Neo-Confucianism is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in the Tang dynasty, and became prominent during the Song and Ming dynasties under the formulations of Zhu Xi (1130–1200). After the Mongol conquest of China in the thirteenth century, Chinese scholars and officials restored and preserved neo-Confucianism as a way to safeguard the cultural heritage of China.
Bronze statue of Zhou Dunyi in White Deer Grotto Academy
Portrait of Jo Gwang-jo
Portrait of Chu Văn An (1292–1370), prominently Vietnamese Confucianist teacher in 14th century.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is often characterized as first philosophy, implying that it is more fundamental than other forms of philosophical inquiry. Metaphysics is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some modern theorists understand it as an inquiry into the conceptual schemes that underlie human thought and experience.
The beginning of Aristotle's Metaphysics, one of the foundational texts of the discipline
Immanuel Kant conceived critical metaphysics as the study of the principles underlying all human thought and experience.
David Hume criticized metaphysicians for trying to arrive at knowledge outside the field of sensory experience.
Boethius's theory of universals influenced many subsequent metaphysicians.
