A Comparative Study of Mohist Logic and Aristotelian Logic: With a Discussion on Logic and Culture

Author: Cui Qingtian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Mohist logic and Aristotelian logic are two of the most typical forms of logic in the history of human thought. They have respectively had a significant impact on Eastern and Western culture, thought, and more, forming two different approaches to thinking. This book places logic within the broader context of culture, based on the cultural backgrounds from which these two logics emerged. It employs a combination of historical analysis and cultural interpretation, as well as seeking commonalities and differences, to elucidate the distinctions between the two logical forms in terms of their purposes and tasks, dominant types of reasoning, analysis of reasoning components, and subsequent developments. This demonstrates that the objective connection between logic and culture is manifested on one hand as culture constraining logic, and on the other hand as logic influencing culture. Research on logic should incorporate cultural interpretation, and the study of culture equally requires attention to logic.