What ‘they’ refers to?











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The passage below is from “Japanese Philosophy – A source book.”



Their reproductive activity has neither beginning nor end; it is without temporality. The sovereign Lord Above alone is thus the father and mother of the myriad things. Through portioning its form, it gives life to all things that have form; through portioning its mind, it decrees the natures of the myriad things. When its form is portioned out, differences result, yet when its mind is portioned out, they remain the same.



It’s so confusing reading this book on Japanese Philosophy.
I want to ask what the italicized ‘they’ refer to?
Is it refer to ‘differences’ or is it to ‘natures’ or is it to any other?










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  • 1




    It's impossible to answer this question without a larger context.
    – Robusto
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    First we'd have to know what "their" refers to.
    – Hot Licks
    3 hours ago










  • ‘Their’ refers to ‘principle(理)’ and ‘ki(気).’ They are two forms of force makes all things possible.
    – morti
    2 hours ago












  • Sounds like they're pretty sexy forces.
    – Hot Licks
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Reminds me of atomism. If you haven't already, you could try to ask on philosophy.stackexchange.com
    – Boondoggle
    1 hour ago

















up vote
0
down vote

favorite












The passage below is from “Japanese Philosophy – A source book.”



Their reproductive activity has neither beginning nor end; it is without temporality. The sovereign Lord Above alone is thus the father and mother of the myriad things. Through portioning its form, it gives life to all things that have form; through portioning its mind, it decrees the natures of the myriad things. When its form is portioned out, differences result, yet when its mind is portioned out, they remain the same.



It’s so confusing reading this book on Japanese Philosophy.
I want to ask what the italicized ‘they’ refer to?
Is it refer to ‘differences’ or is it to ‘natures’ or is it to any other?










share|improve this question


















  • 1




    It's impossible to answer this question without a larger context.
    – Robusto
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    First we'd have to know what "their" refers to.
    – Hot Licks
    3 hours ago










  • ‘Their’ refers to ‘principle(理)’ and ‘ki(気).’ They are two forms of force makes all things possible.
    – morti
    2 hours ago












  • Sounds like they're pretty sexy forces.
    – Hot Licks
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Reminds me of atomism. If you haven't already, you could try to ask on philosophy.stackexchange.com
    – Boondoggle
    1 hour ago















up vote
0
down vote

favorite









up vote
0
down vote

favorite











The passage below is from “Japanese Philosophy – A source book.”



Their reproductive activity has neither beginning nor end; it is without temporality. The sovereign Lord Above alone is thus the father and mother of the myriad things. Through portioning its form, it gives life to all things that have form; through portioning its mind, it decrees the natures of the myriad things. When its form is portioned out, differences result, yet when its mind is portioned out, they remain the same.



It’s so confusing reading this book on Japanese Philosophy.
I want to ask what the italicized ‘they’ refer to?
Is it refer to ‘differences’ or is it to ‘natures’ or is it to any other?










share|improve this question













The passage below is from “Japanese Philosophy – A source book.”



Their reproductive activity has neither beginning nor end; it is without temporality. The sovereign Lord Above alone is thus the father and mother of the myriad things. Through portioning its form, it gives life to all things that have form; through portioning its mind, it decrees the natures of the myriad things. When its form is portioned out, differences result, yet when its mind is portioned out, they remain the same.



It’s so confusing reading this book on Japanese Philosophy.
I want to ask what the italicized ‘they’ refer to?
Is it refer to ‘differences’ or is it to ‘natures’ or is it to any other?







pronouns






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share|improve this question











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asked 3 hours ago









morti

438211




438211








  • 1




    It's impossible to answer this question without a larger context.
    – Robusto
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    First we'd have to know what "their" refers to.
    – Hot Licks
    3 hours ago










  • ‘Their’ refers to ‘principle(理)’ and ‘ki(気).’ They are two forms of force makes all things possible.
    – morti
    2 hours ago












  • Sounds like they're pretty sexy forces.
    – Hot Licks
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Reminds me of atomism. If you haven't already, you could try to ask on philosophy.stackexchange.com
    – Boondoggle
    1 hour ago
















  • 1




    It's impossible to answer this question without a larger context.
    – Robusto
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    First we'd have to know what "their" refers to.
    – Hot Licks
    3 hours ago










  • ‘Their’ refers to ‘principle(理)’ and ‘ki(気).’ They are two forms of force makes all things possible.
    – morti
    2 hours ago












  • Sounds like they're pretty sexy forces.
    – Hot Licks
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Reminds me of atomism. If you haven't already, you could try to ask on philosophy.stackexchange.com
    – Boondoggle
    1 hour ago










1




1




It's impossible to answer this question without a larger context.
– Robusto
3 hours ago




It's impossible to answer this question without a larger context.
– Robusto
3 hours ago




1




1




First we'd have to know what "their" refers to.
– Hot Licks
3 hours ago




First we'd have to know what "their" refers to.
– Hot Licks
3 hours ago












‘Their’ refers to ‘principle(理)’ and ‘ki(気).’ They are two forms of force makes all things possible.
– morti
2 hours ago






‘Their’ refers to ‘principle(理)’ and ‘ki(気).’ They are two forms of force makes all things possible.
– morti
2 hours ago














Sounds like they're pretty sexy forces.
– Hot Licks
2 hours ago




Sounds like they're pretty sexy forces.
– Hot Licks
2 hours ago




1




1




Reminds me of atomism. If you haven't already, you could try to ask on philosophy.stackexchange.com
– Boondoggle
1 hour ago






Reminds me of atomism. If you haven't already, you could try to ask on philosophy.stackexchange.com
– Boondoggle
1 hour ago

















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