Logic in Traditional Chinese Academic Study

A special issue of Logics (ISSN 2813-0405).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 794

Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Philosophy, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430062, China
Interests: logic; history and philosophy of logic; philosophy of language; epistemology; American pragmatism

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Philosophy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Interests: history of logic and philosophy of logic; history of chinese logic; comparative study of chinese and foreign knowledge systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Based on traditional Chinese philosophy and culture, in this Special Issue, we aim to explore the following themes:

  1. The fundamental ideas, characteristics, core concepts, and systems of Chinese logic as the foundation and basic methodology of traditional Chinese academic research;
  2. Interpretations of the original meanings of core terms in Chinese logic;
  3. New methodologies for constructing Chinese logic based on traditional Chinese philosophy and culture, moving beyond the traditional approach of analysing Chinese logic through Western academic and logical frameworks;
  4. The close relationship between traditional Chinese philosophy and Chinese logic, analysing the issue of the alleged ‘interruption of Chinese logic after the Qin and Han dynasties’;
  5. The logical theoretical constructions or specific logical practices of certain schools of thought or philosophers in Chinese history, from the perspective of comparative logic between China and the West.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • The traditional Chinese logic behind the development of traditional Chinese philosophy from the pre-Qin period to the end of the Qing dynasty;
  • Deep interpretations of core terms in Chinese logical thought, such as bian (), ming (), ci(), and shuo();
  • The spread and influence of foreign logic (Western logic, Indian Hetuvidyā yinming 因明) in China;
  • The relationship between Chinese logic and foreign logic.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarising their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, or to the Assistant Editor of Logics. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Bo Chen
Prof. Dr. Jincheng Zhai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Logics is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Chinese logic
  • Western logic
  • Indian Hetuvidyā (yinming 因明)
  • comparative study

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 737 KB  
Article
A Tentative Exploration of the Fei Qian Argumentation Scheme Based on Logic in a Broad Sense
by Yan Li
Logics 2026, 4(3), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/logics4030008 - 21 Aug 2026
Abstract
The Fei Qian (飞箝) Argumentation Scheme, one of the core rhetorical schemes of the School of Diplomacy (Zonghengjia, 纵横家) aimed at controlling others, has yet to receive systematic theoretical analysis, and its significance within the history of Chinese logic remains underexplored. [...] Read more.
The Fei Qian (飞箝) Argumentation Scheme, one of the core rhetorical schemes of the School of Diplomacy (Zonghengjia, 纵横家) aimed at controlling others, has yet to receive systematic theoretical analysis, and its significance within the history of Chinese logic remains underexplored. Drawing primarily on the Guiguzi (《鬼谷子》) and related pre-Qin period sources, this article examines the Fei Qian Argumentation Scheme across three dimensions: its structural logic, its intended targets, and its practical application. The analysis reveals that the Fei Qian Argumentation Scheme exhibits a fundamental asymmetry in evaluative standards—it demands factual reliability of the premises while judging the conclusion solely by the criterion of audience acceptability. Operationally, the scheme proceeds by deploying external flattery (fei, 飞) to draw upon captivating words (Gou Qian zhi ci, 钩箝之辞), supplemented where necessary by inward emotional manipulation (Gou Qian, 钩箝). Its application is further stratified by social hierarchy: the scheme is directed upward at rulers (zhi tian xia, 制天下) and laterally at peers (zhi ren, 制人), while subordinates may be directed without recourse to it. In practice, the Fei Qian Scheme presupposes a careful assessment of power and capacity (duo quan liang neng, 度权量能), pursues the goal of winning willing compliance (cong hua, 从化), and resorts to the compound strategy of “encumber responsibilities and reveal weaknesses” (chong lei–zi hui, 重累—訾毁) when the primary scheme fails. The emergence of the Fei Qian scheme form and the broader rise in the School of Diplomacy were inseparable from the specific socio-cultural and historical context of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. To a significant degree, the argumentation theories and practices of the School of Diplomacy advanced the development of bianxue (辩学, the art of disputation) and of Chinese logic as a whole. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Logic in Traditional Chinese Academic Study)
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