Instancology (3rd edition)

Wade Dong

New York City, New York, USA: Bouden House. Edited by David Rong (forthcoming)   Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Instancology introduces a new philosophical system that seeks to complete the long trajectory of philosophy from its beginnings in ancient Greece to its present fragmentation. At its core, Instancology develops a structural ontology that clarifies the relationship between the Absolute and the Relative, offering a paradigm capable of integrating metaphysics, epistemology, and the sciences. The book argues that much of philosophy has oscillated within a one-dimensional logic of dualism (1×2), beginning with Plato’s division of the One into the Many, continuing through Descartes’ res cogitans and res extensa, and echoed in the Daoist articulation of yin and yang. Instancology advances this schema to a higher level of coherence through a two-dimensional structure (2×2), which distinguishes four relational domains: the Absolute Absolute (AA), the Relative Absolute (RA), the Absolute Relative (AR), and the Relative Relative (RR). This framework not only maps the structure of existence but also situates knowledge, language, and life within a comprehensive system. The method of Instancology is neither empirical reductionism nor speculative idealism but structural clarity. By defining the boundaries of cognition, it avoids the pitfalls of both dogmatism and relativism. Traditional philosophy often reached aporias when confronting paradoxes—Russell’s Paradox, Gödel’s incompleteness, or Kant’s antinomies. Instancology treats these not as terminal contradictions but as structural markers pointing toward the Absolute–Relative framework. In this sense, the system offers what earlier thinkers only gestured toward: a reconciliation of logic, ontology, and epistemology under a unified paradigm. Instancology makes several key claims. First, the universe is to be understood as a single instance issued by AA, consisting of a timeless Micro World and a timed Macro World. The Macro World is subject to death and transformation, while the Micro World remains eternal. Second, four “formless beings”—laws, logic, mathematics, and life—occupy the RA, mediating between absolute and relative levels. Third, cognition itself operates in three modes: sensory, rational, and intuitive; these are mapped within the structural paradigm to explain how truth can be approached without collapsing into subjectivism or naïve realism. Fourth, language, while limited in capturing the Absolute, is re-positioned within the framework as a tool of relational orientation rather than total representation. Historically, Instancology both inherits and surpasses prior systems. It acknowledges the creative insights of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, and many others, while also diagnosing their limitations as products of an incomplete paradigm. By introducing the Rebirth Principle, the Reverse Principle, and the Uniqueness Principle, Instancology establishes a fresh foundation for philosophy, one that is simultaneously metaphysical and practical, capable of addressing not only classical questions of truth and existence but also contemporary concerns in science, culture, and civilization. Ultimately, Instancology is presented as the “end of philosophy” not in the sense of termination but of fulfillment. Just as Newton once described himself as standing on the shoulders of giants, Instancology stands upon the historical edifice of philosophy to reveal its completion in a structural framework that clarifies the Absolute and the Relative. In doing so, it offers both a rigorous metaphysical system and a transformative vision for human knowledge, culture, and existence.