Conatus: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

C O N A T U S

— is a reference to universals. It suggests we cannot infer, from particular instances, that the category to which we ascribe them is a distinct entity. Hence the paradox seems to be saying there is no ‘ideal’ white horse. Or Kung-Sun may have been questioning the idea that there could be an existing archetype or quintessential example of a particular thing. Either way, the Eastern view of things is questioning the splits that Western philosophy seems to see in the world.

The paradox pre-dates much of Western philosophical thought and one wonders how things might have turned out if the West had known of Kung-Sun Lung and taken his paradox to heart!

So now, let’s look at the ‘mystification’ of universals through Plato, Schopenhauer and Kant. Let’s think first of the famous parable of the cave from Plato. People are chained up in a cave such that they can only face one way and can only see shadows on the cave wall. They thus believe this is all there is to life. But if a prisoner were to escape into the real world beyond the cave, they would see a much bigger picture of how the world works.

The cave is a reflection of Plato’s belief in ‘perfect forms’. For him, objects and actions (including moral actions) in the real world are only shadows of a world of perfect forms that exist ‘outside’ or ‘beyond’ everyday reality. Thus, for instance, a horse is regarded as only an image of the perfect horse, (eat your heart out, Kung-Sun Lung) and also, somewhat bizarrely, with more abstract things such as an

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