Florida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a5%0d%0a%0d%0aKant%e2%80%99s+Thing+in+itself%2c+or+the+Tao+of+K%c3%b6nigsberg%0d%0aPresidential+Address+of+the+48th+Annual+Meeting+of+the+Florida+Philosophical+Association%0d%0a%0d%0aMartin+Schonfeld%2c+University+of+South+Florida+and+National+Taiwan+University%0d%0a%0d%0aIntroduction+It+is+time+to+take+another+look+at+Kant.+His+philosophy+took+quite+a+battering+in+the+past+century.+First+analytic+critics+bruised+and+pummeled+it%2c+and+then+postmodern+critics+tried+to+finish+it+off.+Yet+Kant+keeps+bouncing+back.+Why+is+this%3f+Why+does+he+not+go+away%2c+despite+such+efforts%3f+Is+it+because+of+his+ethical+ideas%3f+That%2c+perhaps%2c+universal+human+rights%2c+the+categorical+respect+for+humanity%2c+are+a+rule+worth+remembering%3f+That+sustainable+development%2c+the+replication+of+a+practice+through+space+and+over+time%2c+is+the+only+way+to+go%2c+even+though+it+tends+to+rub+us+the+wrong+way%3f+Or+is+it+because+of+Kant%e2%80%99s+political+claims%3f+That+people+should+be+critical+citizens+instead+of+loyal+subjects%2c+even+if+this+upsets+the+patriots%3f+That+%e2%80%9cthe+supreme+end%3a+the+happiness+of+all+mankind%2c%e2%80%9d+as+he+calls+it%2c+requires+a+United+Nations+after+all%3f+Or%2c+finally%2c+is+it+because+of+Kant%e2%80%99s+metaphysical+insights%3f+That+our+two+poles+are+the+moral+law+within+and+the+starry+heavens+above%3f+That+there+is+only+us%2c+and+despite+our+rational+autonomy%2c+we+are+links+in+the+Great+Chain+of+Nature%3f+And+that%2c+regardless+of+what+fundamentalists+want+us+to+believe%2c+proofs+of+God+and+human+immortality+are+over+and+done+with%3f+Then+there+is+Kant%e2%80%99s+context%e2%80%94the+Enlightenment.+A+flower+of+civilization%2c+this+was+the+century+when+the+grip+of+the+Churches+on+reason+was+broken%2c+when+natural+philosophy+matured+into+science%2c+bracketed+by+Newton+at+the+beginning+and+insights+into+electricity+and+molecular+bonds+at+the+end%e2%80%94and+the+century+that+culminated+in+the+Declaration+of+Independence+and+the+Bill+of+Rights.+This+was+an+excellent+age%2c+and+for+most+generations+in+Kant%e2%80%99s+neighborhood%2c+life+was+worse+before+and+after.+Before+this+time%2c+there+were+witch-hunts+and+the+Thirty+Years+War.+Afterwards%2c+the+French+revolution+was+guillotined%2c+factories+produced+masses+of+the+poor%2c+slavery+became+big+new+world+business%2c+the+colonialist+land-grab+went+in+overdrive%2c+and+the+Wild+West+turned+genocidal.+And+that+was+only+the+prelude+to+the+twentieth+century%e2%80%94trenches%2c+flags%2c+gas+chambers%2c+soldiers%2c+and+the+Bomb.+The+time+under+Frederick+the+Great+was+better.+Calling+the+Enlightenment+%e2%80%9cthe+Age+of+Reason%e2%80%9d+is+not+exaggerated.+People%2c+at+least+some+of+them%2c+had+their+act+together.+And+a+few%2c+like%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a6%0d%0a%0d%0aKant%2c+had+mind-blowing+ideas%e2%80%94ranging+from+the+structure+of+galaxies+to+the+categorical+imperative.+Research+in+cosmology+and+ecology+reveals+an+astounding+convergence+of+our+knowledge+and+Kant%e2%80%99s+ideas.+What+inspired+this+man%3f+And+what+was+his+basic+angle%e2%80%94what+ties+the+vast+range+of+his+ideas+together%3f+What+about+the+notorious+thing+in+itself%3f+Kant+says+it+is+unknowable%2c+but+surely+he+must+have+had+opinions+on+it.+What+were+they%3f+Kant+keeps+bouncing+back%3b+his+narrative+looks+fresher+every+day%3b+and+this+makes+the+questions+compelling.+We+may+never+know+for+certain+what+Kant%e2%80%99s+ultimate+inspiration+and+basic+insight+were.+We+are+free+to+guess%2c+although+scholars+should+not+do+this.+Academics+ought+to+be+critics%2c+not+artists.+The+philosophers%2c+however%2c+did+not+share+our+qualms.+They+wanted+to+know%2c+and+so+do+I.+Thus+I+will+follow+my+hunches+in+this+essay%3b+perhaps+they+will+lead+somewhere.+I+will+paint+a+portrait+of+the+thing+in+itself+based+on+an+unknown+root+of+Kant%e2%80%99s+thought.+In+the+first+section%2c+I+will+speculate+on+the+essence+of+reality.+I+argue+that+Kant%e2%80%99s+thing+in+itself+is+a+bond+of+forces+in+space%3b+that+this+structural-dynamic+pattern+governs+nature%3b+and+that+this+perspective+not+only+unifies+Kant%e2%80%99s+insights+but+also+supplies+an+ontological+narrative+that+integrates+our+scientific+knowledge.+In+the+second+section%2c+I+will+interpret+the+historical+record.+I+argue+that+the+structural-dynamic+perspective+was+a+driving+idea+in+the+Enlightenment%3b+that+it+arrived+from+China+with+the+Rites+Controversy%2c+and+that+this+idea%2c+mediated+by+others%2c+informed+Kant.+In+the+third+section%2c+I+will+examine+Kant%e2%80%99s+first+book%2c+Thoughts+on+the+True+Estimation+of+Living+Forces+(1747).+I+argue+that+this+idea+is+the+core+of+his+dynamics%2c+and+that+(as+has+only+recently+become+known)+the+key+claims+of+his+earliest+theory+have+withstood+the+test+of+time.+I+will+conclude+my+conjectures+with+questions%2c+as+is+only+fitting%3a+queries+about+the+influence+of+the+structural+dynamic+perspective+on+Kant+overall%2c+and+about+the+merit+of+this+idea+in+general.+If+my+questions+are+sufficiently+reasonable+to+provoke+further+investigations%2c+then+I+will+have+reached+my+aim.%0d%0a%0d%0aThe+Consilience+of+Structural+Dynamics+I+suspect+that+Kant%e2%80%99s+thing+in+itself%2c+or+the+natural+essence+alluded+to+from+his+pre-critical+beginnings+to+his+late+Opus+Postumum%2c+is+an+interactive+bond+of+forces+in+a+continuum.+As+this+bond+is+not+static+but+dynamic%2c+one+could+regard+it+as+an+energetic+activity+within+its+generated+field.+The+particular+form+of+this+activity+is+interaction.+A+consequence+of+this+reading+would+be+that+the+categorical+imperative+is+the+normative+vector+of+this+interactive+bond.+This+would+imply+that+Kant%e2%80%99s+imperative+reflects+the+given+in+functional+practice%2c+as+the+algorithm+of+constructive+and+sustainable+interactivity.+This+would+further+mean+that+the+fact-value+distinction+would+have+to+be+qualified.+Collapsing+this+distinction+has+been%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a7%0d%0a%0d%0acalled+the+naturalistic+fallacy%e2%80%94but+perhaps+it+is+the+stance+of+keeping+facts+and+values+apart+that+is+misguided+here%3a+the+fallacy+of+the+bifurcation+of+nature.1+Kant%e2%80%99s+case+may+be+subtler+than+commonly+held.+Although+his+bifurcation+of+empirical+facts+and+intelligible+values+leaves+the+impression+that+Kant+maintained+such+a+distinction%2c+this+ignores+two+points.+First%2c+Kant%e2%80%99s+bifurcation+arose+from+an+epistemic+context%2c+separating+it+from+ontological+dualisms%2c+and+second%2c+his+early+and+late+ontology+were+emphatically+monist.+Trying+to+characterize+the+thing+in+itself+is+thus+no+idle+game.+It+suggests+not+only+a+general+description+of+reality-patterns%2c+but+also+a+reassessment+of+the+quality+of+value%2c+because+these+patterns+are+not+pointless%3a+they+are+dynamic+and+often+self-organizing.+The+verdict+of+the+Critique+of+Pure+Reason+(1781%2f87)+is+that+the+thing+in+itself+is+not+cognitively+accessible%2c+and+no+verifiable+description+of+its+nature+can+be+given.+Yet+Kant+repeatedly+suggests+characterizations+of+a+universal+matrix.+He+does+so+not+only+in+the+early+works+and+the+late+reflections%2c+but+also+in+the+critical+texts%e2%80%94even+in+the+Critique+itself+(A+212-15%2fB+258-62).+What+makes+these+characterizations+intriguing+is+that+they+are+quite+unified+and+startlingly+similar+for+the+early%2c+critical%2c+and+late+Kant.2+Kant%e2%80%99s+universal+matrix+seems+more+than+%e2%80%9cinvention%e2%80%9d+but+less+than+%e2%80%9cdiscovery%e2%80%9d.+By+invention+I+mean+something+created+freely%2c+something+that+is+arbitrary.+By+discovery+I+mean+something+proven+by+our+standards+of+justification.+Kant%e2%80%99s+characterization+of+essential+reality+is+of+the+same+type%2c+it+appears%2c+as+the+insights+that+were+his+forte%3a+it+is+an+aper%c3%a7u%e2%80%94it+is+unsubstantiated+and+yet+fertile.+Its+details%2c+primarily+the+descriptions+in+his+first+book%2c+anticipated+later+discoveries+and+informed+Kant%e2%80%99s+further+ideas%2c+those+that+have+been+confirmed+as+well+as+those+that+we+now+accept+as+trivially+true.+Kant+characterizes+the+essence+of+nature+as+a+sort+of+dynamic+interactivity.+This+may+well+be+the+keystone+of+his+thoughts%2c+binding+his+other+aper%c3%a7us+together.+Successful+scientific+aper%c3%a7us%2c+for+example%2c+are+Kant%e2%80%99s+explanations+of+the+coastal+winds+(1%3a223-4%2c+1%3a492-4)%2c+of+the+cycles+of+the+monsoon+(1%3a494-500)%2c+of+the+slow-down+of+the+Earth%e2%80%99s+rotation+(1%3a187-90)%2c+of+the+formation+of+the+solar+system+(1%3a263-9)%2c+and+of+the+structure+of+galaxies+(1%3a248-56).3+Successful+philosophical+aper%c3%a7us+are+Kant%e2%80%99s+conclusions+that+traditional+metaphysics+is+over+(Aviii-x%2c+Axix-xx%2fBxiv-xv)%2c+and+that+arguments+for+God%e2%80%99s+existence+and+the+soul%e2%80%99s+immortality+are+done+with+(A631-42%2fB659-70%3b+A395-6%2fB421-28).+Aper%c3%a7us+successful+in+the+interdisciplinary+brain+sciences%2c+emerging+in+good+measure+from+philosophy%2c+are+the+conclusions+in+the+first+Critique+that+perception+results+from+interaction%2c+whereby+invariant+pathways+organize+affecting+data+(B1%3b+A15%2fB29%3b+A50-1%2fB74-5%3b+B113%3b+B148-9)%2c+and+that+the+subject+of+organized+sense-impressions%e2%80%94the+synthetic+unity+of+apperception%e2%80%94poses%2c+to+use+Dave+Chalmer%e2%80%99s+expression%2c+the+hard+problem+of+consciousness+(B154-9).%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a8%0d%0a%0d%0aSuccessful+historical+aper%c3%a7us%2c+at+last%2c+are+Kant%e2%80%99s+arguments+for+gender+equality+(8%3a35-6)%2c+for+the+cross-cultural+universality+of+reason+(4%3a428%3b+8%3a17-19)%2c+for+the+end+of+imperialism+(8%3a344-6%2c+354-7)%2c+for+the+resilience+of+tolerant+societies+whose+peoples+interact+as+citizens+(8%3a367)%2c+for+the+Universal+Declaration+of+Human+Rights+(4%3a429)%2c+for+the+emergence+of+the+United+Nations+(8%3a355-7)%2c+and+for+the+categorical+imperative+of+sustainable+development+(4%3a421).+No+doubt%2c+Kant+was+good+at+guessing!+The+identity+of+the+thing+in+itself%2c+I+suspect%2c+binds+his+lucky+guesses+together.+And+if+this+royal+aper%c3%a7u+is+more+than+an+invention%2c+it+will+explain+their+extraordinary+predictive+and+explanatory+success.+Crucial+for+the+appreciation+of+the+noumenon+is+to+avoid+viewing+it+as+a+thing.+It+is+not+shaped+like+books+or+people.+The+Ding+an+sich+is+not+in+any+sense+thing-like%e2%80%94it+is+neither+blocky+nor+solidly+inert.+Spatially+and+temporally%2c+it+is+the+opposite+of+an+empirical+object.+Whereas+such+objects+are+definite+and+formed%2c+the+thing+in+itself+is+pure+form%2c+thus+prior+to+formation+and+accordingly+boundless.+More+precisely%2c+it+is+a+force+knitting+its+exterior+into+a+field%2c+individuating+the+original+force+into+more+localized+dynamic+centers.+The+%e2%80%9cknitting%e2%80%9d+is+essential%3a+the+thing+in+itself+is+neither+force+nor+exterior%2c+but+instead+their+interplay.+It+is+an+interaction+between+entities.+These+are+opposites%3a+as+force+is+%e2%80%9csomething%e2%80%9d+(a+primal+energy)%2c+its+exterior+is+%e2%80%9cnothing%e2%80%9d+(a+void+that+is+not+yet+space).+The+interplay+of+%e2%80%9csomething%e2%80%9d+and+%e2%80%9cnothing%e2%80%9d+is+harmonious.+It+generates+nature.+Hence+the+noumenon+can+be+likened+to+a+dynamic+interactivity%2c+which+is+a+harmony+of+opposites.+The+dynamic+interactivity+or+harmony+of+opposites+generates+the+spatial+field.+Dynamic+radiation+expands+into+the+void+exterior+to+the+force-source%2c+thereby+structuring+the+void+into+a+plenum.+This+field+is+in+dynamic+stasis%2c+but+at+any+instant%2c+it+pulses%2c+develops%2c+and+structures+itself+to+ordered+wholes.+The+wholes+allocate+energy.+The+more+complex+the+generated+systems+are%2c+the+more+flexible+resource+allocations+become.+At+higher+orders+of+complexity%2c+the+natural+systems+manage+themselves%2c+some+of+them+evolving+to+autonomous+organisms.+The+free+wills+of+rational+individuals+are+bound+by+a+categorical+duty+to+act+in+line+with+the+natural+vector+toward+sustainable+self-organization.+Kant+was+not+the+first+to+entertain+such+views.+Johannes+Kepler+(1571-1630)%2c+inspired+by+Proclus%2c+described+a+%e2%80%9cmusic+of+the+spheres%e2%80%9d+in+the+Harmonice+Mundi+(1619)%2c+a+work+that+has+been+called+the+summa+of+the+Renaissance.4+Kepler%e2%80%99s+attempts+at+modeling+nature%e2%80%99s+chorded+harmonies+and+elegant+beats+resulted+in+the+third+planetary+law.+The+Harmonic+Law+has+been+fertile%2c+preparing+universal+gravitation%2c+and+its+stated+period-distance+regularity+is+accurate.+Kepler%e2%80%99s+Pythagorean+music+is+a+resonance+of+the+structuring+interactivity.+Described+in+the+terms+of+early+modern+philosophy%2c+this+interactivity+is+the+entelechy%e2%80%99s+force+in+the+plenum.%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a9%0d%0a%0d%0aIn+the+early+Kant%2c+interactivity+emerges+as+the+attractive-repulsive+coexistence+of+bodies+in+space%2c+explaining+the+immanent+causal+development+of+nature+to+reason.+Ultimately+it+is+a+divinely+warranted+schema+(1%3a413.1-2%2c+413-16).+In+the+critical+period%2c+Kant+warns+that+it+is+beyond+the+bounds+of+sense%2c+but+nonetheless+argues+that+it+is+practically+intelligible%2c+morally+an+imperative%2c+and+dynamically+a+plenum.+Later+he+would+explicate+it+as+an+ether+that+sustains+physical+and+cognitive+patterns.+Historically%2c+this+perspective+originated+in+the+Tao%3b+that+is%2c+Laozi%e2%80%99s+ontological+principle+of+the+harmony+of+opposites%2c+and+its+implied+naturalistic+ethics.+Christian+Wolff+(1679-1754)+interpreted+the+principle+as+a+harmony+of+normative+action+and+factual+evolution.+Georg+Bernhard+Bilfinger+(1693-1750)+appropriated+the+harmony+of+opposites+as+a+heuristic+rule+for+philosophy+of+nature.+Kant+applied+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+rule+to+ontology+and+cosmology%2c+thereby+arriving+once+more+at+the+original+sense+of+the+Tao.+The+Taoist+tradition%2c+undergirding+Confucianism+and+abstracted+to+Chan+(Zen)%2c+emerged+in+tonal+languages.+When+morphemes+are+sung+instead+of+spoken%2c+it+is+easier+to+communicate+a+structural-dynamic+perspective.+Like+Kant%2c+Laozi%2c+the+author(s)+of+the+Dao+De+Jing%2c+asserts+a+noumenon%2c+the+Tao+or+%e2%80%9cway%2c%e2%80%9d+which+orders+nature+towards+complexity%2c+life%2c+and+freedom+(e.g.+cf.+verses+1%2c+6%2c+25%2c+30%2c+81).+The+Tao+Te+Ching+(verse+4)+suggests+that+Tao+%e2%80%9cfills%e2%80%9d+(dao+zhong)+and%2c+in+doing+so%2c+becomes+%e2%80%9cusable%e2%80%9d+(yongzhi)+%e2%80%9cwithout+limit%e2%80%9d+(bu+yin).+Translators+commonly+propose+%e2%80%9cTao+is+empty%e2%80%94its+use+never+exhausted%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cthe+Tao+is+an+empty+vessel%3b+it+is+used%2c+but+never+filled.%e2%80%9d5+Although+%e2%80%9cempty%e2%80%9d+is+implied+in+zhong%e2%80%99s+connotations+(%e2%80%9cto+make+void%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cto+neutralize%e2%80%9d)%2c+zhong+is+a+verb+with+a+dynamic+meaning.+In+English%2c+it+corresponds+to+%e2%80%9cflush%2c%e2%80%9d+%e2%80%9csoar%2c%e2%80%9d+%e2%80%9cpour%2c%e2%80%9d+%e2%80%9cinfuse%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cdash+against%e2%80%9d.6+These+words+evoke+water%2c+a+symbol+of+Tao+because+of+its+life-sustaining+force+and+its+properties+of+universality+and+expansion.7+Tao+is+a+primal+energy+that+creates+space+by+structuring+it+as+a+presence.+Tao+individuates+this+presence+into+objects+and+guides+the+development+of+nature.+Its+initial+action+is+expressed+in+the+phrase+dao+zhong%2c+the+%e2%80%9cflushing%e2%80%9d+of+the+Tao+into+its+exterior%2c+a+filling+of+the+void+that+results+in+a+cosmic+plenum.+The+%e2%80%9cfilling%e2%80%9d+is+%e2%80%9cusable%e2%80%9d+to+nature.+The+filling%2c+which+initiates+self-organization%2c+serves+nature%e2%80%99s+goal+of+viable+structures.+When+the+Tao+expands%2c+its+boundless+activity+covers+or+contains+everything%3b+there+are+no+points+or+interstices+not+infused+by+it.8+As+a+dynamic+primum+structuring+nature%2c+Tao+serves+as+the+cosmic+vector+which+points+to+unfolded+nature.+It+remains+beyond+sensible+access%2c+but+externalizes+itself+as+the+matrix+of+nature.+It+is+the+dynamis%2c+whose+realization+is+the+selforganization+of+the+universe.+Moreover%2c+the+dynamis+is+not+only+the+physical+thrust+of+the+universe%2c+but+also+the+normative+form+of+conduct.+Good+actions%2c+in+this+view%2c+harmonize+with+the+overall+momentum+of+nature.+As%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a10%0d%0a%0d%0aTao+orders+the+cosmic+development+toward+increasing+complexity%2c+good+actions+mirror+this+process+by+benefitting+life+and+freedom.+Such+conformity+is+the+appropriate+response+to+the+given.+Laozi+summarizes+(v.+25)+that+people+(ren)+are+patterned+(fa)+after+the+Earth+(d%c3%ac)%2c+the+Earth+after+(fa)+the+cosmos+(tian)%2c+the+cosmos+after+(fa)+Tao%2c+and+Tao+after+(fa)+nature+(ziran).9+Like+Kant%e2%80%99s+noumenon%2c+Tao+is+a+pulse%e2%80%94filling+space%2c+weaving+the+cosmos%2c+and+branching+into+discrete+rhythms+or+things+(wan+wu%3b+v.+1).+The+interactive%2c+autonomous%2c+and+self-organizing+rise+of+complexity+is+its+goal+(fu+mo+zhi+ming%2c+er+chang+ziran%3b+v.+51).+Instantiations+of+maximum+complexity+are+life%2c+sentience%2c+and+reason.+Their+emergence+is+the+descriptive-normative+point+of+the+cosmic+vector.+Moreover%2c+like+the+Ding+an+sich%2c+Tao+is+an+unformed+form+that+is+neither+blocky+nor+solid+(wu+zhuang+zhi+zhuang%2c+wu+wu+zhi+xiang%3b+v.+14).+Viewed+as+a+dynamic%2c+Tao+is+a+harmony+of+opposites+that+promotes+life+(tian+di+xiang+he%2c+yijiang+gan+lu%3b+v.+32).+Viewed+as+an+order%2c+Tao+is+the+entelechy+of+nature%e2%80%99s+self-organization+(wan+wu+jiang+zi+hua+.+.+.+tian+xia+jiang+zi+ding%3b+v.+37).+The+similarities+of+Ding+an+sich+and+Tao+raise+the+question+of+why+they+have+not+been+discussed.+There+may+be+several+reasons.+Kant+research+is+an+ongoing+effort.+The+global+productivity+of+Kant+scholars+is+reflected+in+the+parallel+publication+of+three+leading+journals%2c+KantStudien%2c+Studi+Kantiani%2c+and+Kantian+Review.+The+studies+are+not+done%2c+and+our+accounts+are+not+graven+in+stone.+Language+barriers+pose+a+separate+problem.+The+primary+sources%2c+of+Kant+in+context%2c+are+in+Latin%2c+German%2c+French%2c+and+English.+Little+is+available+in+translation%3b+even+the+English+Kant+is+incomplete.+Substantial+research+is+published+in+German%2c+Italian%2c+French%2c+and+Spanish.+The+option+of+nonwestern+influences+throws+Chinese+into+the+fray+too.+The+study+of+Kant+is+a+multilingual+scholarship+on+a+multilingual+topic%2c+and+accessing+the+polyglot+data+is+not+easy.+Yet+doing+so+is+necessary.+Heidegger+calls+language+%e2%80%9cthe+house+of+being%e2%80%9d+when+pondering+the+essence+of+action.10+His+simile+is+poetic+but+to+the+point%2c+because+languages+convey+information+while+confining+it.+By+%e2%80%9chousing%e2%80%9d+being%2c+languages+impose+models.+Conceptual+and+formal+frameworks+make+aspects+of+reality+accessible+to+us%2c+but+any+given+framework+is+just+one+room+of+a+larger+house%2c+as+it+were.+I+suspect+we+will+see+more+if+we+open+doors+and+survey+other+rooms+as+well.+Finally%2c+these+claims+have+not+been+discussed+because+ontological+syntheses+are+discouraged.+The+humanities+are+in+ironic+reserve.+Philosophers+today+are+either+pragmatic%2c+analytic+researchers+who+pride+themselves+on+being+skeptics+in+a+rigorous+way%2c+or+postmodern%2c+continental+researchers+who+pride+themselves+on+being+skeptics+in+a+deconstructive+way.+Skepticism+is+basic+to+good+science.+But+good+science+is+not+reducible+to+it.+The+colleagues+in+the+sciences+puzzle+things+out+and+put+stuff+together.+Recently%2c+with+the+revolutions+in+astrophysics%2c+biology%2c+and+information+technology%2c+several+workers+have+been+trying+to+put+it+%e2%80%9call%e2%80%9d+together%2c+it+seems%e2%80%94Hawkings%2c+MurrayGellman%2c+Penrose%2c+Greene%2c+the+late+S.+J.+Gould%2c+and+Wilson.+Edward+O.+Wilson+scolds+us+scholars%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a11%0d%0a%0d%0afor+our+ironic+reserve11%e2%80%94asking+us%2c+why+aren%e2%80%99t+you+folks+giving+us+a+hand%3f+We+are+making+connections%2c+we+are+not+sure+what+they+mean%2c+and+we+are+saddened+by+the+loss+of+life%e2%80%99s+diversity%3b+we+need+your+help!+But+engaging+with+ontology+and+synthesizing+tends+to+make+members+of+our+guild+look+foolish+or+naive%2c+all+the+more+so+if+such+pursuits+go+beyond+standard+eurocentric+discourse.+Hence+the+trails+I+explore+lead+into+uncharted+territory.+Kant+scholars+are+not+done%3b+they+need+many+dictionaries%3b+and+the+arts+are+jaded.+I+worry+Wilson+may+have+a+point.+Hence+I+argue+for+%e2%80%9cconsilience%2c%e2%80%9d+literally+a+%e2%80%9cjumping+together+of+knowledge%e2%80%9d%e2%80%94or+simply+meaning%2c+as+Rodney+King%2c+after+his+beating%2c+said+so+wisely+(particularly+in+light+of+9-11)%2c+%e2%80%9cwhy+can%e2%80%99t+we+just+all+get+along%3f%e2%80%9d+Because+these+ideas+define+the+Enlightenment+and+Kant%2c+consilient+trails+are+perhaps+not+dead+alleys+after+all.%0d%0a%0d%0aThe+Transmission+of+Taoist+%e2%80%9cSeeing+the+Nature%e2%80%9d+(guandao+ziran)+to+Kant+The+subtitle+of+this+investigation+is+%e2%80%9cThe+Tao+of+K%c3%b6nigsberg%2c%e2%80%9d+despite+the+incontrovertible+facts+that+Kant+never+refers+to+Laozi%e2%80%99s+Tao+Te+Ching+and+had+not+read+it.+The+questions+of+how+matters+East+reached+the+West%2c+what+matters+they+were%2c+and+when+they+happened%2c+require+a+closer+look.+The+trade+routes+to+Taiwan+and+Macao+had+been+opened+when+Copernicus+was+a+young+man+and+Galileo+had+not+yet+been+born.+The+Christian+mission+began+at+the+end+of+the+sixteenth+century.+Matteo+Ricci+(1552-1610)+arrived+in+1583%2c+won+his+green+card+in+1601%2c+and+lived+in+China+until+his+death.+But+Ricci%e2%80%99s+efforts+backfired.+Instead+of+the+Chinese+becoming+Christian%2c+the+Jesuits+became+Confucian%2c+including+Ricci%2c+who+began+to+dress+up+like+a+Mandarin+official.12+The+sinofied+Jesuits+advocated+a+spiritual+synthesis+of+East+and+West%2c+organizing+an+ecumenical+worship+of+Confucian+ancestors+and+the+Christian+God.+This+upset+the+other+missions%2c+staffed+by+Latin-speaking+Franciscans+and+Dominicans%2c+Bible-thumpers+who+did+not+bother+studying+the+languages+of+their+hosts.+The+Rites+Controversy+began+in+1610.+Ricci%2c+as+well+as+his+successors%2c+wrote+texts+on+China+and+mailed+them+home.+The+Manchu+Emperor+Kangxi+(r.+1662-1722)+protected+their+freedom+with+his+famous+Edict+of+Tolerance+(1692).13+The+Jesuit+Philippe+Couplet+published+a+translation+of+three+Confucian+Classics%2c+the+Analects%2c+Doctrine+of+the+Mean%2c+and+Great+Learning+(1687).+The+Jesuit+Fran%c3%a7ois+No%c3%abl+published+an+edition+with+the+Mencius+(1711).+Leibniz+supported+the+Jesuits+in+the+continuing+Rites+Controversy.+Christian+Wolff+reviewed+No%c3%abl%e2%80%99s+books+in+the+Acta+Eruditorum+(1711-12).+Completing+his+term+as+Halle%e2%80%99s+vicepresident+(Prorektor)%2c+Wolff+gave+a+speech+on+Chinese+philosophy+(1721%2c+Oratio+de+Sinarum+philosophia%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a12%0d%0a%0d%0apractica).+He+began+and+ended+his+address+by+declaring+that+Confucius+rocks%2c+and+that+Confucius+is+right.14+The+backlash+happened+immediately.+In+Germany%2c+the+Pietists+went+on+the+warpath%2c+slandering+Leibniz+(who+had+died+in+1716)+and+his+followers+as+atheists+and+spinozists.+Wolff+was+driven+out+of+Halle+in+1723.+The+presidential+address+was+dynamite.+Wolff+had+explicitly+said+(7%2c+13%2c+65)+that+oriental+pagans+ignorant+of+the+Bible+comprehensively+figured+out+the+difference+between+right+and+wrong.+This+message+questioned+authority+and+had+to+be+suppressed.+In+Italy%2c+Pope+Clemens+XI+had+already+issued+an+infamous+Edict+of+Intolerance+and+closed+the+flourishing+Jesuit+China+mission+in+1715.+In+China%2c+the+Manchu+Emperor+Yongzheng+(r.+172236)+responded+by+banishing+Christianity+in+1724.+The+Rites+Controversy+continued+in+Europe.+Pope+Benedict+XIV+announced+a+gag-order%2c+stopping+the+controversy+to+the+satisfaction+of+the+Biblethumpers+in+1742%2c+but+this+was+just+a+formality%2c+because+all+missionaries+had+already+been+expelled.+The+encounter+of+Confucius+and+Christ+had+ended+with+the+defeat+of+the+latter.+The+Chinese+considered+the+Holy+Trinity+contradictory+and+the+Cross%2c+a+henchmen+tool%2c+barbarian.+The+Christians+had+been+embarrassed+to+find+out+that+Chinese+historiography+contained+no+record+of+the+Biblical+Deluge%2c+although+this+history+reached+deeper+into+the+past+than+their+own.+In+the+1730s+the+backlash+was+failing.+Wolff%e2%80%99s+expulsion+from+Halle+had+been+a+media+event.+Wolff+was+as+much+leader+of+German+philosophy+in+the+eighteenth+century+as+Hegel+would+become+later.+Wolff%e2%80%99s+German+Metaphysics+(1719)+was+a+runaway+bestseller+racking+up+ten+consecutive+editions.+Halle+had+aspired+to+be+the+Princeton+of+Europe%2c+and+Wolff+had+been+its+vice-president.+All+over+the+continent+academics+were+talking+about+this+scandal.+More+than+four+hundred+treatises+were+written+on+Wolff%e2%80%99s+quarrel+with+the+Pietists.+The+Confucian-Wolffian+message%e2%80%94that+only+reason+and+observation+are+needed+to+determine+the+good%e2%80%94was+heard+loudly+and+clearly%2c+and+Wolff%e2%80%99s+students+were+propagating+it.+Add+to+this+the+scientific+paradigm+change+happening+at+the+same+time.+The+success+of+Newton%e2%80%99s+Principia+(1687)+was+proving+unstoppable.+Its+second+edition+(1713)+had+been+reprinted+twice+(1714+and+%e2%80%9823)+in+Amsterdam+(the+freest+place+on+earth).+The+definitive+edition+of+the+Principia+appeared+a+year+after+Kant%e2%80%99s+birth%2c+in+1725%2c+which+is+also+when+John+Keill%e2%80%99s+physics+textbook+was+published+in+the+Netherlands+(Introductiones+ad+veram+physicam+et+veram+astronomiam).+Wolff+and+his+German+students+embraced+Newtonian+physics%2c+and+(after+Maupertuis%e2%80%99+conversion+in+1732)+the+French+Cartesians+followed+suit.+Once+again%2c+all+over+Europe+intellectuals+were+talking+about+this.+Newton%e2%80%99s+message%e2%80%94that+only+reason+and+observation+are+needed+to+elucidate+nature%e2%80%94was+heard+loudly+and+clearly+too.+The+Pietists%2c+who+had+driven+out+Wolff%2c+rejected+Eastern+philosophy+and+Western+science%2c+and+insisted+that+all+you+need+to+know+is+in+the+holy+texts.+Their+skepticism+deflated+their+own+authority.+Galvanized+by+the+encounter+with+Confucius%e2%80%99+philosophy+of+the+good+and+the%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a13%0d%0a%0d%0aappropriation+of+Newton%e2%80%99s+philosophy+of+nature%2c+the+Age+of+Reason+had+come+into+its+own.+The+two+sets+of+data+now+being+disseminated%e2%80%94Eastern+ethics+and+Western+physics%e2%80%94resonated+with+each+other%2c+mutually+reinforcing+the+message+of+the+power+of+the+human+mind.+Now+the+Enlightenment+had+arrived.+Taoism%2c+in+one+sense%2c+arrived+later.+A+translation+of+the+Tao+Te+Ching+was+presented+to+the+British+Royal+Society+in+1788%3b+it+had+no+effect+on+Kant.+Taoism+became+better+known+after+his+death+(in+1804)%2c+as+Hegel%e2%80%99s+writings+show%2c+and+a+Latin+Tao+appeared+in+1823.15+But+in+another+sense%2c+Taoism+arrived+already+with+Couplet+(1687)+and+No%c3%abl+(1711).+It+enjoyed+a+free+ride+on+the+Confucian+Classics.+Their+characteristic+feature+is+a+holistic+inclusiveness.+Chinese+philosophy+began+with+Confucianism+and+Taoism+(5th+and+6th+C.+BCE)%2c+followed+by+polytheist+Buddhism+(2nd+C.+CE).+Zen+(ch%c3%a1n)+emerged+in+the+seventh+century+in+China+(not+Japan).+The+spectrum+from+Confucianism+to+Taoism+to+Zen+forms+a+philosophically+consilient+continuum.+Confucian+scholars+would+have+told+you+then%2c+as+they+would+tell+you+now%2c+if+your+concern+is+the+%e2%80%9cought%e2%80%9d+for+public+life%2c+read+the+Analects+and+the+Mencius.+If+your+concern+is+the+%e2%80%9cought%e2%80%9d+for+private+life%2c+read+the+Doctrine+of+the+Mean.+And+if+your+concern+is+the+%e2%80%9cis%2c%e2%80%9d+then+read+Mencius%2c+and+Doctrine+of+the+Mean+once+more%2c+and+study+the+Great+Learning.+The+is-ought-distinction+is+a+dogma+of+Western+skeptics+and+foreign+to+the+East.+Like+Russian+dolls%2c+the+Analects+and+the+Mencius+nestle+in+the+causal+ontology+of+the+Great+Learning%2c+which+nestles+in+the+cosmology+of+the+Doctrine+of+the+Mean.+The+Doctrine+of+the+Mean+explains+humanity+or+benevolence+(ren)+in+terms+of+integrity+(cheng)%2c+and+integrity+in+terms+of+following+the+Tao.+This+was+the+crucial+link.+Before+Kant%e2%80%99s+birth%2c+the+Doctrine+of+the+Mean+had+been+translated+twice.+The+Tao+is+explicit+here%3b+it+is+the+first+verse+of+the+Third+Classic%3a16+What+heaven+%5bcosmos%5d+imparts+to+man+is+called+human+nature+%5bvitality%5d+(tian+ming+zhi+wei+xing)+To+follow+our+nature+%5bfollow+vitality%5d+is+called+the+Way+(shuai+xing+zhi+wei+dao)+Cultivating+the+Way+is+called+education+(xiou+dao+zhi+wei+jiao)+The+Way+cannot+be+separated+from+us+for+a+moment+(dao+ye+zhe%2c+bu+ke+xuyu+li+ye)+And+what+can+be+separated+from+us+is+not+the+Way+(ke+li+fei+dao+ye)+The+Jesuit+knowledge+transfer+from+China+to+Germany+was+a+success.+Christian+Wolff+grasped%2c+appropriated%2c+and+defended+the+essential+unit+of+information.+Wolff+begins+his+vicepresidential+address+by+relating+the+personal+importance+of+the+Taoist+subtext+of+the+Third+Classic%2c%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a14%0d%0a%0d%0athe+dynamic+resonance+of+natural+structure+with+normative+force.+Wolff%e2%80%99s+training+was+in+the+exact+sciences.+Working+with+forms+and+functions+had+not+only+honed+his+cognitive+abilities%2c+but+also+supplied+him+with+the+only+perspective+that+makes+the+Tao+intelligible+and+precise%3a17+When+I+took+on+the+arduous+business+%5bof+applying+the+geometric+method+to+philosophy%5d%2c+I+had+to+learn+that+extraordinary+progress+is+still+needed+in+mathematics+for+the+sake+of+its+heuristic+structure+.+.+.+I+also+understood+that+the+entire+philosophical+canon+had+to+be+tied+to+mathematics.+.+.+.+Then+I+developed+the+ontological+concept+of+perfection+.+.+.+and+was+blessed+(mihi+datum+fuerat)+to+see+in+metaphysics+the+perfection+of+the+entire+universe+.+.+.+Afterwards+I+thought+about+the+direction+of+free+actions+toward+the+perfection+of+the+microcosm+(directionem+actionum+liberarum+ad+perfectionem+microcosmi+).+(l.+17-20%2c+24-6%2c+32-8)+When+applying+the+heuristic+structure+of+mathematics+to+philosophy%2c+Wolff+saw+the+limits+of+his+tools.+Still%2c+philosophy+must+be+tied+to+mathematics.+Now+Halle%e2%80%99s+mathematics+professor+was+a+bit+stuck.+But+then+he+examined+the+definition+of+perfection+and+the+dynamics+of+moral+action%e2%80%94and+had+an+insight%3a+I+realized+that+this+direction+%5bof+free+actions%5d+is+not+different+from+the+one+prescribed+by+the+laws+of+nature+(eam+non+diversam+esse+ab+illa%2c+quae+lege+naturali+praecepta+.+.+.+habetur).+(l.+38-40)+A+perfect+cosmos+is+unified.+Moral+action+in+such+a+cosmos+is+deeply+compatible+with+the+regularity+of+natural+events.+In+the+unified+continuum%2c+the+overall+thrust+of+beautiful+and+good+deeds+lines+up+with+the+overall+push+of+natural+events%2c+for+the+dynamic+vectors+of+the+good+and+nature+are+identical%3a+That+is%2c+the+same+direction+that+strives+for+the+perfection+of+the+microcosm+also+strives+for+the+perfection+of+the+macrocosm+(eandemque+directionem%2c+quae+ad+microcosmi+perfectionem+tendit%2c+ad+ipsam+macrocosmi+tendere+perfectionem).+(l.+40-42)+Thus+Wolff+concludes%3a+So+I+was+finally+convinced+that+the+first+principle+.+.+.+of+decorum+itself+is+the+direction+of+human+activity+to+the+perfection+of+the+microcosm%2c+and+consequently+to+the+perfection+of+the+macrocosm.+(l.+42-45)+Wolff%e2%80%99s+primum+principium+decori+is+the+idea+that+the+moral+vector+in+the+human+sphere+is+the+same+as+a+putative+cosmic+vector+that+governs+nature%e2%80%99s+development+towards+%e2%80%9cperfection.%e2%80%9d+Wolff+as+well+as+his+eventual+follower+Kant+understood+cosmic+perfection+as+nature%e2%80%99s+well-ordered+abundance.+As+Kant+would+later+point+out%2c+cosmic+perfection+is+an+evolving+harmony%2c+a+diversity+(Mannigfaltigkeit)+according+to+a+rule%2c+or+the+greatest+variety+in+the+greatest+order+(2%3a33%3b+cf.+also+2%3a93100).+The+unfolding+(Auswickelung)+of+organized+fruitfulness%e2%80%94what+we+now+call+biodiversity%e2%80%94is+the%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a15%0d%0a%0d%0ahallmark+of+nature%e2%80%99s+growth+towards+perfection%3b+indeed%2c+the+more+of+it%2c+the+better+(1%3a306%2c+319-21%2c+347%3b+2%3a96).+This+is+the+decorum+of+nature.+Well-ordered+complexity+is+its+point%2c+and+whether+one+considers+the+vector%e2%80%99s+astrophysical-ecological+momentum+or+its+local+moral+thrust+does+not+make+any+difference.+Although+ridiculed+in+old+age%2c+Christian+Wolff+was+a+trailblazer+in+his+youth%2c+and+Kant+was+fortunate+to+learn+from+him.+Wolff+brazenly+pushed+the+ontological+envelope.+His+views+were+so+innovative+because+he+derived+them+from+outlandish+sources%3a+Attentively+studying+the+Classics+.+.+.+I+was+certain+(nullus+dubitavi)+that+the+.+.+.+Chinese%2c+particularly+Confucius%2c+had+the+same+notion%2c+albeit+confused+and+vague%2c+a+notion+that+can+therefore+be+seen+only+by+people+who+are+getting+it+(ut+non+agnoscatur+nisi+a+possidente).+(l.+46-49)+Now+Wolff+had+his+audience%e2%80%99s+attention.+His+remark+was+politically+incorrect+in+Pietist+Halle%2c+part+of+authoritarian+Prussia%2c+ruled+until+1740+by+the+pious+soldier-king+Friedrich+Wilhelm+I.+Wolff+did+not+care+whether+his+admission+of+%e2%80%9cseeing+the+nature%e2%80%9d+(guandao+ziran)+provoked+his+listeners%e2%80%94+including+the+fundamentalist+Joachim+Lange+(1670-1744)+who+was+to+be+inaugurated+as+Wolff%e2%80%99s+successor+at+the+end+of+the+speech.+Wolff+would+not+pull+any+punches.+Now+he+would+come+to+the+point%2c+the+topic%2c+and+the+beginning+of+the+scholarly+part+of+his+speech%3a+After+I+rationally+confirmed+the+doctrines+and+facts+of+the+Classics%2c+I+understood+that+my+ethics+and+Chinese+ethics+match+(praxin+Sinarum+a+mea+abludere+intelligebam).18+(l.+4952)+Wolff%e2%80%99s+declaration+was+intolerable+to+the+Pietist+fundamentalists.+They+plotted+revenge+and+drove+him+into+exile+two+years+later.+In+1723%2c+Wolff+fled+to+Hesse+to+avoid+execution.+Halle+University+was+purged.+Wolff%e2%80%99s+assistants+were+fired%3b+his+students+were+dismissed%3b+and+his+books+were+removed+from+the+library+shelves%2c+as+were+the+Confucian+Classics.+An+indirect+victim+of+the+fall-out+from+Wolff%e2%80%99s+speech+was+his+student+Georg+Bernhard+Bilfinger+(1693-1750)%3b+he+would+be+fired+from+T%c3%bcbingen+University+for+standing+up+for+Wolff.+Bilfinger+published+a+book+on+Chinese+philosophy+(Specimen+doctrinae+veterum+sinarum+moralis+et+politica%2c+1724)+and+a+defense+of+Wolff%e2%80%99s+metaphysics+(Dilucidationes+philosophicae+de+Deo%2c+anima+humana%2c+mundo+et+generalibus+rerum+affectionibus%2c+1725)%2c+both+of+which+were+deemed+unacceptable+by+the+evangelical+administrators+of+T%c3%bcbingen%e2%80%99s+university.+Bilfinger+engaged+with+guandao+ziran%2c+nature%e2%80%99s+dynamic+structure+and+its+functional+algorithm%3b+and+once+again+a+memetic+transfer%e2%80%94now+from+Wolff+to+Bilfinger%e2%80%94occurred.+Coincidence+helped.+Three+influences+shaped+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+views%3a+the+entelechy%2c+interpreted+by+Leibniz+as+the+force+of+any+substance%3b+substances%2c+defended+by+Wolff+as+force+points+organizing+a+cosmic+grid%3b+and+the+grid%2c+the+nexus+rerum+or+universal+web%2c+which+Bilfinger+interpreted%2c+in+an+earlier+tract%2c+as+the+harmony+of+the%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a16%0d%0a%0d%0aentelechies.+This+tract+(De+harmonia+animae+et+corporis+humani+maxime+praestabilitate%2c+1723)+wound+up+on+the+Index+of+Prohibited+Books+in+1734+as+a+warning+to+all+Christians.+Bilfinger+was+guided+by+entelechies%2c+force+points%2c+the+web+of+nature%2c+and+the+harmony+of+all+things%2c+and+he+was+an+expert+on+Chinese+thought.+Such+a+reader+of+Confucius%2c+cognizant+of+the+dynamic+harmony+in+the+web%2c+could+decode+the+Taoist+subtext+%e2%80%94and+be+helped+along+by+the+Third+Classic%2c+the+speech+of+his+advisor%2c+and+the+principle+of+decorum.+Bilfinger+went+to+St+Petersburg+in+1725.+The+Russian+Academy+was+dominated+by+Leibnizian+dynamics%2c+and+when+Bilfinger+joined+in%2c+the+ingenious+Daniel+Bernoulli+(1700-82)+did+so+too%2c+the+founder+of+fluid+dynamics.+Bilfinger+was+exposed+to+the+vis+viva-problem+in+natural+philosophy.+This+was+the+question+of+whether+there+exist+%e2%80%9cliving+forces%e2%80%9d+that+govern+bodily+motion+and+possibly+everything+else%2c+and+how+to+prove+their+quantity+advanced+by+Leibniz.+(This+quantity%2c+%e2%80%9cmass%e2%80%9d+times+speed+squared%2c+would+join+science+as+kinetic+energy%2c+the+space+integral+of+force.)+He+turned+to+the+problem+with+a+treatise+called+On+Forces+(w.+1725%2c+p.+1728).+It+inspired+Kant+in+not-too-distant+Prussia+eighteen+years+later.+Now+the+transmission+was+complete.+Kant+states+that+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+approach+informs+his+first+book%2c+Thoughts+on+the+True+Estimation+of+Living+Forces+(1747)%2c+and+he+says+he+always+uses+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+research-rule%3a+Truth+is+to+be+found+in+the+harmony+of+opposites.+Thus+began+Kant%e2%80%99s+career.19+Kant%e2%80%99s+Force-Space-Bond+and+the+Tao+In+the+first+ten+paragraphs+of+the+Thoughts+on+the+True+Estimation+of+Living+Forces%2c+Kant+lays+out+his+ontology.+Nature+consists+of+force+points%2c+whose+activities+are+goal-directed%2c+causal%2c+and+harmonious.+The+ultimate+elements+are+active+forces+(%c2%a7+1-3%3b+1%3a17-18).+They+govern+everything+that+happens%e2%80%94not+only+motions+of+bodies+(%c2%a7+2%3b+1%3a18.6-8)%2c+but+also+the+activities+of+all+objects+(%c2%a7+3%3b+1%3a18.27-36).+This+includes+materially+produced+ideas+as+well+as+mentally+intended+actions+(%c2%a7+6%3b+1%3a20.35-21.1%3b+21.14-16).+Forces+govern+mind-body+interaction.+Interaction+turns+out+to+be+fundamental.+Interaction+governs+dynamic+action%2c+Kant+claims.+In+interacting+with+the+outside%2c+a+force+acts+external+to+itself+(%c2%a7+4%3b+1%3a19.4-11).+The+capacity+for+outside+effects+associates+the+presence+of+force+with+location+(%c2%a7+6%3b+1%3a20.36-21.1).+The+force+acting+external+to+itself+affects+its+own+vicinity.+The+vicinity+affected+by+radiation+locates+the+acting+source+within+its+region.+That+force%2c+in+virtue+of+external+action%2c+is+put+%e2%80%9csomewhere%2c%e2%80%9d+suggests+a+bond+between+force+and+space.+This+bond+is+productive.+Multiple+localized+forces+constitute+the+world+(%c2%a7+7)+such+that+their+interaction+forms+a+network+(%c2%a7+8)%2c+which+is+by+definition+order+(%c2%a7+8)+and+in+fact+space+(%c2%a7+9).+Kant+concludes+that+extension+results+from+the+external+action+of+force+(au%c3%9fer+sich+wirken%2c+%c2%a7+9%3b+1%3a23.58).%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a17%0d%0a%0d%0aFrom+the+start+(%c2%a7+1)%2c+Kant+insists+with+Leibniz+that+%e2%80%9cthere+is+something+over+and+above+extension%2c+indeed+prior+to+extension.%e2%80%9d20+This+%e2%80%9csomething%e2%80%9d+is+force.+Its+effect+(Wirkung)+is+radiation+(Ausbreitung).+Force+spreads%2c+affecting+its+vicinity.+The+affected+vicinity+structures+the+spread%2c+shaping+force.+As+the+effected+shaping+occurs+through+the+affecting+spread%2c+dynamic+action+is+acted+upon%2c+changing+the+action.+Dynamic+action+is+governed+by+interaction.+As+Kant+sees+it%2c+radiation+and+interaction+govern+each+other.+He+analyzes+this+interaction+in+%c2%a7+10.+Force+turns+%e2%80%9cnowhere%e2%80%9d+into+%e2%80%9csomewhere%e2%80%9d.+A+void+is+structured+into+a+field.+This+structuring+is+lawful%2c+Kant+insists%3a+substantial+forces%2c+when+united+by+interactions%2c+propagate+their+strength+in+inverse+proportion+to+the+square+of+the+distances+traversed+(1%3a24.19-23).+Kant+may+have+learned+the+inverse+square+from+the+Principia%3b+as+the+rule+governing+gravity%2c+it+is+hard+to+miss.+But+he+does+not+credit+Newton.+He+uses+it+in+a+way+that+would+have+made+the+sober+Brit+(dead+since+1727)%2c+who+hated+feigning+hypotheses+on+the+cause+of+gravity%2c+dryly+turn+in+his+Westminster+grave.+For+the+cause+of+gravity+is+now+identified%3a+it+is+space-structuring+force%e2%80%94+Aristotle%e2%80%99s+entelechy+that+Leibniz+had+grasped+first+(%c2%a7+1)%2c+and+in+whose+analysis+the+sinologist+Bilfinger+shows+Kant+the+way+(%c2%a7+20).+Johannes+Kepler%e2%80%94founder+of+celestial+dynamics+and+for+Leibniz+an+incomparable+man%e2%80%94+formulated+the+inverse-square+law+as+the+principle+of+photo+measurement.+Kepler+showed+that+the+intensity+of+light+decreases+with+the+square+of+the+distance+(1604).21+He+viewed+light+as+the+primordial+living+force%3b+he+suspected+the+structural+identity+of+the+radiation+of+light+and+gravity%2c+and+he+qualitatively+applied+the+inverse-square+to+gravitation+(1605).22+Newton+tied+the+inverse-square+to+Kepler%e2%80%99s+planetary+laws+(De+motu%2c+1684)+and+proved+it+for+gravity+(Principia%2c+1687).+Kant%e2%80%99s+use+of+the+law+is+as+basic+as+Kepler%e2%80%99s.+It+governs+the+radiation+of+force%2c+energy%2c+or+light.+But+Kant+interprets+the+law+in+a+way+that+put+his+vision+even+beyond+the+ingeniously+far-sighted+Kepler+(who%2c+actually%2c+had+eye+problems).+In+%c2%a7+6-10%2c+Kant+identifies+a+force-space+bond.+Force+is+the+primum%2c+determining+space.+Once+space+is+there%2c+the+bond+is+bidirectional.+Force+fills+space%2c+ordering+it%3b+space+places+force%2c+governing+it.+Space+dynamically+expands%3b+force+structurally+acts.+Each+needs+the+other.+Without+force%2c+space+lacks+enframing+dimensionality+and+thus+fails+to+place+a+world+(Abmessungen+or+Dimensionen%3b+%c2%a7+9-10%2c+passim).+Without+space%2c+force+lacks+acting+location+and+thus+fails+to+radiate+a+field+(ausbreiten%3b+%c2%a7+10%2c+1%3a24.23).+Radiation+and+continuum+are+what+they+are%2c+because+force+is+spaced%2c+and+space+is+forced.+This+is+their+ontological+bond.+This+first+aper%c3%a7u+has+been+confirmed.+Today+we+know+that+gravitating+mass+curves+spacetime%2c+and+that+spacetime+grips+gravitating+mass.+Bypassing+Newton%2c+Kant+anticipated+Einstein.+Then%2c+according+to+%c2%a7+10%2c+the+inverse+square+represents+force+propagation.+The+law+governs+the+radiation+that+structures+space+(1%3a24.15-16).+Because+this+law+rules+the+interactivity+of+substances%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a18%0d%0a%0d%0ain+general%2c+it+accordingly+also+(auch)+determines+their+accretion+and+composition+(1%3a24.12-18)%2c+which+entails+that+universal+gravitation+is+subject+to+the+law+as+well.+This+second+aper%c3%a7u+is+correct%2c+just+as+the+first.+The+inverse+square+proportionality+of+dynamic+strength+and+structural+distance+marks+out+multiple+fields.+Because+Kant+found+this+out%2c+and+because+it+is+true+(within+appropriate+limits%3b+his+third+aper%c3%a7u)%2c+it+deserves+to+be+capitalized+as+Kant%e2%80%99s+Law.+We+can+state+Kant%e2%80%99s+Law+in+modern+terms%3a+The+pressure+of+any+point+source+radiation+in+a+free+field+drops+at+a+rate+inversely+proportional+to+the+square+of+propagated+distance.+Kant%e2%80%99s+Law+governs+various+instantiations+of+free+point+source+radiation.+The+law+holds+for+light+(Kepler)%2c+gravity+(Newton)%2c+sound%2c+electrostatic+force+(Coulomb)%2c+radioactivity+(R%c3%b6ntgen)%2c+radio+waves%2c+and%2c+with+qualifications%2c+for+magnetism+(Gauss+and+Ampere).+As+the+history+of+physics+illustrates%2c+Kant%e2%80%99s+Law+illuminates+the+bond+of+force+and+space+in+nature.+Gauss%e2%80%99+and+Ampere%e2%80%99s+work+helped+Maxwell+and+Lorentz%2c+whose+work+guided+Einstein.+Kant%e2%80%99s+Law+also+underlines+the+relevance+of+Hawking%e2%80%99s+work+on+black+holes%2c+the+spikes+of+the+force-space+bond.+A+dramatic+application+of+the+law%2c+in+its+Keplerian+instantiation%2c+was+Hubble%e2%80%99s+measure+of+the+luminosity+of+Cepheid+variables+in+1924%2c+the+first+step+toward+Hubble%e2%80%99s+Law+of+cosmic+expansion+and+the+Big+Bang.+According+to+the+conclusion+of+%c2%a7+10%2c+the+inverse-square+governs+the+three-dimensionality+of+the+continuum+(1%3a24.24-6)%2c+but%2c+as+Kant+insists%2c+this+regularity+is+contingent%3b+other+relations+between+strength+and+distance+would+result+in+different+continua+(1%3a24.26-30).+The+scientific+place+of+this+aper%c3%a7u+today+is+not+in+fertile+Minkowski+space+and+solid+accounts+of+the+strong+nuclear+force.+Its+place+is+now+in+quantum+geometry+and+inchoate+approximations+to+Calabi-Yau+spaces%2c+whose+topologies+involve+fluid+regularities+of+the+force-space+bond.+The+final+idea+of+%c2%a7+10+is+not+confirmed.+We+only+know+this%3a+Kant%e2%80%99s+ontology+culminates+with+the+aper%c3%a7us+of+the+bond%2c+and+the+claimed+contingency+is+assumed+by+superstring+theory.+Perhaps+superstrings+will+lead+to+the+master+equation+of+the+matrix.+Kant+implored+Leonhard+Euler+to+read+the+Living+Forces.+His+effusive+praise+shows+he+saw+the+significance+of+Euler%e2%80%99s+work.+He+wished+Euler+would+see+that+he+and+Kant+were+on+the+same+track.+Euler%e2%80%99s+work+in+mathematical+dynamics+was+just+as+seminal+as+Kepler%e2%80%99s%2c+and+his+derivation+of+force+would+end+the+vis+viva-controversy+in+a+formally+elegant+way.+Kant+writes+that+he+thinks+Euler+is+the+only+one+able+to+resolve+the+disharmony+over+force.23+Since+Euler+coined+the+beta-function+(the+trigger+of+the+superstring+revolution)%2c+Kant%e2%80%99s+hope+is+prophetic.+The+sciences+support+Kant%e2%80%99s+ideas+of+the+bond%e2%80%94and+remarkably%2c+even+on+the+deepest%2c+ontological+level.+As+mentioned%2c+Kant+suggests+that+force+is+the+primum%2c+determining+space%2c+and+that+force+spreads%2c+stretching+space+out.+That+is%2c+space+is+not+a+void+as+Newton+thought+but+instead+a+dynamic+expansion.+Space+is+not+empty%3b+the+void+is+energetic%2c+this+energy+expands%2c+and+the+more+expanded+energy+there+is%2c+the+faster+the+void+keeps+expanding.+In+what+has+been+hailed+as+%e2%80%9cthe%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a19%0d%0a%0d%0anumber+one+scientific+discovery+of+1998+in+any+field+of+research%e2%80%9d%2c+Kant%e2%80%99s+odd+metaphysical+claim+has+now+been+confirmed.24+So+Kant+is+right%e2%80%94but+to+what+extent+does+his+insight+correspond+to+its+root%3f+Bilfinger+studied+the+Classics+and+formulated+a+rule%2c+the+harmony+of+opposites%2c+which+guides+the+Living+Forces%2c+as+Kant+says.+To+decide+whether+Kant%e2%80%99s+ideas+qualify+as+a+Taoist+%e2%80%9cseeing+the+nature%e2%80%9d+requires+comparing+his+force-space+bond+to+the+Tao.+According+to+the+Tao+Te+Ching%2c+something+profound+exists+(xuan%2c+v.+1+and+v.+6)%2c+which+is+nature%e2%80%99s+creative+principle+(tiandi+mu%2c+v.+1+and+v.+25).+Nature+obeys+a+lawful+patterning+(fa%2c+v.+25%3b+see+note+8).+The+cosmic+law+(tian+li%2c+see+section+2)+is+the+%e2%80%9claw+of+nature%e2%80%9d+(dao+ji%2c+v.+14).+Since+it+shapes+nature%2c+Toa+is+form+and+hence+not+formed+itself+(wu+zhuang+zhi+zhuang%2c+v.+14).+As+unbounded+form%2c+Tao+patterns+nature+by+acting+external+to+itself%e2%80%94it+%e2%80%9cfills%e2%80%9d+(dao+zhong%2c+v.+4%3b+see+note+7)%3b+it+%e2%80%9cflows%2c%e2%80%9d+%e2%80%9cgoes+out%2c%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9creaches%e2%80%9d+(shi%2c+v.+25).+Tao%e2%80%99s+dynamic+filling+is+%e2%80%9cfar+reaching%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cflows+distant%e2%80%9d+(shi+yuan%2c+v.+25).+The+distant+flow+always+returns%2c+always+comes+around+(shi+yuan+fan%3b+zhou+xing+er+bu+dai%2c+ibid.).+Elsewhere+in+the+Tao+Te+Ching%2c+the+action+or+motion+of+the+Tao+is+described+as+a+reversal+(fan+zhe+dao+zhi+dong%2c+v.+40).+That+is%2c+the+unbounded+form+fills+space+by+pushing+outwards+and+by+pulling+inwards%e2%80%94it+is+a+structural-dynamic+pulse.+Laozi+thus+likens+the+plenum+(tian+di+zhi+jian%2c+v.+5)+to+a+bellows+(tuo%2c+ibid.).+Because+of+the+continuous+character+of+nature%e2%80%99s+unfolding+it+is+a+bit+arbitrary+how+finely+one+parses+the+process.+A+four-step+model+works+for+our+purposes+(cf.+v.+1%2c+40%2c+42).+The+first+stage+of+nature%e2%80%99s+self-organization%2c+prior+to+the+cosmic+process%2c+is+Tao+as+a+plain+energy+or+a+nonspatial+void+(wu).+The+second+stage%2c+the+start+of+the+process%2c+is+Tao+patterning+itself+into+a+plenum%2c+thereby+generating+the+field+between+%e2%80%9cheaven+and+earth%e2%80%9d+(tian+d%c3%ac).+The+third+stage%2c+emerging+in+the+field%2c+is+the+existence+of+placed+presences+(you)+in+the+fabric.+The+fourth+stage+is+the+progressive+ordering+of+the+places+from+local+charges+to+discrete+objects+(wan+wu).+The+totality+of+objects+is+empirical+reality%2c+structured+by+the+energetic+potential+that+Laozi+calls+Tao+and+Aristotle+dynamis.+For+Aristotle%2c+dynamis+is+a+potential+that%2c+when+put+in+(en)+action+(ergon)%2c+is+en-ergon+or+energeia%3b+energy.+(The+standard+translations%2c+%e2%80%9cactuality%e2%80%9d+for+energeia%2c+and+%e2%80%9cpossibility%e2%80%9d+for+dynamis%2c+fail+to+retain+the+Greek+flavor.)+Aristotelian+energy+is+dynamis+put+into+operation%2c+or%2c+in+the+Latinized+Aristotle%2c+a+potentia+put+into+agere%2c+a+potential+acting.+This+potential+has+a+telos+guiding+the+energeia.+Thus+it+has+(echein)+a+goal+(telos)+within+(en).+If+one+applies+Aristotle%e2%80%99s+claim+to+force+points%2c+with+Leibniz%2c+the+resulting+model+involves+entelechies+that+have+their+goals+within%2c+and+that+are+describable+in+quantitative+and+dynamic+terms.+It+is+thus+understandable+why+Kant+begins+his+career+(%c2%a7+1)+with+complimenting+Leibniz+on+his+useful+model+of+Aristotelian+entelechy.+Force+creates+Ausdehnung+(%c2%a7+9%3b+cf.+Laozi%e2%80%99s+zhong)+or+extension.+The+%e2%80%9cex%e2%80%9d+of+%e2%80%9cextension%e2%80%9d+means+%e2%80%9cout%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9coutwards.%e2%80%9d+The+Latin+root+tensio+is+reminiscent+of+%e2%80%9ctension%e2%80%9d+because+it+derives+from+tensum%2c+the+participle+of+tendere+meaning+%e2%80%9cto+tighten%2c%e2%80%9d+to+expand%2c%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cto+stretch.%e2%80%9d+Thus%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a20%0d%0a%0d%0aextension+or+wu+is+the+result+of+dynamis+or+d%c3%a0o%2c+stretched+out+as+a+charged+void.+The+result+is+captured+in+the+German+Ausdehnung%2c+the+%e2%80%9cout-stretching%e2%80%9d.+Out-stretching+results+from+the+outwards-directed+%e2%80%9cfilling%e2%80%9d+of+the+force+(cf.+Laozi%e2%80%99s+zhong%2c+v.+4%2c+and+shi%2c+v.+25).+The+Ausdehnung+of+space+is+due+to+the+Ausbreitung+of+force.+Kant%e2%80%99s+term%2c+Ausbreitung+(%c2%a7+10)%2c+%e2%80%9cout-broadening%2c%e2%80%9d+conveys+Laozi%e2%80%99s+dynamic+idea.+For+Kant%2c+force+can+stretch+out%2c+creating+location+and+place-change+(%c2%a7+4%2c+1%3a19%3a5%2c+32).+This+initial+extension+constitutes+subsequent+interaction.+Force+out-broadens+itself+(%c2%a7+9-10%3b+cf.+Laozi%e2%80%99s+shi%2c+v.+25)+such+that+its+grip+is+inversely+proportional+to+its+squared+stretch.+This+lawful+out-stretching+creates+space+(Raum)%2c+which+is+order+(Ordnung).+Order+locates+the+out-broadening+(ausbreiten).+Force+then+radiates+from+local+presence+(Laozi%e2%80%99s+you%2c+v.1).+Now+copresent+points+act+locally.+Because+spatial+order+patterns+the+pulse+to+a+plurality+of+local+charges%2c+force+unfolds+to+the+set+of+points.+The+points+act%2c+emitting+effects.+The+effects+reach+other+local+charges%2c+affect+them%2c+and+pattern+them+to+responses.+The+process+from+original+extension+to+eventual+response+leads+to+copresent+charges+whose+radiations+mutually+pulse.+Interaction+ensues%3b+like+love%2c+the+closer%2c+the+hotter.+Ongoing+interactivity+generates+lingering+webs+of+pulses+and+counterpulses.+Viable+webs+of+interactive+substance-neighborhoods+format+themselves+into+engaged+communities.+Neighborly+interaction+turns+into+communal+%e2%80%9cintra-action.%e2%80%9d+If+harmonious%2c+intra-action+sustains+the+communities+as+resonating+structures%2c+hence+as+things+(Dinge%3b+wan+wu).25+A+look+at+the+lexical+roots+of+the+words+clarifies+what+is+meant.+Ausdehnung%2c+extensio%2c+or+outstretching%2c+derives+from+dehnen%2c+tendere%2c+%e2%80%9cstretch%e2%80%9d.+At+the+third+stage+of+the+process+(when+the+already+outstretched+plenum+acquires+places)%2c+extension+does+more+than+stretch.+Structuring+itself%2c+force+is+placed.+Through+places%2c+extension+contains+substances%3b+it+has+and+holds+them.+Laozi+uses+you+for+this+stage+(v.1).+%e2%80%9cHave%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9chold%e2%80%9d+is+the+basic+sense+of+the+morpheme.26+The+Latin+root+of+%e2%80%9cextension%e2%80%9d+is+tendere%e2%80%99s+participle%2c+tentum+or+tensum.+Tendere%2c+%e2%80%9cstretch%2c%e2%80%9d+shares+its+supinum+with+tenere%2c+which+meant+originally+%e2%80%9cto+be+stretched+out%e2%80%9d+and+later+%e2%80%9chold%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cgrip.%e2%80%9d+%e2%80%9cStretch%e2%80%9d+and+%e2%80%9cgrip%e2%80%9d+have+a+familiar+resonance+in+the+word+%e2%80%9centertain%e2%80%9d+(derived+from+the+Middle+English+entertene%2c+meaning+%e2%80%9cto+hold+mutually%2c%e2%80%9d+descended+through+the+Middle+French+entretenir+from+intertenere%2c+a+medieval+compound+of+tenere).+When+we+entertain+an+idea%2c+it+has+hold+on+us%e2%80%94as+we+on+it%2c+since+the+idea+and+we+interact.+To+get+hold+of+something%2c+we+first+need+to+stretch+and+reach+it.+This+applies+to+the+force-space+bond%2c+organisms%2c+and+minds.+Extended+stretch+becomes+place+when+force+reaches%2c+grips%2c+and+holds+other+forces%2c+structuring+the+fabric.+Laozi+and+Kant+share+the+same+idea.+What+makes+their+insight+compelling+is+that+the+established+scientific+description+supports+it.+It+is+unclear+how+the+cosmos+expands+(slowing+down%2c+speeding+up%2c+or+moving+at+constant+speed)%2c+but+we+know+that+it+does.+The+Big+Bang+started+with+a+singularity.+In+terms+of+its+nature%2c+the+singularity+was+sheer+energeia.+In+terms+of+its+activity%2c+it%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a21%0d%0a%0d%0aexploded+as+a+dynamis+and+then+patterned+itself+to+nature.+It+remains+measurable+as+universal+3-K+background+radiation.+Historically%2c+the+Living+Forces+was+an+embarrassment+for+Kant.+Because+of+ignorance+(he+was+young)+and+irritation+(he+was+passed+over+by+his+pious+mentor+Knutzen%2c+who+liked+Newton)%2c+he+failed+to+jump+on+the+bandwagon+of+Newtonian+mechanics.+By+describing+force+partly+as+Descartes%e2%80%99+vis+mortua+(%e2%80%98mass%e2%80%99+times+speed)+and+partly+as+Leibniz%e2%80%99s+vis+viva+(%e2%80%98mass%e2%80%99+times+speed+squared)%2c+he+exposed+himself+to+ridicule%2c+for+force+is+Newton%e2%80%99s+product+of+mass+and+acceleration.+That+he+approached+force+in+ontological+terms+made+it+worse%2c+because+his+peers+heeded+d%e2%80%99Alembert%e2%80%99s+injunction+to+reduce+dynamic+discourse+to+mathematics+and+experiments.+Worst+of+all%2c+the+factual+and+logical+faults+make+the+book+turgid%2c+and+Kant+was+laughed+at+upon+its+publication.+But+who+laughs+last%2c+laughs+best.+Throughout+the+book+Kant+studies+the+harmony+of+opposites%2c+dead+pressure+and+living+force%2c+trying+to+marry+Cartesian+momentum+(mv)+to+Leibnizian+energy+(mv2).+And+he+was+right.+With+the+Living+Forces+Kant+grasped+the+fundamental+unity+of+momentum+and+energy.+And+with+the+interactive+spatial+beat+of+%c2%a7+10%2c+he+intuited+that+momenergy%2c+in+harmony+with+mass+or+E%2fc2%2c+is+the+conserved+pulse+of+spacetime.27+Conclusion+If+my+conjectures+are+plausible%2c+then+a+curious+picture+of+Kant+will+have+emerged+by+now.+Over+several+intermediate+steps%2c+Kant+had+been+inspired+by+a+Chinese+idea%e2%80%94even+though+he+may+not+even+have+been+aware+of+it.+Although+he+may+never+have+looked+into+the+Classics+and+certainly+never+read+the+Tao+Te+Ching+(not+published+during+his+lifetime)%2c+his+earliest+and+decisive+inspiration+was+an+idea+he+got+from+the+China-expert+Bilfinger%2c+who+had+it+from+Wolff+and+Leibniz%2c+and+who%2c+in+turn%2c+reacted+to+the+Jesuit+translations+of+the+Confucian+Classics.+The+idea+that+inspired+Kant+had+several+aspects%3a+Nature+is+energy%3b+energy+is+a+dynamic+interactivity%3b+and+dynamic+interactivity+is+a+harmony+of+opposites.+These+are+facets+of+the+Tao.+The+Tao+was+not+unique+to+Laozi%e2%80%99s+Tao+Te+Ching.+It+haunts+the+canon+of+ancient+Chinese+literature%2c+from+the+I+Ching+to+the+Book+of+Rites+(two+of+whose+chapters+are+Confucian+Classics%2c+the+Doctrine+of+the+Mean+and+the+Great+Learning).+It+is+an+element+of+Chinese+culture%e2%80%94as+Confucian+humanity+is+the+stance+governing+ethics+and+anything+social%2c+the+Tao+is+the+idea+governing+the+universe+and+anything+natural.+The+information+traveled.+It+was+passed+on%2c+just+like+any+other+commodity.+When+it+arrived+in+K%c3%b6nigsberg+in+1745%2c+it+had+already+traveled+a+long+way%2c+on+a+journey+that+had+begun+in+1601%2c+when+Ricci+was+admitted+to+Beijing%2c+trying+to+preach+the+Gospel%2c+while+absorbing+Chinese+culture.+Through+letters%2c+tracts%2c+and+eventually+translations%2c+the+Tao+traveled+from+the+Jesuit+mission+in%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a22%0d%0a%0d%0aBeijing+to+the+Portuguese+and+Dutch+traders+at+the+port+of+Macao.+From+there+it+sailed+with+the+mail+to+Lisbon+in+Portugal+and+Rotterdam+in+the+Netherlands.+Portugal+was+barren+ground%3b+too+conservative+and+Catholic.+The+Netherlands%2c+however%2c+was+then+the+freest+society+on+Earth+(it+remains+so+today)%2c+and+here+the+information+could+be+communicated.+Perhaps+it+infected+Spinoza+in+nearby+Amsterdam%3b+we+do+not+know.+It+certainly+intrigued+Leibniz%2c+who+passed+by+Amsterdam+on+his+way+from+Paris+to+Hanover.+The+Paris-Hanover+road+extended+to+Leipzig%2c+a+commercial+center+situated+at+the+crossroads+with+Prussia+(Berlin)%2c+Bohemia+(Prague)%2c+and+Russia+(St.+Petersburg).+Thomasius+may+have+been+exposed+to+the+idea+in+Leipzig%2c+his+decorum+makes+one+wonder%2c+but+once+again%2c+we+do+not+know.+But+Wolff%e2%80%99s+decorum+is+a+different+story%e2%80%94we+know+the+Tao+fascinated+him+in+Halle%2c+only+ten+miles+from+Leipzig.+Wolff%e2%80%99s+scandalous+speech+led+to+a+major+infection%2c+and+now+the+vector+spread+with+Bilfinger+first+to+T%c3%bcbingen+and+then+to+St+Petersburg%2c+at+whose+academy+the+Leibnizian+researchers+on+dynamics+were+gathering.+And+St+Petersburg+at+the+western+end+of+Russia+is+not+far+from+K%c3%b6nigsberg+at+the+eastern+end+of+Prussia%2c+where+Kant+studied+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+research.+Information+spreads%2c+and+during+the+Enlightenment+information+traveled+quickly.+During+its+travels%2c+the+information+changed.+Communication+is+inevitably+interpretation%2c+and+interpretation+is+transformation.+The+Chinese+%e2%80%9cway%e2%80%9d+(dao)+was+rendered+as+%e2%80%9cnature%e2%80%99s+reason+or+rational+nature%e2%80%9d+(natura+rationalis).+The+Jesuit+translators+had+read+it+to+mean+that+nature%2c+created+by+a+benevolent+and+omnipotent+Christian+God%2c+is+consistent+and+accessible+to+reason.+At+its+Eastern+departure%2c+the+Tao+was+paradoxical+and+elusive%3b+at+its+Western+arrival%2c+it+had+become+uniform+and+rational%e2%80%94so+much+the+better+for+scientific+investigation.+That+things+change+when+the+travel+is+not+limited+to+ideas%2c+it+affects+other+commodities+too.+Marco+Polo+had+brought+rice+noodles+from+China+to+Italy%e2%80%94where+one+subsequently+cooked+spaghetti.+But+as+rice+noodles+and+spaghetti+are+still+noodles%2c+the+Tao+was+still+energy.+In+Kant%2c+in+particular%2c+dynamic+interactivity+had+still+retained+some+its+dialectical+flavor%3a+the+harmony+of+opposites.+In+Kant%e2%80%99s+first+book%2c+the+information%e2%80%94disguised+as+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+rule+of+the+middle+way+and+as+Leibniz%e2%80%99s+dynamic+reading+of+entelechy%e2%80%94blossomed+into+the+ontology+of+force.+Reality+is+a+dynamic+between+the+bond+of+energy+and+continuum%2c+momentum-energy+and+spacetime.+Force+pumps+out+nature.+When+concentrated+to+a+focal+point+(Kant%e2%80%99s+%e2%80%9cburning+point%e2%80%9d+or+Brennpunkt%3b+cf.+2%3a334.7)%2c+the+energy+is+as+hot+as+it+gets.+It+pulses+outward+toward+complexity.+Was+this+just+an+odd+beginning%2c+a+first+false+step+for+Kant%3f+It+seems+fitting+to+end+this+speculative+quest+with+questions.+If+his+earliest+vision%2c+of+an+energetic+bond+flaring+out+structure%2c+was+just+a+first+false+step%2c+why+would+Kant%2c+of+all+people%2c+earn+his+Master%e2%80%99s+degree+in+philosophy+(1754)%2c+with+Meditation+on+Fire%2c+of+all+things%3f+Why+would+he+then+turn+to+investigate+anything+that+moves%2c+shakes%2c+pushes+and+pulls%e2%80%94from+the+fate+of+Earth%e2%80%99s+rotation+governed+by+tidal+beats+(Spin+Cycle+essay%2c+1754)+to+earthquakes+(three+tracts%2c+1756)+to+winds%2c+storms%2c%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a23%0d%0a%0d%0aand+weather+pumps+like+the+monsoon+(Theory+of+Winds%2c+1756%3b+West+Wind+essay%2c+1757)%3f+Why+would+he%2c+in+his+second+book%2c+Universal+Natural+History+(1755)%2c+explain+the+self-organization+of+the+cosmos+from+chaos+to+complexity+with+the+interplay+of+pushes+and+pulls%2c+repulsion+and+attraction%2c+antigravity+and+gravity%3f+And+be+so+certain+that+he+is+right+that+he+proclaims+proudly%2c+with+Voltaire%2c+to+just+give+him+matter%2c+and+he+would+build+a+world+with+it+(1%3a229)%3f+While+warning+Christian+zealots+against+opposing+science%e2%80%94if+they+did%2c+he+declares%2c+they+would+be+defeated+(1%3a222%2c+225)%3f+Why+would+he+earn+his+doctorate+(1755)+with+a+dissertation+on+metaphysical+cognition%e2%80%94+while+stating%2c+as+the+first+principle+of+his+New+Elucidation%2c+an+identity-pair+of+opposites%2c+%e2%80%9cwhatever+is%2c+is%2c+and+whatever+is+not%2c+is+not%e2%80%9d+(1%3a389)%3f+Why+would+he+state%2c+as+his+final+principle%2c+an+interactive+harmony%2c+the+principle+of+coexistence+(1%3a412)%3f+While%2c+in+passing%2c+solving+the+problem+of+freedom+in+nature+dynamically%3f+Why+would+he+harmonize+the+opposites+of+freedom+and+necessity+over+force%e2%80%94defining+a+free+will+as+something+that+is+not+being+pushed+around%2c+but+that+is+a+%e2%80%9cdetermining+power%e2%80%9d+instead%2c+a+power+that+can+withstand+impulses+and+remain+spontaneous+(1%3a404)%3f+Furthermore%2c+why+would+Kant+earn+his+professorial+degree+(1756)+with+a+habilitation+over+elementary+particles%e2%80%94that+are+physical%2c+but+energetic+monads%3f+While+explaining+how+indivisible+force+points+can+create+spatial+things+by+pulsing+out+active+spheres%2c+dynamic+spacelets%2c+the+tiniest+dimensional+spheres+of+nature+(1%3a481)%e2%80%94thus+anticipating+the+Calabi-Yau+spaces+in+the+superstring+and+M-theories+of+today%3f+Or+why+would+Kant%2c+in+his+third+book%2c+Only+Possible+Argument+(1763)%2c+turn+to+reflect+on+God%2c+describing+It+as+a+necessary%2c+unified%2c+and+constant+being%2c+deriving+Its+existence+from+possibility%2c+visible+in+nature+in+the+design+resulting+from+the+%e2%80%9cinner+possibility+of+things%e2%80%9d+(2%3a91-2)%e2%80%94%e2%80%9cpossibility%2c%e2%80%9d+which%2c+as+we+have+seen%2c+is+M%c3%b6glichkeit+in+German%2c+possibilitas+in+Latin%2c+and+dynamis+in+Greek%3f+Understandably+having+second+thoughts%2c+knowing+he+had+gone+too+far+(it+is+one+thing+to+get+from+force+to+fire%2c+tides%2c+and+winds%2c+but+quite+another+to+get+from+force+to+God)%2c+he+retracted%2c+became+a+critic+of+metaphysics+and+a+geographer+of+cognition+next.+So+he+bifurcated+nature%2c+in+the+Inaugural+Dissertation+(1770)%2c+into+the+sensible+and+the+intelligible.+But+do+not+these+opposites+harmonize%2c+and+harmonize+over+interaction%3f+Why+would+Kant+then+account+for+knowledge%2c+in+the+Critique+of+Pure+Reason+(1781)%2c+by+determining+it+as+the+result+of+the+interaction+of+sensory+information+and+intelligible+tools%3f+And+why%2c+even+there%2c+would+he+insist+that+cognitive+interactivity%e2%80%94knowledge%e2%80%94is+grounded+in+dynamic+interactivity%2c+the+spatial+plenum+or+force+field+(A+212-215%2fB258-262)%3f+And+when+he+turned+to+ethics%2c+in+the+Foundations+of+Metaphysics+of+Morals+(1785)%e2%80%94why+would+this+foundation+with+absolute+worth+be+a+good+will+(4%3a393)%3f+Why+would+it+be+neither+a+deed+nor+its+outcome%2c+but+instead+its+intention%2c+its+impulse%2c+its+dynamic+thrust%3f+In+its+thrust%2c+a+conscious+force+stretches+out+from+the+subjective+center.+It+encounters+the+other%3b+and+pays+attention+(Achtung%3b+4%3a436)%3b+and+responds%2c+as+a%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a24%0d%0a%0d%0agood+will%2c+interactively+and+appropriately%2c+granting+the+other+her+dignity.+And+so+the+circle+closes.+Kant+set+out+with+the+force-space+bond+when+he+was+young+and+forty+years+later+arrived+at+respect+for+humanity.+A+student+once+asked+Confucius+what+humanity+means.+Confucius+replied%2c+%e2%80%9cDon%e2%80%99t+do+to+others+what+you+don%e2%80%99t+want+to+be+done+to+you%e2%80%9d.+The+student+was+not+happy.+%e2%80%9cThat%e2%80%99s+quite+a+mouthful%2c%e2%80%9d+he+said%2c+%e2%80%9cisn%e2%80%99t+there%2c+like%2c+a+shorter+version%3f%e2%80%9d+Confucius+said%3a+shu!+Translated%3a+%e2%80%9creciprocity%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9clight-hearted+forgiveness.%e2%80%9d%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review+Notes%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a25%0d%0a%0d%0aThe+phrase+is+by+Shi-Chuan+Chen%2c+%e2%80%9cHow+to+Form+a+Hexagram+and+Consult+the+I+Ching%2c%e2%80%9d+Journal+of+the+American+Oriental+Society+92+(1972)%3a+248.+Explaining+non-Western+realism%2c+he+writes%3a+%e2%80%9cThere+is+a+deep+conviction+of+the+Chinese+that+no+lines+of+demarcation+exist+between+man+and+heaven+and+earth+%5bthe+so-called+Principle+of+the+Three+Participants%5d+.+.+.+Because+of+this+principle+the+ancient+Chinese+avoided+becoming+victims+of+the+fallacy+of+the+bifurcation+of+nature.+The+derivatives+from+the+bifurcation%2c+namely%2c+the+separation+of+the+subjective+from+the+objective%2c+the+distinction+of+the+primary+and+secondary+qualities%2c+and+the+confrontation+of+the+ego+and+non-ego%2c+have+not+tortured+the+Chinese+mind.%e2%80%9d+2+I+am+grateful+to+many+colleagues+for+their+ideas.+I+would+like+to+thank+Karl+Ameriks+for+identifying+Kant%e2%80%99s+early+monism+(Karl+Ameriks%2c+Kant%e2%80%99s+Theory+of+the+Mind%2c+%5bOxford+and+New+York%3a+Oxford+UP%2c+1982%5d+29-30%2c+85-86)%3b+Sidney+Axinn+and+Ivan+Marquez+for+discussions+on+the+dynamics+of+ethics%3b+Fred+Beiser+for+fleshing+out+Kant%e2%80%99s+love+for+metaphysics+(Frederick+Beiser%2c+%e2%80%9cKant%e2%80%99s+Intellectual+Development%3a+1746-1781%2c%e2%80%9d+Cambridge+Companion+to+Kant%2c+ed.+P.+Guyer+%5bCambridge+and+New+York%3a+Cambridge+UP%2c+1992%5d+26-61)%3b+Andrew+Carpenter+for+discussions+on+Kant%e2%80%99s+inverse-square+law%3b+Jeffrey+Edwards+for+discovering+the+implications+of+Kant%e2%80%99s+Third+Analogy+(Jeffrey+Edwards%2c+Substance%2c+Force%2c+and+the+Possibility+of+Knowledge+%5bLos+Angeles+and+San+Francisco%3a+California+UP%2c+2000%5d+18%2c+46-7%2c+165-6)%3b+Paul+Guyer+for+pointing+to+Kant%e2%80%99s+reflections+on+animal+souls+(Paul+Guyer%2c+%e2%80%9cOrganisms+and+the+Unity+of+Science%2c%e2%80%9d+Kant+and+the+Sciences%2c+ed.+E.+Watkins+%5bOxford+and+New+York%3a+Oxford+UP%2c+2001%5d+268%3b+see+also+Immanuel+Kant%2c+Werke%2c+ed.+W.+Dilthey+et+al.+%5bBerlin%3a+Reimer%2c+later+De+Gruyter%2c+1902ff%5d+28%3a275)%3b+Kenneth+Westphal+for+encouraging+my+Keplerian+hunches%3b+Kwasi+Wiredu+for+stressing+the+relevance+of+nonwestern+monism%3b+and+Manfred+Kuehn+for+discovering+Kant%e2%80%99s+disbelief+in+an+afterlife+and+in+a+monotheistic+God+(Manfred+Kuehn%2c+Kant%3a+A+Biography+%5bCambridge+and+New+York%3a+Cambridge+UP%2c+2001%5d+2-5%2c+382%2c+369-78%2c+385-92).+I+also+thank+Jau-Wei+Dan+(Taipei+Teachers+College%2c+Taiwan)+for+his+insights+on+Zhuangzi%3b+Diane+Nai-Yu+Sch%c3%b6nfeld+and+Yung-Ming+Shu+(Hsinchu+Teachers+College%2c+Taiwan)+for+discussions+of+the+Taoist+basis+of+Confucianism%3b+and+Master+Jian-Mieng+Liu+(Zen+Center+Meinong%2c+Kaoshiung%2c+Taiwan)+for+most+helpful+clarification.+3+I+quote+from+Kant%2c+Werke+(1902ff.%3b+Academy+edition)+by+volume+and+page.+If+applicable%2c+line+numbers+are+given.+I+quote+from+Kant%2c+Critique+of+Pure+Reason+%5b1781%2f1787%5d%2c+trans.+N.K.+Smith+(New+York%3a+St.+Martins%2c+1965)+by+(A)+and+(B)+paginations.+4+Max+Caspar%2c+Kepler%2c+trans.+C.+D.+Hellman+(London%3a+Abelard-Schuman%2c+1959)+290.+5+Lao+Tzu%2c+Tao+Te+Ching%2c+trans.+S.+Addiss+and+S.+Lombardo+(Indianapolis%3a+Hackett%2c+1993)+4%3b+Lao+Tsu%2c+Tao+Te+Ching%2c+trans.+G.+Feng+and+J.+English+(New+York%3a+Vintage%2c+1997)+4.+Compare+also+verse+25.%0d%0a%0d%0a1%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a26%0d%0a%0d%0aShi-Qiou+Liang+and+Fang-Jie+Zhang%2c+Yuandong+Han-Ying+Da+Chidian%2fFar+East+Chinese-English+Dictionary+(Taipei%3a+Yuandong+Tushu+Gongshi%2c+1999)+%23+2801%2c+843-4.+7+Cf.+Tao+Te+Ching%2c+verse+8%3a+%e2%80%9cWater+benefits+all+things+and+does+not+compete+%2f+It+flows+in+lowly+places+men+reject+and+is+thus+close+to+the+Tao%3b%e2%80%9d+verse+32%3a+%e2%80%9c+Tao+in+nature+is+like+rivers+running+into+the+sea%3b%e2%80%9d+verse+34%3a+%e2%80%9cGreat+Tao+flows+everywhere+%2f.+.+.+%2f+All+beings+derive+life+from+it%e2%80%9d+(my+trans.).+Water+is+an+apt+symbol+of+Tao.+Astrophysically%2c+water+is+common+in+the+universe%2c+suggesting+Tao%e2%80%99s+universality.+Environmentally%2c+water+forms+the+hydrologic+cycle%2c+mirroring+Tao%e2%80%99s+animating+pulse.+Chemically%2c+water+is+the+only+compound+that+expands+when+it+crystallizes%2c+thus+evoking+the+spatial+swelling+of+Tao%e2%80%99s+natural+self-organization.+8+%e2%80%9cDao+.+.+.+yuanshi+ji+kongxu+de%2c+wu+suo+bu+bao%2c+wu+wei+bu+ru%3b%e2%80%9d+commentary+by+Ren-Gong+Liang+in+Laozi%2c+Dao+De+Jing%2c+ed.+Yu-Tang+Lin+(Taipei%3a+Wenzhi%2c+1992)+9.+Compare+also+Lao+Tzu%2c+Tao+Te+Ching%2c+verse+32.+I+would+like+to+thank+Guan-Xiong+Xu%2c+Nangong+Taoist+Institute%2c+Mucha%2c+Taiwan%2c+for+his+assistance.+9+Fa+is+%e2%80%9cinstitution%2c+law%e2%80%9d+(as+in+fajia%2c+Legalism)%2c+as+well+as+%e2%80%9cmethod%e2%80%9d+or+%e2%80%9cway+of+doing+things.%e2%80%9d+As+a+verb%2c+fa+means+%e2%80%9cto+pattern+or+model+after%2c+to+emulate%e2%80%9d%3b+cf.+Liang+and+Zhang%2c+%23+2832%2c+854-6.+The+semantic+key+of+fa%2c+just+as+the+key+of+zhong+(%e2%80%9cfill%e2%80%9d)+is+shui%e2%80%94water.+For+this+symbol+of+Tao%2c+see+note+6.+One+should+not+read+too+much+into+Chinese+characters+(not+every+stroke+is+there+for+a+reason)%2c+but+examining+fa+is+interesting.+Given+its+semantic+key%2c+one+could+conceptualize+fa+as+the+water-like+action+pattern+that+mirrors+Tao%e2%80%99s+pulse.+The+dynamic+aspect+of+fa+is+depicted+in+the+character%e2%80%99s+main+part%2c+which%2c+sans+water-radical%2c+is+pronounced+in+modern+Mandarin+qu%e2%80%94go.+The+top+segment+of+the+%e2%80%9cgo%e2%80%9d-part+of+fa+exists+as+a+free+graph+as+well+and+is+pronounced+tu%e2%80%94the+Earth.+Fa%2c+the+lawful+patterning%2c+evokes+a+%e2%80%9cgoing%e2%80%9d+ruled+by+%e2%80%9cearth%e2%80%9d.+The+patterning%2c+the+vector+denoted+by+fa%2c+would+thus+be+a+lawful+way%2c+ruled+by+nature+or+earth%2c+going+%e2%80%9csomewhere.%e2%80%9d+As+the+second+meaning+of+the+%e2%80%9cgo%e2%80%9dcomponent+qu+is+leave%2c+nature%e2%80%99s+vector+is+transcendent%2c+pointing+from+the+rule+of+the+Earth+to+the+Tao%2c+the+highest+good+(v.+8).+10+Martin+Heidegger%2c+%e2%80%9cBrief+%c3%bcber+den+Humanismus%e2%80%9d%5b1946%5d%2c+Wegmarken+(Frankfurt%3a+Klostermann%2c+1996)+313.+Compare+Heidegger%2c+Basic+Writings%2c+ed.+and+trans.+D.F.+Krell+(San+Francisco%3a+Harper%2c+1993)+217.+11+Edward+O.+Wilson%2c+Consilience%3a+The+Unity+of+Knowledge+(New+York%3a+Vintage%2c+1998)%3a+294%3b+see+also+1014%2c+43-8+and+227-8.+12+S.+J.+Yves+Raguin%2c+Ways+of+Contemplation+East+and+West+(Taipei%3a+Ricci+Institute+for+Chinese+Studies%2c+1993-2001)+vol.+4%2c+323.+I+would+like+to+thank+the+Ricci+Institute%2c+Taipei+for+its+assistance+with+documents+on+the+Jesuit+China+mission.+13+Michael+Albrecht%2c+%e2%80%9cEinleitung%2c%e2%80%9d+Christian+Wolff%2c+Oratio+de+Sinarum+philosophia+practica%2c+ed.+Michael+Albrecht+(Hamburg%3a+Meiner%2c+1985)+xvi%3b+compare+David+E.+Mungello%2c+Leibniz+and+Confucianism%3a+The%0d%0a%0d%0a6%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a27%0d%0a%0d%0aSearch+for+Accord+(Honolulu%3a+Hawaii+UP%2c+1977)+5%2c+19-20%3b+John+K.+Fairbank+and+Merel+Goldman%2c+China%3a+A+New+History%2c+enlarged+ed.+(Cambridge%2c+Mass.%3a+Harvard+UP%2c+1992)+147-61%2c+480.+14+The+translations+are+S.J.+Philippe+Couplet%2c+Confucius+sinarum+philosophus%2c+sive+Scientia+Sinensis+Latine+exposita+(Paris+1687)+and+S.J.+Fran%c3%a7ois+No%c3%abl%2c+Sinensis+imperii+libri+classici+sex%2c+nimirum+Adultorum+Schola+%5bthe+Da+Xue+or+%e2%80%9cGreat+Learning%e2%80%9d%5d%2c+Immutabile+Medium+%5bthe+Zhong+Yong+or+%e2%80%9cDoctrine+of+the+Mean%e2%80%9d%5d%2c+Liber+Sententiarum+%5bthe+Lun+Yu+or+%e2%80%9cAnalects%e2%80%9d%5d%2c+Mencius+%5bthe+Mengzi+or+%e2%80%9cBook+of+Mencius%e2%80%9d%5d%2c+Filialis+Observantia+%5bthe+minor+Xiao+Jing+or+%e2%80%9cBook+of+Filial+Piety%e2%80%9d%5d%2c+Parvulorum+Schola+%5bthe+medieval+Xiao+Xue+or+%e2%80%9cYouth+Learning%e2%80%9d%5d%2c+e+Sinico+idiomate+in+Latinum+traducti+(Prague+1711).+Wolff+reviewed+No%c3%abl%e2%80%99s+Chinahandbook+(1708)+in+the+journal+Acta+Eruditorum+in+1711%2c+and+No%c3%abl%e2%80%99s+translation+in+a+two-part+essay+in+Acta+Eruditorum+in+1712.+His+reviews+appeared+anonymously.+Compare+Albrecht+xxii-xxviii%2c+liii-lxii.+For+details+on+the+works+mentioned%2c+see+Albrecht+305-312.+For+Wolff%e2%80%99s+superlative+praise+of+Confucius+in+the+Oratio%2c+see+Christian+Wolff%2c+Oratio+de+Sinarum+Philosophia+Practica+%5b1723%5d%2c+ed.+M.+Albrecht.+(Hamburg%3a+Meiner%2c+1985)+7-13%2c+19%2c+65.+15+For+the+translation+history%2c+see+James+Legge%2c+%e2%80%9cPreface%2c%e2%80%9d+The+Texts+of+Taoism+%5b1891%5d%2c+ed.+James+Legge%2c+2+vols.+(New+York%3a+Dover%2c+1962)+xii-xiii.+16+Translation+by+Wing-Tsit+Chan%2c+A+Source+Book+in+Chinese+Philosophy+(New+Jersey%3a+Princeton+UP%2c+1969)+98.+Additions+in+brackets+are+mine.+The+pinyin+transliteration+is+based+on+Zhongyong+Jiyi+(Taipei%3a+Sangyang%2c+1985)+2%2c+6.+17+The+subsequent+citations+are+from+Wolff+4-6.+Line+numbers+are+indicated+with+%e2%80%9cl%e2%80%9d+followed+by+numeral.+My+translation.+18+The+match+between+Wolff%e2%80%99s+and+Chinese+ethics+turns+on+what+Wolff+calls+the+decorum.+It+helps+to+remember+that+the+term+derives+from+Latin+decere%2c+%e2%80%9cto+befit.%e2%80%9d+Decorum+is+manners+and+the+same+as+Confucian+Ritual+(li)%2c+which+gave+its+name+to+the+Rites+Controversy.+The+Analects+(1.12)+defines+ritual+(li)+as+harmony+(he)+or+%e2%80%9cthe+fitness+of+things%e2%80%9d+(shi+zhi+yi).+See+Confucius%2c+The+Analects%2c+trans.+R.+Dawson+(Oxford+and+New+York%3a+Oxford+UP%2c+1993)%3b+compare+James+Legge%2c+ed.%2c+The+Confucian+Analects%2c+the+Great+learning%2c+and+the+Doctrine+of+the+Mean+%5b1893%5d+(New+York%3a+Dover%2c+1971)+143+note%2c+and+Confucius+4.+As+a+fitness+of+things%2c+decorum+is+%e2%80%9cthe+Tao+of+the+ancient+kings%e2%80%9d+(lao+wang+zhi+dao%3b+Analects+1.12)%3b+see+Legge+143.+Neo-Confucianists+named+it+the+%e2%80%9cdecorum+of+heaven%e2%80%9d+(tian+li).+Confucius+defines+it+as+a+form+of+humaneness+(ren)+and+explicates+it+as+the+negative+Golden+Rule%2c+%e2%80%9cdo+not+impose+on+others+what+you+would+not+like+yourself%e2%80%9d+(ji+suo+bu+yu%2c+wu+shi+yu+ren%3b+Analects+12.2%2c+15.23).+Christian+Thomasius+(1655-1728)%2c+the+father+of+the+German+Enlightenment%2c+Halle%e2%80%99s+president+(Direktor)+in+1721%2c+and+probably+in+Wolff%e2%80%99s+audience+too%2c+had+repeatedly+defended+the+decorum.+Thomasius+defines+it+as+the+positive+Golden+Rule+(quod+vis+ut+alii+tibi+faciant%2c+tu+ipsis+facies)+in+Fundamenta+Juris+Naturae+et+Gentium.+See+Christian+Thomasius%2c+Fundamenta+Juris+Naturae+et+Gentium+%5b1705%5d+(Aalen%3a+Scientia%2c+1963)+177.+To+my+knowledge%2c+the+historical+influence+of+Confucius+on%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a28%0d%0a%0d%0aThomasius%2c+if+any%2c+has+not+been+investigated.+19+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+De+viribus+corpori+moto+insitis+et+illarum+mensura+appeared+in+the+journal+of+the+Russian+Academy+at+St+Petersburg%2c+Commentarii+Academicae+Petropolitanae+in+1728.+For+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+rule+in+De+viribus%2c+%23+16%2c+see+Juan+Arana+Canedo-Aguelle%e2%80%99s+commentary+in+Immanuel+Kant%2c+Pensamientos+Sobre+la+Verdadera+Estimaci%c3%b3n+de+las+Fuerzas+Vivas%2c+ed.+and+trans.+J.A.+Canedo-Aguelle+(Bern%3a+Lang%2c+1988)+354.+For+Kant%e2%80%99s+adoption+of+Bilfinger%e2%80%99s+rule%2c+see+Gedanken+zur+wahren+Sch%c3%a4tzung+der+lebendigen+Kr%c3%a4fte%2c+%23+20%2c+in+Kant%2c+Werke+(1902ff.)+1%3a32.5-7.+20+Gedanken+zur+wahren+Sch%c3%a4tzung+der+lebendige+Kr%c3%a4fte%2c+%23+1%2c+in+Kant%2c+Werke+(1902ff)+1%3a17.22-23.+All+further+references+to+this+text+indicate+the+pagination+of+this+edition.+21+Johannes+Kepler%2c+Astronomia+pars+optica+%5b1604%5d+prop.+9%2c+Gesammelte+Werke%2c+ed.+Max+Caspar+et+al.+(Munich%3a+Beck%2c+1937ff.)+2%3a22.+For+the+dictum+of+the+%e2%80%9cincomparable+man%e2%80%9d+(vir+incomparabilis)%2c+see+Max+Caspar%2c+%e2%80%9cEinleitung%2c%e2%80%9d+Kepler+1%3avii.+22+Astronomia+pars+optica%2c+ch.+1+%e2%80%9cDe+natura+lucis%2c%e2%80%9d+margin%3a+%e2%80%9cLucis+encomium%2c%e2%80%9d+Kepler+2%3a19.31-9.+Kepler+characterizes+light+as+the+principle+of+all+that+beautifies+the+world%2c+the+instrument+of+the+Creator%2c+the+matrix+(matrix)+of+animal+faculties%2c+and+the+bond+(vinculum)+of+body+and+mind.+For+Kepler%e2%80%99s+gravityaper%c3%a7u%2c+see+the+letter+to+David+Fabricius+(11+Oct.+1605)%2c+Kepler+15%3a240-80+(%23+358)%2c+esp.+241.67-73%3b+and+Astronomia+nova+(1609)%2c+%e2%80%9cIntroductio%2c%e2%80%9d+margin%3a+%e2%80%9cVera+doctrina+de+gravitate%2c%e2%80%9d+Kepler+3%3a25.19-24.+23+See+Kant%e2%80%99s+letter+to+Euler%2c+23.+August+1749%3a+%e2%80%9cI+dare+to+submit+my+tract+to+the+judgment+of+a+person%2c+whose+extraordinarily+sharp+mind+is+far+more+adept+than+others+at+leading+this+initial+striving+(den+Anfang+der+Bestrebung)+in+these+bad+essays+to+the+final+and+complete+resolution+of+the+disharmony+(Uneinigkeit)+among+such+great+scholars.%e2%80%9d+My+translation.+Not+in+Kant+(1902ff.).+For+the+original%2c+see+Harald-Paul+Fischer%2c+%e2%80%9cKant+and+Euler%2c%e2%80%9d+Kant-Studien+76+(1985)%3a+217.+Compare+Immanuel+Kant%2c+Correspondence%2c+ed.+and+trans.+A.+Zweig+(Cambridge+and+New+York%3a+Cambridge+UP%2c+1999)%3a+45-6.+24+See+Martin+Rees%2c+Just+Six+Numbers.+The+Deep+Forces+that+Shape+the+Universe+(London+and+New+York%3a+Phoenix%2fBasic+Books%2c+2001)+106.+Rees+refers+to+a+1999+ranking+by+the+journal+Science.+The+discovery+was+the+effort+of+teams+by+Saul+Perlmutter+and+Brian+P.+Schmidt%2c+who+measured+supernovae%2c+saw+that+they+were+dimmer+than+expected%2c+and+concluded+that+they+were+more+distant+than+their+redshifts+suggest.+After+eliminating+rival+hypotheses%2c+Perlmutter+and+Schmidt+recognized+that+the+cosmos+had+expanded+more+slowly+in+the+past+than+previously+assumed%3a+cosmic+expansion+is+now+speeding+up.+See+Saul+Perlmutter+et+al.%2c+%e2%80%9cDiscovery+of+a+Supernova+Explosion+at+Half+the+Age+of+the+Universe%2c%e2%80%9d+Nature+391+(1998)%3a+51-54+and+Adam+G.+Riess+et+al.%2c+%e2%80%9cObservational+Evidence+from+Supernovae+for+an+Accelerating+Universe+and+a+Cosmological+Constant%2c%e2%80%9d+Astronomical+Journal+116+(1998)%3a+1009-1038.+Summarizing+the+discovery%2c+Rees+notes%2c+%e2%80%9can+unsuspected+new+force%e2%80%94a+cosmic+%e2%80%98antigravity%e2%80%99%e2%80%94controls+the+expansion+of+the+universe%e2%80%9d+(3).+John+D.+Barrow%2c+The+Book+of+Nothing+(London%3a+Vintage%2c+2001)+gives+an+account+of+this+discovery+and+its+background+worth+quoting+in+full%3a%0d%0a%0d%0a%0cFlorida+Philosophical+Review%0d%0a%0d%0aVol.+III%2c+Issue+1%2c+Summer+2003%0d%0a%0d%0a29%0d%0a%0d%0a%e2%80%9cThe+quantum+revolutio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sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
261 |
2 |
0 |
educational
sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
191 |
5 |
0 |
educational
sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
120 |
2 |
0 |
educational
sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
121 |
2 |
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educational
sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
238 |
1 |
0 |
educational
sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
128 |
2 |
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educational
sammyc2007 3/23/2008 |
188 |
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educational
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
292 |
2 |
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legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
249 |
0 |
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legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
310 |
4 |
0 |
legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
277 |
3 |
0 |
legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
519 |
2 |
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legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
422 |
1 |
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legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
247 |
0 |
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legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
228 |
0 |
0 |
legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
352 |
0 |
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legal
sammyc2007 6/13/2008 |
315 |
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