The Three Interpretations of Xunzi's Heavenly Way

Based on the standpoint of experience, Xunzi opened up a Confucian relationship between heaven and man that was different from Confucius and Mencius. As for the philosophical category of "Heaven", it has multiple meanings. First, the meaning of nature of heaven has become a consensus, but the definition of the concept of "nature" has different tendencies in the academic community. "Nature" should be the unity of objective nature and scientific nature; second, Xunzi said that "clear from the distinction between heaven and man", but he also certainly "can participate", and the two do not conflict with man and society; third, studying Xunzi's thoughts of heaven is born and made by man, and in this perspective, "knowing the heaven" and "not seeking to know heaven" are mutually unified.

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Publication Details

Journal
Philosophy Journal
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.23977/phij.2025.040115
Primary Topic
Chinese history and philosophy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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The Three Interpretations of Xunzi's Heavenly Way

Philosophy Journal
Chinese history and philosophy
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The Three Interpretations of Xunzi's Heavenly Way

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Abstract

Based on the standpoint of experience, Xunzi opened up a Confucian relationship between heaven and man that was different from Confucius and Mencius. As for the philosophical category of "Heaven", it has multiple meanings. First, the meaning of nature of heaven has become a consensus, but the definition of the concept of "nature" has different tendencies in the academic community. "Nature" should be the unity of objective nature and scientific nature; second, Xunzi said that "clear from the distinction between heaven and man", but he also certainly "can participate", and the two do not conflict with man and society; third, studying Xunzi's thoughts of heaven is born and made by man, and in this perspective, "knowing the heaven" and "not seeking to know heaven" are mutually unified.

Philosophy JournalVol. 4(1)
Northwest Normal University (CN)
Northwest Normal University
Openalex Percentile: Top 74%
Chinese history and philosophy
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