The author of the "Mo Jing" put forward the idea of ​​"similarity and difference", which means that two opposite characteristics can coexist in the same specific object.

Some people may come from a wealthy family but lack morality, while others may come from a poor family but have good intentions. These two completely different states can appear in the same person.

This perspective shows the coexistence of opposite attributes from the perspective of specific characters in life.

"Mo Jing" also uses Yong and Neng as examples to explain the principle of "commodity with difference".

Courage comes from will. Dare to undertake a certain task, but it will not affect the title of bravery because you dare not do other things. This shows that in the concept of "brave", the two opposite qualities of dare and dare can coexist.

Everyone has things they cannot do, but this does not prevent him from being able to accomplish other things, which shows that abilities and deficiencies can coexist in the same person.

Zhuangzi looks at similar problems from the concept of infinity and analogy.

Under the concept of "judgment by difference", anything can serve as the center of comparison and the benchmark of reference.

No matter how tiny the object is, there are always smaller ones to be found. Therefore, things like heaven and earth, hills, millet grains, tiny tips, etc. are all classified as "big" categories. In the same way, no matter how huge the object is, there is always something bigger. existence, so these things are also included in the category of "small", that is to say, the same thing has the dual attributes of "big" and "small" at the same time.

In theory, it seems reasonable that an object could have two opposing properties at the same time and fall into two mutually exclusive categories at the same time. However, in real life, people often feel that such a statement conflicts with our intuitive feelings and cognition.

It is generally felt that a thing cannot have two opposing properties at the same time, nor can it belong to two mutually opposing categories at the same time.

In the field of logic, formal logic insists that an object cannot have two opposing characteristics at the same time, nor can it belong to two mutually exclusive categories at the same time; in contrast, dialectical logic recognizes such a phenomenon.

This disagreement reflects the difference in the two logical systems' cognition and understanding of the world.

Mentioning that "everything can be divided into two categories, 'big' and 'small'", many people feel that something is wrong even though they can't figure out what the problem is.

Even many philosophers call this a sophistry.

This doubt about language expression exposes the confusion that people encounter when applying this theory.

What do you think about whether the same object can really have two opposite properties coexisting at the same time?

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