Being and Nothingness in Greek and Ancient Chinese Philosophy

Author(s): Gi-Ming Shien

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Jul., 1951), pp. 16-24
Published by: University of Hawai'i Press
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 GI-MING SHIEN

Being inGreek
andNothingness
andAncient
Chinese
Philosophy*
IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT THE
Greek philosopherswere greatlyconcernedwith metaphysics.The pre-
Socraticspursuedthe subjectalmostto the exclusionof the otherbranches
of philosophy.Aristotlemade metaphysics the cornerstone of his phil-
osophicalwork-and quiterightly, I believe,sincetheproblemof thenature
of man and his relationto the totaluniverseis the problemout of which
all otherphilosophicalproblemsgrow.
Writerson Chinesephilosophyin the past have tendedto concentrate
on Chineseethicsand politicaltheory.An adequateintroduction to Chinese
metaphysics has not in
yetappeared English. In thispaper,therefore, I shall
tryto introducethe readerto Chinese metaphysics by comparingit to,
and contrasting it with,its Greek counterpart. I shall show thatChinese
Taoist philosophers and certainGreekphilosophersagreedwithrespectto
thefollowing:(I) Metaphysics is thestudyofSubstanceor Being; (II) Sub-
stanceor Beingis priorto individualor particular existence;(III) Substance
or Being is ultimatelytranscended in the conceptof nothingness.By this
comparisonI hope to clarifya subjectwhichis now unfamiliarto most
Westernmindsand thusto narrowthe gap betweenChineseand Western
metaphysics.
I

Metaphysicians are bothconcernedwithinvestigating

and scientists objec-
tive nature.The main difference betweenthe ancientChineseand Greek
thinkers, on the other,is thatthe
on the one hand,and modernscientists,
formeroperatedfromthe pointof view of the whole,treatingnatureas
integral-reachinga view of the whole,or simplicity'-whereasthe latter
* For thesakeof clarity, revisedin theprocessof editing.[Editor's
thisarticlewas extensively
note.]
1Simplicity is thefundamental principlein bothphilosophy and science.The ultimatepurpose
of simplicity of theuniversethenatureof theunity,conse-
is to discoverin themultiplicities
quently,to achievethe ultimateprincipleof the One. The principleof the One is whatthe

16
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS IN GREEK AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY 17

startwithparticularsand derivedefinitions and laws by way of induction

or generalization.These laws and definitionsare thengeneralized,and more
comprehensive laws are derived from them. Although the demand for
systematic simplicityis fundamental in science,the scientist,
concernedas
he is withparticularareas or aspectsof reality,does not achieveintegral
unityand absolutesimplicity. At mosthe attainssimplicity in thegeneraliza-
tion of particularareas of fact. The distinctionbetweenscienceand meta-
physicspropoundedby Aristotletherefore holds:
Philosophy is thescienceofuniversals,forevery realscienceis,or at leastshould
be,a viewofthewhole, a general hence
theory; the arepartial
specialsciences philoso-
phies, as wellas generaltheories oneormoregroups
concerning ofgivenfacts, theories
whicharesummarized andsystematized bygeneral philosophy. Conversely,philosophy
properor thefirst scienceis a separate
science;it is coordinated
withothersciences
(secondphilosophy), andhasa distinct matterofitsown,beingas such,theabsolute
or God,embracing andcontaining theprinciplesof all sciences
andthefirst causes
of all thingsthatexist.2
WhatAristotle calls"first
philosophy" is thestudyofnatureas a whole;
it culminatesin absolutesimplicity-Being as suchor God. The morepro-
foundandcomprehensive thesimplicity, thenearerwe approach Aristotle's
"firstphilosophy." The lessprofound andcomprehensive thesimplicity, the
the
greater multiplicity, and the nearer we approach science.
Theattainment ofabsolute simplicitywasthegoalofancient Chineseand
Greekmetaphysicians alike. In themostancientChineseworkon meta-
physics,TheBookofChanges, thereis simplicity intheAbsolute. In Chinese
the of
Taoism, teaching Lao-tzi:, there is the simplicityof the Tao or the
One. In theGreektradition, thefounder of theprinciple of theOne is
Parmenides. WithPlato,simplicity isfound in"absolute Goodness." Aristotle
findssimplicityin the"Unmoved Mover."Plotinusseessimplicity in the
"intellectual
principle," and goes on to theineffable One,whichis tran-
scendentalin nature.
Letus nowanalyzethetruemeaning ofsimplicity-the One. Greekand
Chinesephilosophers wereso deeplyinterested in simplicitybecausethe
ancientphilosophers calledBeing. So, theprincipleof simplicityis verycloselyconnected with
theprinciple ofUnityor theOne.
But how can we simplify intogenerallaws or principles?Natureis a divine
multiplicities
Beingand alreadyhas harmony In otherwords,natureis alreadyintegral,
and regularity. so that
everything, in orderto exist,possessesa certainorderundertheOne. We havethepossibility,
therefore, of tracingtheseordersto theirleadingorder,thusattaining theprincipleof theOne
or Being.The attainment of theprincipleof theOne is thelaststepof simplicity.
Thistheory aboutsimplicity is notarbitrarily
setup byphilosophers, noris it myownopinion.
It is recognizedbymodernscience.(See H. Poincare, The Foundation of Science,trans.George
BruceHalsted[Lancaster: The SciencePress,1946], "The Introduction of theValue of Science,"
and "Scienceand Hypothesis," pp. 130, 133, 207-209.)
2 AlfredWeber,Historyof Philosophy, trans.FrankThilly (New York: CharlesScribner's
Sons,1925).
18 GI-MINGSHIEN

systematic or generativeprincipleis of primary importance.Withoutunity

things could not be produced and disorder would prevail. But orderis
naturaland necessarily a
requires directing principle,forit is unimaginable
thatorderis producedby the orderedindividualsthemselves.If therewere
no directingprinciple,how could therebe proportion, symmetry, and the
adaptation of one thingto another? There must,therefore, be an organizing
power which orders-as, for example,in the seasons. The principleof
seasons fromwhich the seasonsproceedin an orderlyand never-failing
fashionmustexistbeforethe seasonsthemselves.The ultimateprincipleis,
therefore,of primeimportance, and it is thisthatLao-tziicalls theTao. In
his words: "There existsa completingthingbeforethe birthof nature-
I knownotitsname,butcharacterize it as theTao."3
This leadingprincipleis what the ancientChinesebook, The Book of
Changes,calls the "UltimateAbsolute": "In the fundamental principleof
changethereis an unchangeableUltimateAbsolute. From thisUltimate
Absoluteare derivedthe two types,fromthesetwo typesthe foursymbols,
fromthefoursymbolstheeightforms, and fromtheeightformsall things."4
Thus, Lao-tziiassertsthe priorityof the Tao, whichis the same as the
UltimateAbsoluteof The Book of Changes. It is agreedthatthe ultimate
principlemustexistbeforeall else. Everything thatcomesintobeingcomes
into beingin accordancewiththe orderof the leadingprincipleor Being.
The same idea is to be foundamongthe Greekthinkers.We findit in
the secondpartof thepoemof Parmenides:5
You shallknow,too,theheavens thatsurround us,whencetheyarose,andhow
took
necessity them and bound them to keep the limitsof thestars.6
The narrower bondswerefilledwithunmixed fire,andthosenextto themwith
night,and in themidstof theserushestheirportionof fire.In themidstof theseis
thedivinitythatdirectsthecourseof all things;forhe is thebeginnerof all painful
andallbegetting,
birth thefemale
deriving themale,andmalethefemale.7
toembrace
In thispassage Parmenidespostulatesa divinitythatdirectsthe courseof
all things,a divinitywhichis identicalwiththe ultimateprincipleor the
orderingpowerof all things.
'
Lao-tzii,Tao Tdh Ching, ch. 25. All translationsfromthis work are my own.
'The Book of Changes,Hsi Tz'4, ch. 11. My translation.
'
Parmenides,in the firstpart of his poem, deals with the absolutenessof truthdirectly.He
talks of the One that is all and the true realityof the "is." The second part deals with multi-
plicityand its tendencytowardunity.That is, fromthe multiplicityto returnto the "is" or One
thereis no doubt thatthereis a certainconnectionin these two parts.
SJohn Burnet,Early Greek Philosophy (4th ed.; London: A. and C. Black, Ltd., 1930),
Frs. 10 and 11.
"
Ibid., "Parmenides,"Fr. 12.
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS IN GREEK AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY 19

A similaridea is foundin Plato,wherethe leadingprincipleis thecause

of all thingsbywayof participation.Thus,in thePhaedo,Plato tellsus that
"thereis an absolutebeauty,goodness,greatnessand the like ..." and that
thereis "no way in whichanythingcomesintoexistenceexceptby partici-
pating in its own properessence . ..."" The importanceof the leading
principleis notoverlookedbyAristotle,forwhomthepurposeofphilosophy
is to ask the questionwhy? The answerto the why is the cause; and the
conceptof causeinvolvestheconceptof theultimateprinciple, forall things
need an ultimatecause in orderto move,to be ordered,and to receivetheir
existence.9Aristotle'sultimateprincipleis theUnmovedMover. Individual
things receivetheir
order and motionfromtheUnmovedMover. All things
are "forthe sake of which"-"which" beingthe leadingprincipleor teleo-
logical cause.10
II
What has been said indicatesthe importanceof the ultimateprinciple
or the principleof the One, emphasizedby both Greek and Chinesephi-
losophers.To sum up what has been said about the principleof the One,
I shall again call upon Lao-tzii:
The Tao produced theOne; theOne produced
theTwo; theTwo producedthe
Three;theThreeproduced all things."
Once therewas a time when all thingswere harmonized
throughthe One; the
heavens theOne becameclear;theearthreceiving
receiving theOne becamecalm;
spiritsreceivingthe One becamedivine;valleysreceivingthe One becamefull;all
thingsreceivingthe One began to live; princesand kingsreceivingthe One were
able to adjusttheirempires.All theseare theeffects
of receivingtheOne.
Withoutthe One to clarify,the heavenswouldbe rent;withoutthe One to give
calmtheearthwouldbe dissolved;withouttheOne to makedivine,thespiritswould
be extinguished; withoutthe One to make full,the valleyswould be exhausted;
withoutthe One to give life,all naturewould suffer withoutthe One
destruction;
to adjust,princesandkingswouldlosepositions andhonors.12
These statements showthat,accordingto ChineseTaoist philosophy, the
Tao or the One is priorto all things,and fromthe Tao or One all things
derivetheirorder. We may say,therefore, thatthe Tao or the One, like
Substanceor God postulatedbyGreekphilosophers, producesall things.
But here we must be particularly careful,for the Tao or the One of
8 Plato, trans.Benjamin Jowett(New York: Random House, Inc., 1937), Vol. I, pp. 484-485.
'Basic Works of Aristotle,ed. Richard McKeon (7th printing;New York: Random House,
Inc., 1941), pp. 248-251.
0 Ibid., p. 248, par. 35.
"Tao Tdh Ching, ch. 42. My translation.
2 Ibid., ch. 39.
20 GI-MING SHIEN

Chinesemetaphysics is not outsideof nature.It is natureitself.The fact

thatwe call it theTao indicatesthatit is something otherthanthe totality
of theuniverse.Totalitymeansthatthewholeis onlytheaggregation of its
partswithout an ultimate principle.Unity,therefore,does not mean totality,
nor does unityriseout of totality.Unitymustexistbeforeeverything else,
and everything presupposesunity as the conditionof its individualityand
rankwithinthewhole. Thus,theTao or theOne is unity,but nottotality,
and is priorto all things.
The unityand priority of thisultimateprincipleare formulated in China
as
by Lao-tzii, has been indicated above. Both and
Chuang-tzii Huai-nan-tzUi
of thelaterTaoistschoolwriteof thepriority of theTao or theOne. Thus,
Chuang-tziiholds: "The Tao is not formedfromany externalthing;it
createsitself. It existedbeforeheaven and earth; indeed,the earthand
heavenas well as thespirits and Godswerecreatedbyit."13
Huai-nan-tzii writes:"In theTao theOne ordersall. It nourishes thefour
oceansas well as theheavenand earth.Once itsguidingprincipleis realized
all thingstend toward it."14
A similarview was expressedby Greek thinkers.Parmenidestells us:
"One pathis onlyleftforus to speakof,namelythatit is. In thispathare
manytokens,thatwhat'is' is uncreated and indestructible; forit is complete,
immovableand withoutend."'5
Thus,the natureof unityand thepriority of theultimateprincipleitself
are epitomizedby the wordis. This is symbolizesthe verynatureof the
and wholenessof Being. In a similarfashion,Plato asserts
indivisibility
thatthe soul is nota harmonyor totality and is differentfromtheaggrega-
tionofitsparts.It is absoluteunityand is priorto all individuals."'Aristotle
tells us thatUnityitselfor Being itselfmustbe substance,whichis not
differentfromwhatis universally predicated of thingsthatare and are one.
Consequently, Aristotleagrees with Parmenides, forhe saysthat"according
to theargument ofParmenides...all thingsare,areOne,andthisis Being.""
Aristotlealso assertsthe priorityof Being or Substance: ". . . and those who
studythesepropertieserrnot by leavingthe sphereof philosophy, but by
forgettingthatsubstanceis priorto theseotherthings.'""
We have shown,now,thatunityis not totality, but is an indivisibility
thatis fundamentallydifferentfromtotality.We have shownthatunityis
' Ch. 6, theinnervolumeof Chuang-tzi.My translation.
This is a sumof themeaningof
thetext;it is nota complete translation.
' Huai-nan-tzi, Vol. I, ch. 1. My translation.
*
Early Greek Philosophy,Fr. 8.
1 Plato,Vol. 1, pp. 479-490.
7Basic Works of Aristotle,pp. 728, 732.
'
Ibid., p. 734, par. 5-10.
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS IN GREEK AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY 21

forit is the leadingpoweror universallaw of nature

priorto individuality,
fromwhichall thingsreceivetheirexistenceand order. The finalgoal in
the metaphysics of bothEasternand Westernschoolsis the attainment of
simplicityand the establishment of the of
system theOne or Being.

III
The idea of theOne, Unity,or Beinghas been developedfurther byboth
Westernand Easternphilosophers.Three schools in particularhave at-
temptedto go beyondthe One. These are the schoolsof Lao-tzilin China
and the schoolsof Gorgiasand Plotinusin Greece. Otherschoolsgive only
a hintof movingin thisdirection.
In China,Lao-tzui developstheidea of Beingto itsculmination in nothing-
ness,regarding the "nameless"as theoriginof nature.He writes:
The Tao thatcanbe expressed is nottheunchangeable Tao. The namethatcan
be namedis nottheunchangeable name.Thenameless is theoriginofnature(heaven
andearth).The namedis themother of all things.... .1
ofmanis earth,
The pattern thepattern ofearthis heaven, thepatternofheaven
is Tao,thepattern of Tao is spontaneity.20
The movement of theTao returns ttothesource),butitsfunction is weakness.
All thingsin theworldcomefromexistence and existence fromnon-existence.21
This idea of namelessnessor nothingness is furtherclarifiedby the later
Taoists,Chuang-tziland Huai-nan-tzii.Chuang-tzii tellsus:
The conceptof nothingnessexistedbeforethebeginning of theuniverse; it is
in
undefinable
nameless, itsnature.
The of
concept onenessis entwined
inextricably
All thingsderivetheirexistenceonlyin termsof the One from
withnothingness.
whichtheyderivetheirreality.
I callthis"theTV."22
And in likemannerHuai-nan-tzii
writes:
The conceptof the One and the idea of nothingness have the same implication.
The Universeis of thenatureof theOne. . . . Therefore,
existenceis generated
from
the
non-existence; realfromthe non-real.23

Amongthe Greeks,Gorgiasexpressesthe same idea:

Nothingexists,24forif Being existedit wouldbe eternal,as was provedby Par-
ch.1.
1 Tao TAhChing,
Ibid.,ch. 25.
,* Ibid.,ch.40.
Ch. 12,theoutervolumeof Chuang-tzi.Mytranslation.
Vol. I, ch. 1. Mytranslation.
SIn Gorgias,the interpretationof "nothingexists"as nihilismis misleading.
He infersthat
becauseof itsnaturewe cannotgraspreality, notthatit doesnotexist.Thispointis takenup by
F. Ueberweg, in his Grundriss
der Geschichte
derPhilosophie(12th ed.; Berlin:E. S. Mittler,
1926), Vol. I.
22 GI-MING SHIEN

menides.
Now,an eternalBeingis infinite.
Butan infinite
Beingcannot existinspace
or timewithoutbeinglimited
by them.Henceit is and
nowhere, what is nowhere
doesnotexist.Andevenif,assuming theimpossible, did
something exist,we could
notknowit; andevenifwe could,thisknowledgecouldin nowisebe communicated
to others.25
And thisidea occursagain in thephilosophy
of Plotinus:
Sincethenature oftheHypostasis oftheOne is theengenderer oftheall,it can
itselfbe noneofthethings in theall; thatis,it is nota thing;it doesnotpossess
qualityorquantity; it is notan intellectualprinciple,nota soul;it is notin motion
oratrest;notin space,notin time;it is essentially a uniqueform orrather no form,
sinceit is priortoform as itis priortomovement andtotherest;allthesecategories
holdonlyin therealmof existence andconstitute themultiplicity characteristic
of
thatlowerrealm.26
No attribute canbe affirmed of it; we penetrateto it onlybymystic contempla-
tion,the sensessealed.27
We cannotmakeanystatement aboutit,sinceall elsewe maysayof it is said
bynegation.28
Fromthesequotations,it is evidentthatLao-tzii,Chuang-tzui, Huai-nan-
tzi~,Gorgias, and Plotinus are all concerned with transcending Being or
the One and thusreachingnothingness.But,we may ask,whyattemptto
transcend Being?
Being itselftranscends bothtimeand space,sinceit enduresforeternity
and is the sourceof all things.We cannoteven imaginethatBeing or the
One has eitherbeginningor end. For if Beingbeganto exist,it musthave
come fromeitherBeing or non-Being.In the formercase, it is its own
product;it has createditself,whichamountsto sayingthatit is notcreated.
Consequently, thereis no beginning.In the lattercase, it is assumedthat
something come fromnothing,and thisis absurd. Consequently,
can there
is no beginningto the existenceof Being. For similarreasons,Being can
neitherchangenor perish,and therefore has no end. Withoutbeginning,
withoutend,and incapableof change,Being transcends time.
Beingalso transcends space and is quantitatively infinite.It is unlimited
byanything and is boundless.In this senseit is Thesetwoattributes,
infinite.
eternityand infinity, representsupremeexistenceand are the summitof
absoluteperfection.Thus, Being can be the sourceof all things. Other
kindsof existenrce, beingspatialand temporal,are relativeto one another
and limited.They represent imperfection and cannotconstitute the source
' AlfredWeber,History p. 17.
ofPhilosophy,
' Plotinus, trans.StephenMackenna(Londonand Boston:MediciSociety,Ltd.,1917-30),
Vol. I, p. 141.
" Ibid.,Vol. I, p. 144.
8 Ibid.,Vol. I, p. 141.
BEING AND NOTHINGNESS IN GREEK AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHY 23

of all things,sincethe sourceof all thingsmustbe self-contained and self-

sufficient,in need of nothingotherthan its own self. Only Being,which
transcends spaceand time,can be thesourceof all things.
Let us now look intotherealexistenceofeternaland infinite Being,which
transcendsspace and time and is unlimitedin its nature. What can the
natureof such existencebe? Regardedfromthe standpointof its lack of
limitation, it is completely independent,thatis, absolute."Absolute"means
thatitis relativeto nothingand is self-sufficient.Thus,itexcludesall desires,
and
wants, feelings. It transcendsconsciousness,
forgetting itselfand itsown
existence.Being is thusequivalentto non-existence or nothingness, just as
we seemto be nothingwhenwe are soundasleep.
That thenatureof theOne is forgetfulness, nothingness, is testified
to by
Chuang-tzii:
Whenone forgets bothexternalthingsandheaven, he is in thestatethatI call
Whenhe is in thisstate,
trueself-forgetfulness. hisnature
is thesame[forgetfulness
or namelessness] as thatof heaven[universe).29
Confucius, althoughnota Taoist,also recognizes
thisprincipleof nothing-
ness. In his Analects,he says:
I [Confucius]
wouldprefernotspeaking. His student asks,"Ifyou,O
Tzii-kung
do notspeak,whatshallwe,yourdisciples,
master, havetorecordandfollow?"The
master "Doestheuniverse
replied, speak?The fourseasonspursuetheirowncourse
andall thingsareproduced
in theirorder;butdoestheuniverse sayanything?"30
Out of the nothingness of not speakingarisesthe spontaneity of con-
tinuousproduction.This is the truenatureof the universe.As Confucius
saysagain:
Amongtheappliances to transform thepeople,soundandappearance arebuttrivial
It is saidin another
influence. ode: "His virtue
is lightas a hair."Stilla hairwill
admitof comparison of size. The doingsof thesupreme heaven[universe] has
soundnorsmell.[No sizeat all andequalto nothingness.J
neither Thisis theper-
fectvirtue.31
Fromthesequotationsitis clearthatConfuciusrecognizes themetaphysical
principleof nothingness.But here we must examinemore carefullythe
meaningof nothingness, for nothingness has to do not with the quality
or quantityof Being,butonlywiththe natureof Being. For the natureof
Being is said to be nothingness because Being is absolutelycomplete,in
needofnothing, consciousofno wants.Thisis whytheprincipleof nothing-
ness in thephilosophyof Lao-tz(iis "nameless";and whyin thephilosophy
29 Ch. 12, theoutervolumeof Chuang-tz~.My translation.
S Confucius,AnalectsXVII. 19.
3 Confucius,Doctrine of the Mean, ch. 33.
24 GI-MINGSHIEN

of Huai-nan-tziithe conceptof nothingness and the idea of the One have

the same implication-forthe One is the Absolute,and, if it is absolute,
it is namelessand equal to nothingness.In the writingsof Confucius, the
principleofnothingness is represented
by"notspeaking"and "havingneither
sound nor smell." In the philosophyof Gorgias,"infiniteBeing is not
limitedin spaceand time,andconsequently is nowhere, andthereforenothing
exists." And in the philosophy of Plotinus we are told thatthe "One is
theengenderer nota thing,possessingneitherquality
of all, and is therefore
nor quantity."32
Thus, Being or the One is not the ultimatemetaphysical principle.In
otherwords,thetermBeingdoes notrepresent theultimatenatureof reality
or Being-in-itself.Being is still namable,and in this respectit is related
to something and is lessthanultimatereality.Realitymusttranscend Being,
mustbe relatedto nothing.It mustbe lost in itselfand remainnameless.
To sumup, then,it has been assertedthatthefulldevelopment of meta-
physics bothin ancient Chinese Taoism and in Greek philosophy culminates
in nothingness. Nothingnessis the natureof Being-in-itself, whichis abso-
lutelytranscendent and nameless.Onlyin the namelessness of nothingness
is the natureof ultimaterealitydiscerned.If we give it a nameand call it
Being,thenit is limitedand losesitsnatureof absoluteness and self-forgetful
unconsciousness. When we reachthisstep,we have gone as far as meta-
physics can go in investigating the ultimatenatureof reality.This is the
meritof Lao-tzilin the East and of Gorgiasand Plotinusin theWest.
Vol. 1, p. 141.
32Plotinus,