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Nothingness of Dao in the Daodejing : A Mereological Interpretation
ID Banka, Rafal (Author)

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Abstract
This article is based on my mereological reconstruction of the Daoist metaphysical system, as presented in the Daodejing. I conceptualize the Dao and you relationship as a relationship between Unrestricted Composition (for any entities, there is a composition that they make) and Restricted Composition (what is an entity is determined by finite composition rules) respectively. This conceptualization, among other things, makes it possible to address the way in which Dao is described as wu—nothingness or non-being. In this article, I will show that Dao as the ultimate reality in Daoist metaphysics is not an ontological nothingness and discuss how this “nothingness characteristic” can be mereologically reconstructed and explained. I will discuss the interpretation of Dao in terms of Mereological Nihilism (according to which there are only mereological simples that do not have parts and are not parts of any complex entities), Unrestricted Composition, and consider an option in which mereology is confined exclusively to relationships between parts. I will also discuss how the nothingness aspect of Dao can be viewed from a stuff ontology perspective, which questions the ontological standing of parts.

Language:English
Keywords:nothingness, mereology, Daoist metaphysics, Chinese metaphysics
Work type:Article
Typology:1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:FF - Faculty of Arts
Publication status:Published
Publication version:Version of Record
Publication date:01.09.2025
Number of pages:Str. 137-151
Numbering:Vol. 13, no. 3
PID:20.500.12556/RUL-178286 This link opens in a new window
ISSN:2232-5131
eISSN:2350-4226
DOI:https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2025.13.3.137-151 This link opens in a new window
Publication date in RUL:22.01.2026
Views:328
Downloads:126
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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 This link opens in a new window

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:Ničnost Dao v Daodejing : mereološka interpretacija
Abstract:
Ta članek temelji na moji mereološki rekonstrukciji daoističnega metafizičnega siste-ma, kot je predstavljen v Daodejing. Razmerje med Dao in you pojmujem kot razmerje med neomejeno sestavo (za vse entitete obstaja sestava, ki jo tvorijo) in omejeno sesta-vo (kaj je entiteta, določajo končna pravila sestave). Ta konceptualizacija med drugim omogoča obravnavo načina, na katerega je Dao opisan kot wu – ničnost ali nebivanje. V svoji predstavitvi pokažem, da Dao kot končna realnost v daoistični metafiziki ni ontološka ničnost, ter razpravljam o tem, kako je mogoče to »značilnost ničnosti« mereološko rekonstruirati in pojasniti. Obravnavam interpretacijo Dao v smislu mere-ološkega nihilizma (po katerem obstajajo le mereološke enostavne entitete, ki nimajo delov in niso deli nobenih kompleksnih entitet), neomejene sestave, in razmišljam o možnosti, da je mereologija omejena izključno na odnose med deli. Obravnavam tudi, kako je mogoče videti ničnost Dao s perspektive ontologije snovi, ki postavlja pod vprašaj ontološki status delov.

Keywords:ničnost, mereologija, daoistična metafizika, kitajska metafizika

Projects

Funder:ERC - European Research Council
Funding programme:European Union’s Horizon 2020
Project number:850593

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