Materialist tendency
Liu Yuxi's philosophical thought has a distinct materialistic tendency. His main works are three essays about heaven. In the view of the world, his materialist thought is more progressive than Liu Zongyuan's. Regarding the relationship between nature and human beings, Liu Yuxi put forward the viewpoint of "mutual win and mutual use" between man and nature, which has a positive enterprising spirit. He believes that the reason why people produce idealism is closely related to social reality. When "Buddhism is great", if the society is "for the public and not for the public", people will not have the concept of fate. When the law was loosened, right and wrong were reversed in society, and man could conquer nature, so the theory of destiny was popularized all over the world; When the law is lax, the right and wrong in society are unclear, and people will be skeptical about their fate. Liu Yuxi's explanation of the origin of the theory of destiny with social practice is a great contribution to epistemology. This is also Liu Yuxi's view on the social roots of theism. He believes that in a society that practices the law, whether for the public or not, people will be rewarded for following the right path, and will be punished for violating the good. People will say that fortune depends on people's behavior and has nothing to do with heaven. In a society with lax laws, right and wrong are reversed and rewards and punishments are constant. People can't find an explanation for unreasonable phenomena, so they have to attribute everything to heaven. He also believes that when "understanding", people will not talk about "fate"; When you are "ignorant", you can't help telling your destiny. Liu Yuxi is unique in explaining the origin of theism from the perspective of legal relaxation and rational ignorance. He pointed out that God was created by people under certain conditions, which is of positive significance. He tried to deepen the debate between Liu Zongyuan and Han Yu and further explore the relationship between heaven and man in Three Essays on Heaven. He believes that "everyone who enters the shape device is capable." Heaven (nature), the tangible is also big; People, especially animals. Heaven can, people can't; People can, but God can't. "Heaven and man have their own natural characteristics," mutual victory "and" mutual use ". Although people can't interfere with the functions and laws of nature, they can use and transform nature.
Respect the laws of nature
Liu Yuxi supplemented Liu Zongyuan's view of nature on the basis of natural science. On the understanding of nature, Liu Yuxi believes that the whole nature is full of tangible material entities, and there is no intangible thing between heaven and earth. He refutes the theories of metaphysics, Buddhism and Taoism in Wei and Jin Dynasties that "emptiness" and "nothingness" are the origin of the universe, and thinks that "emptiness" is a special material form, and it is impossible for it to exist independently beyond the material form. This is a significant development of China's ancient materialistic view of nature. Regarding the emergence and development of everything in the universe, he believes that the growth and development of everything is a natural process, and animals, plants and human beings are all produced by the interaction of yin and yang of heaven and earth. He also believes that the development and change of the objective world has certain laws, and everything in the universe moves and develops endlessly in contradiction and interdependence. Based on this, he established the theory of the relationship between heaven and man, pointing out that everything in heaven and earth has its different functions and functions. The role of nature lies in the growth and reproduction of all things. In the natural development process of birth, illness, health and aging, everything follows the competition law of the strong winning and the weak losing; People's function is to use the laws of nature and the material materials provided by nature to carry out various production activities and seek the necessities of people's lives from nature. Liu Yuxi put forward: "The talented people in heaven give birth to everything; What human beings can do will cure everything. "He believes that heaven can't interfere with the' governance' or' chaos' of human society, and people can't change the laws of motion in nature. He also advocated atheism and criticized theism based on scientific knowledge.