Dialectics and the Dao: On Both, A and Non-A in Neutrosophy and Chinese Philosophy

This paper introduces readers to a new approach to dialectical logic: neutrosophy. Specifically it
proposes a multi-valued logic in which the statement “both A and Non-A,” historically rejected as logically
incoherent, is treated as meaningful. This unity of opposites constitutes both the objective world and the
subjective world –a view with deep roots in Buddhism and Daoism, including the I-Ching. This leads in
turn to the presentation of a framework for the development of a contradiction oriented learning
philosophy inspired by the Later Trigrams of King Wen in the I-Ching. We show that although A and Non-
A are logically inconsistent, they can be understood to be philosophically consistent. Indeed, recognition
of their consistency is the basis for freeing ourselves from the mental confusion which results from taking
as real what are in fact just mental impressions.