The Unification Method: A Structured Framework for Resolving Conceptual Opposition

This paper proposes the Unification Method (归一法), a three-layer cognitive framework for resolving persistent binary oppositions that arise from analytical differentiation. Rather than resolving conflicts within existing conceptual categories, the method examines the generative structures that produce those categories. The three layers — Structural Abstraction (San Yuan Gui Er), Paradox Dissolution (Er Yuan Gui Yi), and Conceptual Boundary Awareness (Yi Yuan Gui Dao) — provide a systematic pathway from observed conflict to structural reorganization. A mandatory Hard Constraint Filter distinguishes structurally amenable conflicts from irreducible physical or survival constraints, preventing pseudo-unification. The framework draws on classical Daoist and Confucian thought, including structural mappings to the Dao De Jing and Wang Yangming's object-principle co-origin mechanism, while maintaining explicit realist commitments regarding physical law. Applications include civilizational conflict resolution, governance design, and cognitive architecture for complex adaptive systems.