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    Ziran denotes absence of external constraint, not self-gr... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The Dao is necessarily ziran (self-so/spontaneous), possessing a kind of necessity and aseity analogous to being causa sui in the Thomist tradition

    Ziran denotes absence of external constraint, not self-grounding causation—'spontaneity' and 'self-causation' are categorically distinct modal concepts.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Ziran (自然) in classical Chinese philosophy consistently describes natural processes operating without external interference, not metaphysical self-causation.
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    • 2.Spontaneity requires only absence of constraint; self-causation requires the entity to be its own sufficient reason—logically distinct requirements.
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    • 3.Confusing these concepts conflates freedom-from-impediment with ontological grounding, obscuring how Daoist thought addresses agency without Western metaphysics.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.In practice, ziran describes things 'being so of themselves' (自其自身), implying intrinsic self-determination that functionally operates as self-causation.
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    • 2.Absence of external constraint alone cannot explain *why* systems persist in particular patterns—some internal self-sustaining principle seems required.
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    • 3.The categorical distinction collapses when examining ziran applied to intentional agents, where freedom-from-constraint entails causal responsibility for actions.
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    Modality & Possibility1 linkedDivine Attributes1 linked

    Related

    Absence of external constraint alone cannot explain *why* systems persist in par...Confusing these concepts conflates freedom-from-impediment with ontological grou...In practice, ziran describes things 'being so of themselves' (自其自身), implying in...Spontaneity requires only absence of constraint; self-causation requires the ent...
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    The Dao is necessarily ziran (self-so/spontaneous), possessing a kind of necessi...The categorical distinction collapses when examining ziran applied to intentiona...Ziran (自然) in classical Chinese philosophy consistently describes natural proces...

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