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.
Arthashastra
The science of punishment and prosperity — a manual for total statecraft from taxation to assassination
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | Arthashastra |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Cyclical |
| 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 | Cosmic-ordering |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Tradition |
| Observer · Theological Method | N/A |
| 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 | not engaged |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
Arthashastra
The Arthashastra operates within the cyclical Hindu cosmological frame but is practically concerned with strategic timing — when to attack, when to negotiate, when to wait. "A king who understands the science of time is invincible." (paraphrase)
Space
Arthashastra
The mandala (circle of states) theory is Kautilya's most famous spatial concept: the king's immediate neighbours are natural enemies; their neighbours are natural allies. Space is local and strategic. "The king's neighbour is his natural enemy." (Arthashastra VI.2)
Matter
Arthashastra
Material wealth — land, minerals, trade goods, treasury — is the foundation of state power. Conserved and finite: resources must be acquired and managed rationally.
Observer
Arthashastra
The observer is the king / royal adviser, mediated by an elaborate spy network. Active, strategic, embodied. "The king who has no eyes of spies is as if blind."
Energy
Arthashastra
Coercive power (danda) is the state's operative energy — finite, conserved (armies must be maintained), and irreversible (resources spent in war are gone). "Danda, well-applied, makes the people acquire dharma, artha, and kama."
Information
Arthashastra
Intelligence is the king's most vital resource. The Arthashastra devotes entire books to espionage, counter-intelligence, and information warfare. "The conqueror should employ spies disguised as monks, merchants, physicians." (Arthashastra I.11, paraphrase)
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
The Arthashastra's deepest tension is between its dharmic framing (the king upholds cosmic-social order) and its ruthlessly instrumental methods (deception, assassination, manipulation). Kautilya resolves this consequentially: the ordered kingdom is the precondition of dharma. Whether this resolution succeeds or merely masks raw power-politics remains the central interpretive question.