Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Heaven's mandate is not constant — the founding speeches of Chinese political philosophy
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu) |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Finite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | not engaged |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Single |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Mediated |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | Providential |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Virtue |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Finite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Non-conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Implicit |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Linear, historically oriented: the Duke looks backward (Shang) and forward (Zhou future). Morally significant.
Space
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Finite, centred on "All Under Heaven" (tianxia). Political-spatial order mirrors cosmic order.
Matter
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Real, finite: bronze vessels, ritual objects, granaries — the medium of governance.
Observer
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Embodied political actor interpreting Heaven's mandate through historical precedent.
Energy
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Not explicitly theorised; political order and disorder described in moral-political terms.
Information
Speeches in the Book of Documents (Shangshu)
Institutional memory: speeches preserved for intergenerational wisdom transfer.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
The Mandate of Heaven is both a profound moral principle and a self-serving political legitimation by the conquering Zhou.