Interpretive Context
In the pre-Qin period, general philosophical discussions can be parsed in two categories, e.g.,
- the ethical-political meaning of the "white horse"; and
- linguistic-logical understanding of "white" and "horse."
In the Chinese philosophical tradition, the Baima Lun's significance is evident from how many Chinese classic texts directly or indirectly discuss it. The Liezi, which lists and criticizes the paradoxes of Gongsun Long as "perversions of reason and sense", explains "'A white horse is not a horse', because the name diverges from the shape."
Two Zhuangzi chapters (17 and 33) mock Gongsun Long, and another (2) combines his zhi 指 "attribute" and ma 馬 "horse" notions in the same context.
To use an attribute to show that attributes are not attributes is not as good as using a nonattribute to show that attributes are not attributes. To use a horse to show that a horse is not a horse is not as good as using a non-horse to show that a horse is not a horse, Heaven and earth are one attribute; the ten thousand things are one horse.
The Mengzi (6A) uses bai 白 "white" to mean both "white-haired; old (person)" and "white-colored (horse)".
Mencius said, 'There is no difference between our pronouncing a white horse to be white and our pronouncing a white man to be white. But is there no difference between the regard with which we acknowledge the age of an old horse and that with which we acknowledge the age of an old man? And what is it which is called righteousness? The fact of a man's being old? Or the fact of our giving honour to his age?'
Other early "A white horse is not a horse" references are found in the Hanfeizi (32), Mozi (11B), and Zhanguoce (4).
The influence of politics and Western logic introduced discernable interpretive biases in the mid-20th century. In the Western philosophical tradition, whether "a white horse is not a horse" entails diverse philosophical concepts including Platonic idealism, Substance theory, logical intension or comprehension versus extension or denotation, and the Primary/secondary quality distinction in epistemology.
George Pólya's falsidical "All horses are the same color" paradox sounds similar but is different from the ancient White Horse Dialogue.
Contemporary efforts to mitigate post-Qin biases are reflected in newer studies of pre-Qin discourse.
Read more about this topic: When A White Horse Is Not A Horse
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