Causation in East Asian and Southeast Asian Philosophy

In East Asia, the conception of causation was also characterized by relativism, or by a correlative way of thinking that, in both ontology and cosmology, took what Joseph Needham called "an organistic" approach to describing the relationship between humans and their environment. This correlative thought originated from speculations on the possible impact of what happened in nature, or in Heaven, on human lives on Earth. But in its later development, particularly in the theoretical formations of yin and yang and the Five Elements/Phases (wuxing), it exerted a fundamental and pervasive influence on shaping the notion of causality in ancient China. Instead of searching for a linear, particulate cause, ancient Chinese approached causation in a circumambient (all-encompassing) manner, which allowed them to note an organic web of causal connection.

Out of its worldly interest and moral concerns, Confucianism appears more assertive in defining causal relations in human affairs, although it was by no means immune to the idea of a Heaven–humanity correlation in developing historical explanations. Confucius (551–479 B.C.E.), for example, believed that the rise and fall of political powers depended on the Mandate of Heaven. But dismayed by the decline of central government of his time, he nevertheless set out, after seeing the unicorn that to him suggested a mission charged by Heaven, to revise the Spring and Autumn Annals, hoping to bring about a punitive consequence for the unruly behaviors of officials and princes. Mencius (c. 371–c. 289 B.C.E.), devout follower of Confucius, claimed that Confucius's effort was not in vain, indicating a belief in historical causation among the Confucians in that immoral behavior is to be condemned through the course of history. Throughout early imperial China, the idea of a Heaven–humanity correlation represented a major expression of historical causation, subscribed to by Dong Zhongshu (c. 194–c. 114 B.C.E.), a political theorist, as well as by Sima Qian (c. 145–86 B.C.E.), a court historian. Dong used it to forge a theory on dynastic succession for legitimizing the reigning Han dynasty (206

B.C.E.–220 C.E.), whereas Sima used it to help structure his interpretative framework of history. While a main framework, the correlative idea did not stop Sima from searching for other temporal and coincidental causes in explaining historical change. In fact, Sima was both commended and chided for demonstrating great curiosity for the "wonders" of history in his Shiji (The records of history). By comparison, Ban Gu (32–92 C.E.), also a Han historian, was narrower in his interest and more rigid in his method in seeking causal explanations for history, focusing on the bond between morality and history.