.19 Astronomy was one of the most precise

sciences in China, yet it is not a theoretical science. In contrast, Greek astronomy is highly

theoretical.

Chinese mathematics is a very mature and efficient system, developed through the years.

It made many great discoveries which preceded its Western counterparts, especially in

arithmetic and algebra.20 It has an efficient notational system to represent numbers

(including fractions). This system is in principle the same as what we use today, and with it

Chinese mathematicians did all the arithmetic calculations we do today. Chinese

mathematicians also knew how to solve simultaneous linear equations, quadratic, cubic,

and higher degree numerical equations. Chinese mathematicians invented calculating

devices such as counting rods and the abacus, and the latter of the two was an extremely

efficient and popular tool used in China and many other Asian countries. Chinese

geometrians were also very efficient at solving all kinds of practical problems. In particular,ZU Chongzhi (429500 CE) had the most accurate computation of in the world

until the 15th century.21

Mathematics was an important part of civil education. The earliest mathematical writing,

Zhoubi Suanjing, came into existence between 100BCE and 100CE. It had

important discoveries, such as Gougu theoremthe Chinese Pythagorean theorem. The

Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art (Jiuzhang suanshu ) had a systematic

study of mathematics. This book was a consummation of mathematical developments by

generations of Chinese mathematicians up to the Han Dynasty. This book had a tremendous

influence on the later development of Chinese mathematics, both in content and in format.

It became a standard mathematical textbook and was continuously commented upon bylater mathematicians. The book is divided into nine chapters. Each chapter deals with a

17 For example, in agricultural sciences, what we find from works such as Tiangong Kaiwu andQimin Yaoshu are completely empirical generalizations.18 Chinese medicine has a very complicated theoretical system, which not only utilizes yin-yang and five-

elements theory but also postulates the circulation of qi and the meridians in the human body. I think that

Chinese medicine does not have a deductive system, but rather relied primarily on analogical reasoning.

Given its vast scope, I do not have space to discuss Chinese medicine in this paper.19 Strictly speaking, mathematics is not an empirical science. But applied mathematics is, and the Chinese

treated mathematics as an empirical subject. Also, the deductive structure of the Euclidean system had a

tremendous impact on later Western science. Chinese sciences did not have such a mathematical system tomodel upon.20 For a more detailed introduction to Chinese mathematics, refer to Needham 1959, vol. 3, Li and Du 1987,

and Ho 1985. After Jesuit missionaries brought Western algebra to China, Chinese mathematicians found out

that it was essentially the same thing as traditional Chinese mathematics, just in different notations (Ho: 110).21 Zu gave two evaluations of , an inaccurate one (22/7) which is the same as Archimedess evaluation,

and an accurate one (355/113), which is accurate to seven decimal places. Vieta of France gave an

evaluation accurate up to 10 decimal places in 1593.

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specific kind of mathematical question. For example, chapter 1 (field measurement) deals

with area and volume calculations of different geometrical shapes; chapter 8 (rectangular

arrays) offers solutions to linear equations. The questions are about practical issues, and the

book gives solutions to these questions and offers explanations for the solutions.

Nine Chapters and other mathematical books later became important components ofcivil education. In the Tang Dynasty, ten books of mathematical classics (including Zhoubi

and Nine Chapters) were approved as the textbooks used by the Imperial Academy and for

civil service examinations (Li and Du: 92). In Northern Song Dynasty, there was a debate

regarding the status of mathematics in the Imperial Academy. Many people felt that

mathematics was extravagant and did not really help in running the country, and

eventually in Southern Song, the subject of mathematics was discontinued (Li and Du:

109110). Ironically, shortly after the dismissal of mathematics from the Imperial

Academy, Chinese mathematics reached its zenith in the 13th century, as mathematical

geniuses such as QIN Jiushao , YANG Hui , LI Zhi , and ZHU Shijie

produced splendid works in mathematics which overshadowed those of contemporary

Western mathematicians.22

Despite its success, Chinese mathematics did not have an axiomatic structure. Chinese

mathematics is a system based on algorithms, but it does not give proofs. A typical Chinese

mathematical book contains solutions to typical problems (exemplars), but one never finds

a system of axioms and derived theorems.23 These solutions are algorithms in the strict

mechanical sense, and most of them give the most efficient way of computation. With these

algorithms, mathematicians can easily solve other practical issues similar to the exemplars.

But there is no proof for their truth. It seems that Chinese mathematicians are not concerned

with proving their solutions. Rather, they were satisfied with the fact that these solutionsworked. They were more concerned with how to give step-by-step instructions to solve the

problems. Practically, the axiomatic system does not add anything, and Chinese

mathematics is easier to learn and more convenient to use.

The above characteristics of Chinese mathematics can be illustrated with a case study.

One of the best Chinese mathematicians, QIN Jiushao, provided an ingenious solution to the

famous Chinese Remainder Theorem in his Nine Chapters in Mathematics (Shushu

Jiuzhang).24 The Chinese Remainder Theorem is concerned with solving a set of

indeterminate equations, i.e. find a number N that satisfies the following equations: Naimod (Ai) i=1, 2, 3n. In his solution, Qin gave a general solution to this problem. His

solution did not require the moduli (Ai) to be relatively prime, and he was also aware of thecondition of solvability. Only much later, Euler in 1743 and Gauss in 1801 provided the

first proof of the theorem for relatively prime moduli, and Stieltjes in 1890 provided a proof

for all moduli and specified the solvability condition (Libbrecht: 380). But Qin did not give

22 One possible explanation for the boom is that the scholars dismissed from the Imperial Academy had to

teach mathematics for a living and were free to teach any student. QIN Jiushao said he learned his

mathematics from a recluse scholar. Another thing worthy of notice is that these four masters of mathematics

did not seem to know one anothers work, which would be impossible if there was an organized institute of

mathematics. In the end, individual efforts were not enough to sustain continued growth.23

The famous gougu theorem was simply stated without proof in both Zhoubi and Nine Chapters. In hiscommentary on Nine Chapters, LIU Hui of the Han Dynasty gave some comments on gougutheorem which can be interpreted as a proof by rearrangement, yet it should be understood as anexplanation, not a proof.24 The book is a comprehensive mathematical classic, which discusses 81 questions from nine categories

(similar to Jiuzhang Suanshu), covering a variety of fields such as astronomy, agriculture, taxes, finances,

market exchanges, military strategies, and architecture. Libbrecht presents a detailed study in English

(Libbrecht 1973).



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any proof (for the existence of a solution to the equations); he simply gave an algorithm that

one could follow step by step to find a solution.

This is typical of all Chinese mathematics. Yet why did Chinese mathematicians only give

algorithms? Were the minds of Chinese mathematicians too practical to notice the need of

proof? This seems to be a common assumption, which leads Libbrecht to ponder why Chinesemathematicians aimed to study questions that were not derived from everyday life (Libbrecht:

99). Yet this is a false assumption. Chinese mathematicians were not merely interested in

solving practical questions. We can clearly see this from QIN Jiushaos preface to Sushu

Jiuzhang. He claimed in the very first statement: The Six Arts of the teaching of the Zhou

were truly made complete by mathematics (in Libbrecht: 55), and extolled its great

application in things great and small. He lamented that the art of mathematics was not highly

regarded by scholars after the Han Dynasty, and that mathematical studies were often left to

surveyors and calculators, who knew only basic mathematics. But these people were not real

mathematicians, and he cited music as an analogy: in the field of music, there are conductors

who can only arrange the sounds of the bells and sounding stones, but is it permissible to say

that to produce complete harmony with heaven and earth merely consists in this? (ibid,

56).True mathematics is concerned with the Dao of heaven. It can uncover the laws of heaven

and affairs of humans, so that we can predict future events and act upon these predictions.

Qins understanding of mathematics was typical among Chinese mathematicians. It is quite

clear that Chinese mathematicians did have theoretical interests. So the absence of axiomatic

structure needs a different explanation, which, I think, can be found in the basic orientation of

Chinese epistemology. Chinese thinkers pursued the knowledge of kinds. After the knowledge

of kinds is attained, the essential properties of things can be known by classifying them into

appropriate kinds. Similarly, if a mathematical question can be classified into a kind whoseexemplar cases have been given a solution, then the solution to this question is found, since all

issues of the same kind share the same pattern (algorithm). We need to discover the patterns, but

there is really no need toprove the truth of these patterns from more basic principles. Consider

an empirical statement, dogs bark. If I know the statement already (as a property ofdog

kind), what is the point of proving it? For the ancient Chinese, there was no essential

difference between mathematical truths and empirical truths. So it is understandable that

Chinese mathematicians never felt the need to prove their solutions. Why do you need to

prove something you already know to be true (from experience)?25

Chinese astronomy provides us with a great case study of empirical sciences. It was the

most exact science among Chinese sciences, and its precision and accuracy is certainlycomparable to its Western counterpart. Empirically, Chinese astronomers had one of the

most complete and accurate observations of the sky among all cultures. Theoretically,

Chinese astronomers conceived cosmological theories and mathematical theories to explain

and predict a variety of regular heavenly phenomena. However, Chinese astronomy was not

really a theoretical science, and there are significant differences between Chinese

astronomy and Greek astronomy. There were at least three cosmological theories available

by the Han Dynasty. The oldest one was Gai Tian (covering sky) theory, which was

formulated in detail in Zhoubi Suanjing. This theory says that the round heaven is like a

25 This is especially the case with geometry. Chinese mathematicians gave formulas to calculate the areas or

the volumes of different shapes, but did not give any proof why these formulas are true. This may greatly

frustrate Western geometricians, but it is just natural for the Chinese. If the formula is right, what does a

proof add to it? Mikami had a similar observation with Japanese mathematics (which is essentially the same

as Chinese mathematics): The old Japanese seem to have considered mathematics as a branch of natural

science; mathematical rules or methods devised or used by them were all treated as a kind of art. They never

thought of demonstration (Mikami 1913: 166).

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hemispherical cover, and the square earth is like a basin turned upside down. There is a

constant distance of 80, 000 li between the heaven and the earth. The sun is attached to the

heavens, and besides moving along with the heavens daily rotation, the sun shifts its

position between the seasons. The Hun Tian (celestial sphere) theory, as ZHANG Heng

explains, says that the heaven is like a hens egg, while the earth is like the yolk of theegg and lies alone in the center. The heaven is supported by qi, and the earth floats on the

waters. The third, Xuanye (infinite empty space), theory claims that the sun, the moon,

and the stars float freely in the infinite empty space. All are condensed vapor ( qi). The

theory also noted the regressions of planets and the movements of the sun and the moon

themselves, and offered an explanation that these objects are not attached to anything (e.g.

the heaven) and move by their own nature (see Needham 1959: 210224).

Xuanye theory, despite its similarity to modern astronomy, did not have much influence

in Chinese astronomy. There was a rigorous debate between the Gaitian and Huntian

theories, and the Huntian theory dominated Chinese astronomy after the Han Dynasty.

Based on the Huntian theory, ZHANG Heng made his famous armillary spheres (huntian yi

), which were perfected by later astronomers (especially GUO Shoujing of the

Yuan Dynasty). The Huntian theory is very similar to the Greek two-sphere theory, which

was the foundation of Western astronomy until Copernicus. So it seems that we have a clear

example of a theoretical science in China. Yet this similarity is only apparent. The theory

played very different roles in their systems. Different from Greek astronomy, Chinese

cosmological theories were not based on a geometrical system. As a result, these theories

only provided a theoretical framework, but were never connected with observation in a

precise way. The Huntian theory offered a basic cosmological model, helped to explain

some phenomena (such as eclipses), and assisted in observation. But it was not used tomake precise predictions. Armillary spheres were very useful in observations and

explanations but were rarely used for prediction of heavenly phenomena.26 The precise

prediction of regular heavenly phenomena was handled in a separate subject, the science of

calendar-making. However, this science had no theoretical elements at all.

The Chinese understood the calendar in a very broad sense, as it determined not only the

length of a year, solstices, and equinoxes but also aimed at discovering other heavenly

regularities, such as solar and lunar eclipses and planetary motions. Chinese calendar-

making is a complicated mathematical theory based on cycles of motion (see Sivin 1969).

Let me use the Quarter Day system of the Han Dynasty to illustrate it. The system says that

the moon repeats its monthly motion in 29 and 499/940 days, and the sun repeats its yearlymotion in 365 and a quarter days. The motions of the sun and the moon (and other planets)

are understood as constant cycles that repeat themselves forever. Chinese astronomers then

calculate the larger cycle in which both the sun and the moon return to the same position,

by finding the lowest common multiples of these two cycles, and that is a cycle of 19 years

(or 235 months). This is to say that both the sun and the moon repeat their exact positions

every 19 years. This cycle is called the Rule Cycle, and astronomers treat it as a basic cycle.

With this basic cycle, they predict the relative locations of the sun and the moon at any time

(assuming they move at a constant speed, which later Chinese astronomers realized is not

true). If we consider other regular heavenly objects such as planetary motion, the basiccycle becomes much larger (e.g., the Great Planetary Conjunction Cycle is 138,240 years),

26 This is especially obvious with the motion of planets. Greek astronomy designed geometrical models to

explain the complex patterns of planet motion. Chinese astronomy never figured out the orbits of planets, and

treated many phenomena involved with planet motions as unpredictable events (which were given

astrological explanations).



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yet the mathematical principle of cycle calculation is the same. This is also the strategy

utilized to predict moon and sun eclipses. If we know that the cycle of the occurrence of

moon eclipse, then we can predict its next occurrence.

The key to the cycle theory is the precise determination of observable cycles such as that

of the moon and the sun. Only after we know the durations of these cycles can wedetermine the basic cycles. However, the extremely precise measurement of a month (as 29

and 499/940 days) cannot come from actual observations, so it must have been derived

from the empirical observation of the Rule Cycle (the solstice and the new moon recur on

the same day every 19 years). If this is the case, cycle theory cannot explain more than what

has been observed: the greater cycle is not derived from empirical observations but is

directly observed.27 Furthermore, any change in empirical observation would lead to a

radically different cycle theory, which was exactly the case in the history of Chinese

calendar-making. For example, the major difference between the two competing systems,

the Quarter Day system and the Triple Concordance system, was the cycles of the sun and

the moon: the Quarter Day system used the above numbers, while the Triple Concordance

system claimed that a lunar month is 29 and 43/81 days, and a year is 365 and 385/

1539 days. Also, though it can be argued that the science of calendar-making has a

mathematical structure, it is essentially an algebraic manipulation of empirical observations

of heavenly regularities. It does not have any theoretical components.

In summary, Chinese astronomy was not a theoretical science. The cosmological theories

were theoretical, but they were not connected with empirical phenomena in a proper

(deductive) way. The science of calendar-making is mathematical, but it has no theoretical

elements. Greek astronomy was very different. Consider Ptolemys system in Almagest,

which presents a geo-centered two-sphere geometrical system. In this system, thegeometrical motions attributed to planets and the sun, such as deferent and epicycle,

eccentric, and equant, are not directly observable. These theoretical concepts played crucial

roles in the system as they were used to account for empirical observations. Ptolemys

geometrical system had a deductive mechanism to explain and predict all observable

heavenly phenomena, including the motion of the sun and planets (relative to the heavenly

sphere), and the eclipse of the sun and the moon. So Ptolemy s astronomy has all the

features of theoretical sciences. The geometrical system has a great advantage. Not only did

it give precise explanations and correct predictions, but it also had an internal mechanism to

accommodate mismatches between its predictions and empirical observations. In the history

of Western astronomy, Ptolemys system has been repeatedly revised (e.g. more epicyclesadded to the system) in light of more precise observations. However, the basic ideas and the

theoretical tools remained the same, and later astronomers rarely doubted the system as a

whole. Even Copernicus used the same problem-solving mechanisms (except the notion of

equant) in his new system, which rejected some of Ptolemys fundamental assumptions.

Copernicuss revolution was a direct response to the crisis encountered by Ptolemys

27 Sivin mentioned that there are attempts to derive the larger cycle (19 years) from the Book of Changes. We

can find an example in Han Shu (): The Book of Changes says: The celestial 1, the earthly 2, the

celestial 3. The celestial numbers are five, and the earthly numbers are five. When the numbers areproperly distributed [among the five elements], each plays a complementary part in the whole. Thenthe celestial numbers are 25, the earthly numbers are 30; the numbers of heaven and earth together are55. By this number change is brought to completion and the spiritual beings set in motion. Further,adding the final [yin and yang] numbers gives 19; permutation has gone as far as it can and so there isa transformation [which begins the cycle again] (Sivin 1995: 8). This deduction hardly makes anysense. It seems to be only an effort to attach the theory to the prestigious Book of Changes. The largercycle must be empirically discovered.

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system, and without the framework of the Ptolemaic astronomy the Copernican system

would not be possible.28

Chinese astronomy developed differently. It had no underlying geometrical system that

deductively connected the theory to empirical observations. Also, there was no internal

theoretical connection between different cycle theories. If a different cycle was used, then itwas a completely different theory. The cycle theory did not have a theoretical structure, and

could not offer an internal problem-solving mechanism to handle mismatches between its

prediction and observations. Actually, Chinese astronomers were so frustrated that they had

little confidence in any calendar theory. Frustrated by failures of available systems to

predict the moon eclipse, a Han official complained: the Way of Heaven is so subtle,

precise measurement so difficult, computational methods so varying in approach, and

chronological schemas so lacking in unanimity, that we can never be sure a technique is

correct until it has been confirmed in practicenor that it is adequate until discrepancies

have shown up (Sivin 1995: 60).

4 The Needham Problem Reconsidered

Needhams twenty-plus volumes ofScience and Civilization in China has established beyond

doubt that the Chinese had great scientific knowledge, parallel to or better than the West, until

the Scientific Revolution. Yet even at the beginning of the project, Needham was deeply

puzzled over why the Chinese did not discover modern science.29 Needham understands

modern science as the quantitative sciences developed in Europe since the 16 th century, which

are characterized as the combination of mathematized hypotheses about natural phenomenawith relentless experimentation. This problem is more pressing if we consider the fact (which

Needham formulated as the second, equally important question) that Chinese civilization,

between the 1st century and 15th century, was much more efficient than occidental in gaining

natural knowledge and in applying it to practical human needs (Needham 2004: 1).

The Needham problem is to explain why, in spite of great successes in earlier periods,

Chinese sciences did not develop into modern science, as its Western counterpart did. Many

ideas have been offered to explain this problem. Derek Bodde claims that Chinese written

language was too vague and ambiguous to be fit for scientific purposes. Words in literary

Chinese were used in a variety of grammatical forms, and there was no punctuation to

separate sentences. Further, Chinese literary devices and techniques have all served to turnChinese scholarship away from substance and toward form, away from synthesis and

generalization and toward compilation and commentary (Bodde: 96). Contrary to many

other experts (including Graham and Needham),30 Bodde claims thatwritten Chinese has,

28 Kuhn offers a good account of the transition from the Ptolemaic system to the Copernican system in his

book The Copernican Revolution. Kuhn comments: Copernicus is frequently called the first modern

astronomer. But, as the text of the De Revolutionibus indicates, an equally persuasive case might be made for

calling him the last great Ptolemaic astronomer (Kuhn 1957: 181).29 Needham was not the first to be puzzled by this problem, though his approach is probably the most thoughtful and

certainly the most influential. REN Hongjun , in On the Absence of Science in China in 1915, blamesthe lack of attention to the inductive method; FENG Youlan, in a similarly-titled paper in 1922, claimsthatChinese ideal prefers enjoyment to power that China has no need of science (see Sivin 1995: 261).Sivin also mentioned some Western authors, such as Dubs, Bodde, and Murphey (Sivin 1982).30 The difference here between Needham and Bodde is so great that Boddes monograph, which was

originally a part of SCCs Volume 7, needs to be published separately (Bodde 1991). Note that many

Renaissance thinkers (such as Francis Bacon) also blamed language for the lack of scientific development in

the Middle Ages and advocated a new scientific language.



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in a variety of ways, hindered more than it has helped the development of scientific ways of

thinking in China (Bodde: 95).

Needhams own thoughts have evolved with time,31 but the main idea is constant. As a

Marxist, Needham believes that the cultural elements (of which sciences are part) are

determined by material factors, i.e. geographical, hydrological, social, and economicfactors. In particular he aims to explain the development of science and technology in

China by the mode of social production. He identifies Chinese society since the Han

Dynasty as a kind of Asiatic mode of production, which he calls bureaucratic Feudalism.

This is a society which functioned fundamentally in a learned way, the seats of power

being filled by scholars, not military commanders (Needham 2004: 16). Inside this

bureaucratic society, Needham further identifies the Daoist non-intervening (wu-wei)

attitude to nature as a propitious factor that helped to advance earlier scientific

development.32 Yet this non-intervening character also discouraged the experimental

method from being fused with the mathematics of the scholars that is necessary for modern

science. As Needham puts it, In medieval China there had been more systematic

experimentation than the Greeks had ever attempted, or medieval Europe either, but so long

as bureaucratic feudalism remained unchanged, mathematics could not come together

with empirical Nature-observation and experiment to produce something fundamentally

new (Needham 2004: 17). This is because experiment demanded too much active

intervention, and while this had always been accepted in the arts and trades, indeed more so

than in Europe, it was perhaps more difficult in China to make it philosophically respected

(Needham 2004: 1718). There are also sociological explanations to the Needham problem,

which often aim at narrower and more specific causes. Toby Huff blames the Chinese

higher education system and the legal-political system in general for failing to create aneutral sphere of intellectual autonomy independent from state authorities (Huff1995: 3167).

Justin Lin (1995) believes that it is the system of civil-service examination that diverted

curious geniuses from scientific investigations.

I will not examine these proposals in this paper.33 Interesting as it is, the Needham

Problem may not be the most pressing problem. Einstein once commented:

The development of Western science is based on two great achievements: the

invention of the formal logical system (in Euclidean geometry) by the Greek

philosophers and the discovery of the possibility of finding out causal relationships

by systematic experiment (during the Renaissance). In my opinion one should not beastonished that the Chinese sages have not taken those steps. The astonishing thing is

that those discoveries were made at all. (Einstein 1963: 142)

So it could be just lucky that modern sciences were discovered at all, or at least it was a

chance event that it was discovered by the Europeans in the 1617th centuries. The

Needham problem is narrow in its scope: it focuses on a specific historical period in a

specific region. Similar questions can be asked about India and Islamic states: why did not

31 In a paper written in 1946, Needham claims thatthere was no modern science in China because there was

no democracy (Needham 1969: 152).32 Needham has high praise for Daoism, and not much love for Confucianism, which he regards as an

inhibitory factor for scientific development. He also extols the organic thought in Chinese philosophy, which

he contrasts with mechanical philosophy. Needham believes that mechanical philosophy is necessary for the

development of modern science, but organic philosophy is for the present and the future science. See

Nakayama 1973 for further discussion.33 Some of them are based on false or partially false premises (Bodde); others do not offer a sufficient answer

to the Needham problem, as will be clear from the discussion below.

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modern science emerge in those societies which also had great accomplishments in science

and technology? For such questions about particular historical events, it seems that the best

we can do is to have some social/economic explanations.

But there is a more general question to investigate: in the long history of China, the

Chinese did not have theoretical sciences. Why did the Chinese fail to develop theoreticalsciences at all? The failure is especially egregious. It is not just with a particular time, since

there were no theoretical sciences in the long history of Chinese civilization. It is not just

with a particular culture: China went through many dynasties that had very different socio-

political structures and religious and cultural systems. And it is not a problem only at a

social-political level: there were also no traces of individual scientists who had developed

theoretical sciences. So the really puzzling problem is why the Chinese did not have

theoretical sciences at all. Since modern sciences are essentially theoretical sciences, if we

can find out what inhibits the Chinese from developing theoretical sciences, then we also

have a good answer to the original Needham problem.

Also, modern Western sciences did not develop in a vacuum. Some recent studies argue

that theoretical sciences emerged long before the 16th century. Later Greek sciences of the

Hellenistic period were not essentially different from modern sciences. This says that

theoretical sciences were not new inventions of the Renaissance, but a rediscovery of a

much older tradition. Lucio Russo argues persuasively that theoretical sciences flourished

in the Hellenistic period (Russo 2004). Euclid, Archimedes, Hipparchus, Ptolemy, and

Galen are just some famous names from many scientists in this period who made great

discoveries in many different fields. They developed advanced sciences that are essentially

theoretical, and applied them to empirical matters with great success. Unfortunately,

sciences were gradually lost in the Roman Imperial period when the Hellenistic kingdomswere annexed by the Roman Empire. Books were destroyed, scholars were killed or

enslaved, and students were nowhere to be found. In the dark ages, people did not even

know what had been accomplished by Hellenistic sciences, except from piecemeal

information that was often misunderstood. Fortunately, some of the theories were preserved

and studied by the Arabs and were translated and gradually recovered around the time of

the Renaissance. This set the stage for later development by Galileo, Descartes, and others,

and its outcome is what we know today as modern science. Due to advances in technology

and changes in social structure,34 mathematics and sciences developed at a much faster

rate and had a greater scope of applications. Yet, there is no essential difference between

modern sciences and Hellenistic sciences.In contrast, there was no theoretical science in China at all. Impressed by the practical

success of Chinese sciences, Needham failed to recognize that there were essential

differences between ancient Chinese sciences and Western sciences before the scientific

revolution. The real puzzle seems to be: why did China miss not just ONE opportunity to

develop theoretical sciences in modern times, but failed to develop any theoretical science

at all? If the Greeks could develop theoretical sciences, why couldnt the Chinese? This

puzzle cannot be explained by social and cultural conditions alone. From the late Zhou to

the Qing Dynasty, Chinese societies went through many social-political and ideological

changes which were often dramatically different from each other. Even Confucianism wasnot always the dominant theme in a society (e.g. Qin Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and Tang

Dynasty to a lesser degree). Bureaucratic government was not firmly established until the

Tang Dynasty, and the contents of civil-service examination varied greatly in different

34 Social-economic-political factors are certainly important for scientific development. It is just that these

factors alone cannot provide a sufficient explanation to the Needham problem, broadly construed.



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dynasties. Also, different religious and philosophical ideas were prevalent at different times.

Furthermore, social and cultural factors work best with explaining the general direction of

scientific development, but cannot sufficiently explain why there was no individual effort to

develop theoretical sciences. There was no trace of any theoretical science in any field of

scientific studies, including the higher sciences of scholars such as astronomy and the lowerempirical subjects of artisans such as porcelain-making.

I think the analogical nature of Chinese logic may help us resolve this puzzle. As I have

argued earlier, a distinct feature of Chinese logic is the dominance of analogical inference

and the lack of attention to deductive inference. This direction of Chinese logic had a deep

impact on other parts of Chinese civilization, especially on Chinese sciences. Chinese

scientists implicitly or explicitly relied on analogical inference in their scientific studies.

The goal of Chinese scientists was to know kinds, not to build systems. Chinese scientists

and philosophers did not see the need of proving their beliefs based on fundamental

principles in a deductive system. Instead, analogical inferences were the primary means in

their pursuit of knowledge. Given the basic role that logic plays in our inquiry, this

orientation of analogical logic affected almost all philosophers and scientists at different

times, regardless of the social-political situations. Yet typical analogical inference relies

upon observable exemplars to draw the inference, so analogical inferences are limited in the

sphere of observable entities. Therefore, the logical connection from unobservable entities

to observable phenomena cannot be supported by analogical reasoning. Also analogical

logic cannot provide a deductive structure for a theory. Formally speaking, the analogical

inferences are invalid arguments that cannot guarantee the truth of their conclusions even

when all their premises are true. Since most theoretical sciences postulate theoretical

entities and all of them require that theoretical elements be deductively connected toempirical phenomena, theoretical sciences cannot be supported by analogical logic. This

indicates that the dominance of analogical reasoning in Chinese thought is a crucial

reason that, in the long history of Chinese civilization, there was no trace of theoretical

sciences.35

The analogical nature of Chinese logic can also explain the great successes in Chinese

sciences (i.e. the second part of the Needham problem). Analogical logic is extremely

conducive to empirical generalizations, and the knowledge about kinds becomes an explicit

goal of scientific inquiry. Analogical inference is also easy to learn and to use and has a

practical advantage over syllogistic inference. Basically, analogical logic can do everything

that a formal deductive logic can do at an empirical level of scientific study. So it is nosurprise to see that Chinese sciences flourished within the framework of analogical logic.

The ancient Chinese had plenty of theories. They also had advanced mathematics to have

adequate quantitative representation of the world. And they did not lack experimental spirit.

The only missing link to theoretical science is the deductive connection between theories and

empirical observation. The dominance of analogical thinking in China decided the fate of

ancient Chinese sciences. Analogical logic is a great tool for the expansion of empirical

knowledge, but it also determines that Chinese sciences cannot be theoretical sciences.36

35

There are cases of deductive inferences in Chinese sciences (such as YANG Xiongs Eight Refutations ofGai-tian Theory). But these were mostly an unconscious use of deductive logic. There was no conscious and

systematic effort to utilize deductive logic in scientific explanation or theory building.36 A natural question to ask is why the Chinese did not develop deductive logic while the Greeks did. G. E.

R. Lloyd suggests that reasoning and argumentation have different purposes in Chinese and Greek society.

The Chinese were more concerned with persuading the ruler, while the Greeks had to be ready to defend

themselves in the peoples court (Lloyd 2004: ch. 4). The detailed discussion of this issue is beyond the

scope of this paper.

SUN Weimin


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Acknowledgment I would like to thank Chris Fraser, Sir Geoffrey Lloyd, Nathan Sivin, and two

anonymous referees for this journal for their helpful comments. This project was supported by California

State University Northridge Tseng Family Research Grant.

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