Nothingness at the Crossroads of Minor Canons : A Dialogue between Wang Fuzhi and Charles de Bovelles

Ambrogio, Selusi (author)

It is a mainstream assumption that Asian thinkers, and Chinese in particular, have devoted much of their speculative energies to investigating emptiness and nothingness, whereas these philosophical concepts would have been neglected (if not abhorred) in Western thought. As Sorensen (2022, 77) says: “Having climbed to the precipice of being, the Chinese and Indians pan across the vista of nothingness. They see an open horizon of opportunity. The Greeks look down the cliff. They suffer vertigo”. In this article, we set ourselves the task of questioning this assumption by presenting two authors who represent opposing tendencies within their respective traditions. On the one hand, Wang Fuzhi 王夫之 (1619–1692), normally described as a “materialist” and a bitter opponent of the “emptiness” and “nothingness” of Buddhists and Daoists. On the other, Charles de Bovelles (1479–1566), author of the short treatise Liber de Nihilo, in which nothingness is posited as necessary to God for his existence and the unfolding of his power. Despite being in different traditions and with different visions of nothingness, we will see how their respective thoughts can meet and engage in dialogue in a productive manner.

• Language: English
• Keywords: nothingness, minor canons, Wang Fuzhi, Charles de Bovelles, negative theology, Neo-Confucianism
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 09.05.2025
• Number of pages: Str. 153-175
• Numbering: Vol. 13, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-178269
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• eISSN: 2350-4226
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2025.13.2.153-175
• Publication date in RUL: 22.01.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Asian studies
• Publisher: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• COBISS.SI-ID: 265206272

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Nič na stičišču drugotnih kanonov : dialog med Wang Fuzhijem in Charlesom de Bovellesom

Abstract

Prevladujoče prepričanje je, da so azijske mislice in misleci, med njimi še posebej kita-jski, veliko svojih spekulativnih prizadevanj namenjali raziskovanju praznine in niča, medtem ko naj bi bili v zahodni misli ti koncepti zapostavljeni (če ne kar z gnusom zavrn-jeni). Kakor pravi Sorensen (2022, 77): »Ko priplezajo do previsa biti, se pred Kitajci in Indijci razprostre razgled niča. Vidijo odprto obzorje priložnosti. Grki zrejo dol s pečine. Muči jih vrtoglavica.« V tem članku prevprašujemo to predpostavko s predstavitvijo dveh avtorjev, ki zastopata nasprotne težnje znotraj svojih tradicij. Na eni strani je Wang Fuzhi 王夫之 (1619–1692), ki ga po navadi opisujejo kot »materialista« ter zagrizenega nasprotnika »praznine« in »niča« budistov in daoistov. Na drugi je Charles de Bovelles (1479–1566), avtor kratke razprave Liber de nihilo, v kateri je nič postavljen kot nujnost za obstoj Boga in za razodevanje njegove moči. Kljub pripadnosti različnim tradicijam in različnim pogledom na nič bomo videli, kako se lahko njuna razmišljanja srečajo in stopijo v produktiven dialog.

• Keywords: nič, drugotni kanoni, Wang Fuzhi, Charles de Bovelles, negativna te-ologija, neokonfucianizem