Research On The Category Of Five Elements Based On Cognitive Language, Psychology And Logic

In the history of Chinese philosophy, the thought of Wu Xing, also known as Five Elements, Five Phases, Five Movements, Five Processes, Five Agents and Five Stages, has a variety of aspects. For the meaning of Wu Xing, whether it means the material things on the ground, or the entity in the whole world, "Wu Xing" as a unique category in ancient China still has its profound effect on many areas; especially, it laid the foundation of classification framework. The modern interpretation of the Wu Xing doctrine:" Wu Xing theory presumes that all phenomena of the universe and nature can be broken down into five elemental qualities-represented by wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In this way, lines of correspondence can be drawn". However, such a textual representation, can not express the practical value of the Wu Xing in Chinese medicine clinical diagnosis.Therefore, our study aimed to re-construct "Qi-Yin Yang-Wu Xing " in a more intuitive structure diagram by using the classification framework as in the modern category theory of cognitive science and the double-helix structure shape as in a DNA molecule. This issue is concerned with "expanding the ancient meaning based on integration of new knowledge ", in this view to offer and open up new ways of structured thinking model for the Wu Xing theory of Chinese medicine in use.Part I:Literature reviewChapter 1 The literature review of the history of Wu Xing ideasThe literature review mainly introduces the change of Wu Xing ideas over time in ancient China. The idea of Wu Xing originated in the Shang dynasty, formed the concept in the early Xi Zhou dynasty, was formally named and declared the containing with five elements, i.e. wood, fire, earth, metal and water, but functioned less as a school of thought and more as a way of describing natural processes hidden from ordinary view in the Warring States period. Wu Xing theory came to maturity in the Xi Han Dynasty, and then was employed as a systematic framework for applications in many fields. For example, Han thinkers used the system to account for an ordered sequence or cycle of change. In the’mutual engendering relationship’series, wood engendered fire, fire engendered earth, earth engendered metal, metal engendered water, and water engendered wood. In the’mutual restraining relationship’ series, wood restrained earth, metal restrained wood, fire restrained metal, water restrained fie, and earth restrained water. Later, Huangdi Neijing, also known as the Inner Canon of Huangdi or The Emperor’s Inner Canon, integrated the theory of Wu Xing in medicine and ancient philosophy of the Qi (vital energy)-further development of the Wu Xing theory expounded philosological and pathological changes of people, guiding the development of future generations of Chinese medicine-yin and yang. In this stage the word’Xing’is thus within the context of Chinese medicine with a different meaning to its usual meaning. However, the thinking of classification according to the dynamic contact law of "Qi-Yin Yang-Wu Xing " is the main thinking pattern of traditional Chinese medicine theory.Chapter 2 The literature review of Category theoryThis chapter introduces previous categorization theories which can be divided into two parts:classical theory of categories and modern category theory. Along with the development of cognitive science, the modern category theory has promoted further studies in the relevant fields and focus on family resemblance principle. Family resemblance is a philosophical idea made popular by Ludwig Wittgenstein. It argues that things which may be thought to be connected by one essential common feature (the main viewpoint in classical theory of categories) may in fact be connected by a series of overlapping similarities, where no one feature is common to all. The notion of family resemblance has been discussed extensively not only in the philosophical literature, but also in works dealing with the category of classification. Prototype category theory is a recent development in cognitive science where this idea "family resemblance " has also been explored.Part II:Five elements conceptual categories research based on Cognitive Linguistics, psychology and logicChapter 1 Family resemblance research on fire family of five elements categoriesObjective:To explore the constitution of "fire family" of five elements categories, and resemblances and respective distinguish relationship of features between members of the family. Methods:By using Wittgenstein’s family resemblance theory, to analyze the constitution of "fire family" in accordance with its typically members, i.e. fire, south, summer, red, bitter, and heart. Results:The members of "fire family" are family likeness, and the various resemblances between members of the family makes an analogy with a thread. Conclusion:The members of "fire family" are always analogical in nature and related by family resemblances which arise from similarities overlapping and criss-crossing in their characteristics, features and functions. The characters of "fire family" are summarized by features of members which through analogical reasoning are also constantly expanding. Wu Xing theory, when applied to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), means exactly the same thing as it does with regard to human organs. In TCM heart is associated with "fire family", so that some sorts of functions of heart are endowed by "fire family" because they bear a family resemblance to one another.Chapter 2 Cognition research on prototype of five elements based on prototype category theoryObjective:To investigate the cognition on prototype category of five elements among college students, and to provide education bases for the five-elements theory of Chinese medicine. Methods:By using "Category based on the theory of five elements prototype questionnaire",166 college students in Beijing were investigated. The data were analyzed by percentage frequency distribution, descriptive statistics and independent-samples tests with SPSS 19.0. Results:The cognition of wood, earth and water prototype of college students is lying in middle level (x>5), but metal and fire prototype lying in low level (x<5). Between undergraduate and graduate students, there was significant difference in the mean value of wood, earth, metal and water prototype (P＜0.01), mutual generation and mutual restriction of five elements (P<0.01), and reverse restriction of five elements (P<0.05).Conclusion:The cognition of five elements of college students is lying in middle level. They have the good perception of wood, earth and water elements, but fuzzy in metal and fire elements. This generally means the concept of metal and fire elements is vague, or multiple meanings. These require further elaboration or specification to understand their applicability.Chapter 3 Explored the generic structural framework of five elements categories based on levels of categorizationThe ancient people in China categorized all phenomena of the universe and nature into groups based on the concept of five elements. The applications of five elements categories can be said to be very broad and enormous. In cognitive psychology, a basic category as a cognitive reference point is a category at a particular level of the category inclusion hierarchy that is preferred by humans in learning and memory tasks. On this level category can be abstracted and developed as a superordinate category, or regarded as subordinate category according to distinguishing features. In this chapter, we explored the basic level, superordinate and subordinate level of Wu Xing category and its logical structure. What the Wu Xing is depends on what the concept of basic level is.Chapter 4 Expanding a new way of the double-helix thinking structure as a model for Qi-Yin Yang-Five elements in TCMThis chapter for further expansion of "Reconstructing the structural Drawing of Qi-Yin and Yang-Five elements in TCM" which is proposed by Professor Chunhua Jia (2014) attempted to find a way to explain the constitution, physiology and pathology of humans by using the classification of five elements categories with a more intuitive structural diagram. In general, a framework is a real or conceptual structure intended to serve as a support or guide for the building of something that expands the structure into something useful. Due to all theoretical foundations are based on hypothesis, "correspondence between nature and human" is one of the basic concept in TCM which humans are in adaptive conformity with the natural environment, another ancient Chinese philosophical concept is "yin and yang are interrelated with each other." which is dealing with two opposite aspects of matter in nature. The way of structured thinking is used to conduct the modeling process. One of the important ideas constructed model comes from the DNA double-helix structure shape. Besides, according to certain assumptions, using a certain mathematics method, we collate, analyze and calculate all possibility of segments, and then classify them into 5 types as typical members made a logical structure model for classification based on the philosophic level of five elements expanding.Chapter 5 Comparison between Logic and statistical data by meta-analysis method in constitutional types of Chinese medicineBackground materials:31 journal literatures published in 2007 to 2014 were selected from China National Knowledge (CNK) regards with constitutional types of Chinese medicine for classification. The criteria are according to the sample size and cited frequency. Objective:Comparing the logic data of "Qi-Yin and Yang-Five elements" schematic structure model with the statistical data of constitutional types of Chinese medicine. Method:By using the method of meta-analysis. Results:the trend curve of theoretical model is almost same as the statistical data of constitutional types of Chinese medicine in general population.Chapter 6 ConclusionThis study is characterized by the integration of interdisciplinary subject, including the category theory of cognitive science, meta-analysis of statistical technique, the double helix structure of DNA of molecular biology, as well as the use of the structure shape, to reconstruct the double helix structure of Qi-Yin Yang-Wu Xing strucatured thinking model.