Biànxué 辯學

‘The study of disputation’ or ‘argumentation studies’. A modern term emphasising techniques and theories of argument rather than naming or classification. Republican-period scholars often used it when comparing Chinese traditions with Western logic and Indian yinming. Compared with míngbiàn, it places greater emphasis on debate and reasoning; compared with míngxué, it excludes many broader discussions of names, realities, and knowledge. In the early twentieth century the boundaries between these terms were fluid, and individual scholars often used them differently.