Xunzi and Mimamsa on the Source and Ground of Ritual: An Analogical Argument

Using a method of analogical induction, I argue that the metaphysics of ritual in the Xunzi can be better understood by looking at parallels between the Xunzi and the work of thinkers of the Mimamsa school in the Indian tradition. I argue that this analogical reasoning gives us additional support for a robust (rather than anthropocentric) realist interpretation of ritual in the Xunzi, as opposed to a conventionalist account of ritual.