Confucianism
Confucianism holds that moral cultivation — the development of ren (benevolence), yi (righteousness), and li (ritual propriety) — is both the path to personal virtue and the foundation of social and political order. Human beings are essentially relational: the self is realized only through its proper relationships to others. Heaven (Tian) ordains a moral order that humans are called to embody; history moves, however haltingly, toward virtue and harmony.
I. Time
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Grain | Continuous |
| Freedom | Deterministic |
| Traversability | Linear |
| Dimensionality | One |
| Direction | Uni-directional |
Time is relational and infinite — it is the medium of ongoing moral cultivation, social harmony, and the transmission of tradition. Time is continuous, cyclical, and uni-directional within the life of the individual: one cultivates virtue from youth to old age. The Confucian reverences the past (the sages, the classics) as a moral resource and guide for the present.
II. Space
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Curvature | Flat |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Space is relational and infinite — it is the social and natural environment in which the web of human relationships unfolds. Space is flat, local, and three-dimensional as experienced in daily life. The Confucian emphasis on ritual propriety (li) gives particular places (the home, the court, the ancestral hall) moral significance that exceeds their physical dimensions.
III. Matter
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Conservation | Conserved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Matter is substantival and finite — the Confucian takes the material world as real and morally significant. Material conditions (food, shelter, livelihood) are prerequisites for moral cultivation; Mencius insisted that the people must have material security before they can practice virtue. Matter is conserved and local: the physical world is the arena of ethical action.
IV. Observer
| Time Instance | Single |
| Space Instance | Single |
| Extent of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Retainment of Knowledge | Total |
| Physicality | Embodied |
| Agency | Active |
| Number | Plural |
V. Energy
Energy is substantival and finite — vital energy (qi) animates the body and sustains moral effort. Conservation holds in the sense that qi must be cultivated and conserved through proper ritual, diet, and moral practice. Dispersibility is irreversible: neglecting moral cultivation depletes one's vital energy.
VI. Information
Information is social and relational — encoded in rites (li), relationships, and textual tradition. Knowledge is inseparable from its moral and social context. Information is relational because it exists within the web of human relationships and duties. It is conserved because the Confucian tradition places supreme value on preserving and transmitting knowledge across generations. It is continuous because social harmony is a seamless, ongoing process.