Using Contemporary Logic to Analyze
PreQin
Logic*
Thierry Lucas
Abstract. The aim of this article is to sketch how some notions arising from notions or techniques
mainly due to contemporary logic and some elements of the theory of argumentation
may allow us to reach a better understanding of the logical contributions of the great thinkers
of China’s past. It is proposed to extend the usual notion of logic to include some elements
of the theory of argumentation, hoping thus to create an open space where “Western logic” and
“Chinese logic” may meet (sections 1 and 2). This is exemplified by a detailed study of some important
preQin contributions to logic. Sections 3 to 5 analyze some logical contributions in the
traditional sense of “logic” : later Mohists and the basic laws of logic; definitions in theory and
in practice; classification of names, interdefinability of quantifiers and contemporary explanations
of the mou (侔) type of reasoning in the Mohist texts. Section 6 analyzes the phenomenon
of sentence parallelism to show that it hides some partially formalizable elements of the theory
of argumentation such as arguments by generalization, and that it contains some implicit but
perfectly valid arguments. Section 7 presents a detailed analysis of examples of reasoning by
analogy in the Mencius and suggests some formal ways of evaluating their strength.