The concepts of dukkha and chiji, the exploration of the reason for things and the cultivation of knowledge in Eastern philosophy, have important implications for modern scientific research methodologies and personal development. The interaction between the subject and object of cognition creates new knowledge, which is the basis for academic and personal development today.
In the East, when discussing epistemology, one often refers to the runner’s dao (格物) and qi (致知). The basic meaning of the latter is that you should go beyond concrete things and explore the reasoning behind them, or li, to their limits. Qi Ji means to hone and expand one’s knowledge to its limits so that nothing is left unsaid. Zhu believed that the human mind is devoid of knowledge, and that one attains zhi zi by uncovering the inherent knowledge of the mind through the disciplines, which is the traditional discipline of Confucian philosophy.
Influenced by Zhu, Ch’ien-tzu basically inherited his position. Initially, Ch’ien-tzu viewed the state resulting from the pursuit of the Tao as “watery,” meaning that water is the object of cognition and the mind, which is the subject of cognition, reaches the object. He believed that this view was in line with Zhu’s thought. However, in later years, Ch’ien-tzu said that the correct interpretation of the Tao is “watery,” meaning that when a person seeks to cognize an object, the mind reaches the inherent li in the object. It does not mean that the mind unilaterally reaches out to the inherent lī of an object and acquires lī, but rather that the lī of an object reaches out to the mind when a person wishes to recognize it. This was interpreted by Chuang Tzu as meaning that lī does not reach the mind directly, but rather that it reaches the mind in response to the mind’s inquiry. The reason for this view is that if we were to say that rei reaches the mind solely through the spontaneity of rei, people might misunderstand it as if rei were capable of physical movement, and we were wary that over-emphasizing the active role of rei, the object of perception, in the process of perception might weaken the status of the mind as the subject of perception. This is the so-called “li jiajiao” (理自到).
This does not mean that Chuang-tzu allowed for an unlimited amount of li activeness: the action of li is limited to the li that participates in the cognitive process. In other words, when the cognizing subject performs a cognitive action toward an object, the object also actively reveals itself to the cognizing subject. Thus, Chuang-tzu can be seen to have developed his own version of Zhuangzi’s materia medica by recognizing the similarity of “action” for both the cognizing subject and the cognizing object in the cognitive process.
As an important example of epistemological approaches in Eastern philosophy, this discussion between Chuang-tzu and Ch’i-chi has many implications for today’s academic inquiry. In modern science, researchers explore the laws of nature, and nature interacts with them in the process of revealing those laws. The nature of this interaction is also at the heart of scientific inquiry. For example, physicists use experiments to reveal the laws of nature, and nature uses those experiments to reveal its secrets. In this process, the researcher’s intentions and nature’s responses are harmonized, and new knowledge is born. In this way, the concepts of tao and chi in Eastern philosophy are deeply connected to the methodology of inquiry in modern science.
The concepts of tao and chi are also closely related to personal development. In order for individuals to reach their full potential, they must delve deeply into their own inner world and put the truths they discover into practice, which is also emphasized in modern self-help books. Expanding an individual’s knowledge and abilities through self-reflection and continuous learning is the modern application of t’ai chi and chi zhi.
As such, the concepts of taoism and chi zhi are an important intellectual legacy of Eastern philosophy, whose meaning and values are still relevant today and can be used as a foundation for a variety of academic and personal development. In this way, the wisdom of Eastern philosophy transcends time and place and continues to deeply inspire our lives and studies.
