PART A
SCIENTIFIC FENG SHUI
© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
SCIENCE
AND
FENG SHUI
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© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
Philosophy of Science
Western philosophy has its roots in sixth-century
Greece, with two opposite directions led by
Heraclitus on the one side and Parmenides on
the other. Briefly, Heraclitus believed in a world
of perpetual change and eternal becoming, and
that all changes in the world arose from the
dynamic and cyclic interplay of opposites, with
any pair of opposites representing a unity—the
concept of “Logos” (Kahn, 1979). Parmenides
however, maintained that “being” was manifested
in certain invariable substances and the concept
of indestructible substance was derived—the
concept of “matter.” Since the fifth century, Greek
philosophers had drawn a clear line between
spirit and matter and these twin concepts became
the essential element of the western thought of
“dualism” (Descartes, 1989). The spiritual world
developed into religious thought, while the material
one into scientific knowledge.
The later evolution of western science is said
to be the Renaissance (literally the “rebirth”)
of scientific thought. Galileo’s astronomical
discoveries revealed the astounding truth that
without experiment and observation the accepted
knowledge of the world was incomplete. This
evolution of western science was based on
empirical knowledge through mathematics and
experiments. This approach led to the resulting
successful development in science and technology.
The philosophy of science also had a tremendous
influence on western thinking. Descartes’ famous
sentence “Cogito ergo sum”—“I think, therefore I
exist” led to the concept of isolated egos existing
inside bodies; mind separated from body; and an
individual separated into compartments. Capra
(1975, p. 22) suggested, “This inner fragmentation
of man mirrors his view of the outside world as a
multitude of separate objects and events.”
New Direction of Science
Western scientific philosophy is the realm of
rational knowledge which measures, quantifies,
classifies and analyzes the smallest separable
particles of matter in isolation. This scientific
approach originated from the work of Galileo,
Descartes, Newton, and Einstein. During the period
of scientific revolution, among the many great new
theories discovered in physics have been Newton’s
equation of motion, Einstein’s theory of relativity of
mass and energy, and quantum theory of nucleus.
However, Russell (1927) warned that while these
theories in physics are all mathematical, this is not
because so much about it is known, but because
so little is known. An example is the extension of
the electromagnetic spectrum from visible light
to the inclusion of gamma rays, cosmic rays and
many other hitherto undiscovered frequencies.
Furthermore, in the realm of sub-atomic physics,
there have been ever-increasing discoveries of
both the particles with mass, such as protons,
neutrons, and the lightest of all, electrons, and the
infinitesimal massless particles such as photons and
neutrinos, and a whole galaxy of lesser particles
mesons such including muons, pions, kaons, and
baryons; all of which have their “antiparticles,”
leading to a never-ending list of yet undiscovered
particles.
Capra (1975) recognized that modern scientists
know that their methods of analysis and logical
reasoning could never explain the whole realm
of natural phenomena, because all theories have
limitations and approximations that are valid
only under a certain assumption of phenomena.
Cooper-Marcus (1987) pointed out that it is now
a critical period in human evolution, because this
old paradigm dominated by Cartesian logic and
Newtonian physics no longer encompasses what
society values. He noted that it is not that the
science and technology are wrong, but rather that
scientific thought has been dominated by a biased
paradigm or patterned way of thinking.
Over the past 30 years, the more that scientists
discovered smaller and smaller particles of matter
in the atom and the sub-atomic nucleus, the more
they found that the world cannot be decomposed
into independently existing units. As a result, the
development of scientific thinking, theories and
concepts has progressed to identify the emergence
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2. Science and Feng Shui
of a new scientific paradigm (Kuhn, 1970).
Prigogine and Stengers (1984) suggested that all
systems contain subsystems which are continually
“fluctuating,” and consequently the system will
either disintegrate into “chaos” or leap to a higher
level of “order” or organization; more importantly,
order and organization can actually arise
“spontaneously” out of disorder and chaos through
a process of “self-organization.” Capra (1996) also
suggested that the natural phenomena appear as
a complicated “web” of relations between various
parts of the whole. This new scientific paradigm has
been labeled by a number of authors as “dynamic
non-linear systems chaos” (Gleick, 1988), “the
science of emergence” (Waldrop, 1992), “the new
sciences of chaos, self-organization and complexity”
(Prigogine & Stengers, 1984; Merry, 1995), “a deep
ecological system” (Capra, 1996), and “complexity
theory and complexity science” (Cohen & Stewart,
1994; Parker & Stacey, 1995; Mainzer, 1996; Chen,
2000). A brief historical summary of the western
view of the world is shown in Table 2.1.
signified an undifferentiated reality from which the
universe has evolved (Blakeney & Lin, 1992).
The originator of Daoism was Lao Zi (ca.
600–500 BC) who wrote Dao De Jing (The Classic
of the Way and Power). He described Dao—“the
way” as the ultimate and undefinable reality in the
original cosmic sense. It was the cosmic process
in which all things were involved and the world
was seen as a continuous flow and change. It was
not only believed that flow and change were the
essential features of nature, but also that there were
constant patterns in these changes. The principle
characteristic of Dao was the cyclic nature of its
ceaseless motion and change. This idea of cyclic
change patterns in the motion of Dao was given a
definite structure by the introduction of the polar
opposites “Yin” (negative) and “Yang” (positive).
The dynamic character of Yin and Yang was
illustrated by the ancient Chinese symbol called
Tai Chi (or Tai Ji), and it became the fundamental
concept of Chinese thought (Cheng, 1991).
Chinese Wisdom
New Science and
Chinese Wisdom
In ancient China, the golden age of Chinese
philosophy was during the Zhou Dynasty (ca. 500–
221 BC) and encompassed two complementary
aspects of philosophy: life in society, and a higher
plane of consciousness. These two aspects of
Chinese philosophy were developed into two
distinct philosophical schools: Confucianism
and Daoism (or Taoism). Confucianism was the
philosophy of social organization of common sense
and practical knowledge. Daoism was developed
from Yi Jing (The Book of Changes) (ca. 800 BC),
in which the theory of Yin-Yang was the foundation
of this earliest and greatest philosophy document
of the Chinese. Daoism concerned the observation
of nature and the discovery of its “Dao” (or “Tao,”
the way of human life, the way of nature, the way
of ultimate reality). This referred not only to the
ways of the nature of the whole world, but also
The philosophy of science is the realm of rational
knowledge. It is a system of abstract concepts
and symbols that have been developed through
the empirical process of reasoning, logic and
mathematics; this is called the scientific method
because it can be proved by repeatable experiments
and observations by anybody. However, the
world of reality is one of infinite varieties and
complexities and it is clear that this abstract
system of conceptual thinking can never describe
reality completely (Capra, 1975). Most scientists
admit that their methods of analysis and logical
reasoning can never explain the whole realm of
natural phenomena. Therefore all scientific models
are qualified with assumptions and limitations,
using statistical and probability approximations to
confine the validity of the model to a certain range
of phenomena.
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© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
Table 2.1 A Brief History of the Western View of the World
Western View of
the World
Pre-Scientific
(pre–1600s)
Scientific
(1600s–ca. 1960)
New-Scientific
(ca.1960–current)
Cosmology
• Earth is stationary, at the
center of the universe.
• The sun and planets orbit
around the earth
• The earth orbit around
the sun, as do all the rest
of the planets in the solar
system
• There are many suns
and many galaxies in the
universe
Ontology
• The World is made of
four elements: Earth, Air,
Fire and Water.
• Objects are made of
these elements
• The World is made of
space and matter in
motion
• Matter is made of atoms
• Everything can be
explained in terms of the
Laws of Nature
• The World functions as
a system (different to the
sum of its parts):
– Systems theory
– Chaos and Complexity
– Ecology
– Quantum mechanics
Epistemology
• Empiricism
• Induction—drawing
generalizations from
specific examples
• Laws of Nature—from
observation and draw a
generalized theory
• Experimentation—
hypothetical–deductive
method
• Methodology still under
construction—based on
elements:
– Experience
– Intuition
– Reflective thought
Universe
• Organic—nature is alive
• Anthropomorphic—
viewing nature as
human beings “Organic
Universe”
• Knowledge of nature—to
control natural and social
worlds
• Materialistic—matter
• Reductionistic—
understanding by finding
the smallest components
“Laws of Universe”
• Everything is
interconnected—
systems too complex
• Complexity systems—to
understand the nature
“Holistic Universe”
• Plato (Greece; 428 BC–
348 BC)—Philosophy
• Aristotle (Greece; 384
BC–322 BC)—study
of logic, physics,
metaphysics
• Galilei, Galileo (1564–
1642)—astronomy &
physics
• Descartes, René
(1596–1650)—Scientific
revolution, rationalism
• Newton, Isaac (1643–
1727)—Laws of gravity
and momentum
• Einstein (1879–1955)—
Quantum mechanics, law
of relativity, mass/energy
• Capra, Fritjof—
Complexity theory
• Heisenberg, Weiner—
quantum theory
• Bateson, Gregory—
Ecology of mind
Leaders and
Theories
Source: Choy and Mak (2007)
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2. Science and Feng Shui
Table 2.2 Differences between Western and Eastern Approaches to Knowledge
Western Approach
Eastern Approach
Nature of Knowledge
• Linear—quantifies
• Rational—Scientific knowledge
• Organic—intuitive
• Absolute knowledge
Limitation of Language
• Experiment—model
• Theory—prediction
• Express in language
• Intuitive—language
• Symbols—myth
Empirical Attitude
• Scientific experiment
• Repeatable—anytime–anybody
• Mystical experience
• A few individuals—at special
occasion
Limitations
• Models—approximation &
limitations
• Verbal—inaccurate & incomplete
Chinese philosophy on the other hand is based
on direct insights into the nature of reality, rather
than through rational knowledge (Capra, 1975).
Siu (1957, p. 74) further commented, “Rational
knowledge is rational only because it is obtainable
through reason. The others obtainable through
means other than reason are not irrational, they
are ‘extra-rational’.” Capra (1975) agreed that
this process is also empirical through numerous
observations and experiences of reality by a
few individuals on special occasions. Chinese
philosophers insisted that the ultimate reality
could never be an object of reasoning and never be
adequately described by words, because it is beyond
the realms of senses and the intellect of the human
world. They were well aware of the limitations of
language that all verbal descriptions of reality are
inaccurate and incomplete. Instead, they expressed
their thoughts in a language that could be short
and inarticulate, but rich in symbols and suggestive
images of myth. For instance, the famous text from
Dao De Jing has been translated as “The Dao
(way) that can be told is not the eternal Dao; the
name that can be named is not the eternal name”
(Feng & English, 1972). The differences between
western and eastern approaches to knowledge are
shown in Table 2.2.
Capra (1975), in his book “The Tao of Physics,”
proposed that there is a very important parallel
between the concepts of modern physics and the
eastern view of philosophy. He pointed out that
after the development of relativity theory and
quantum theory, modern scientists are aware of the
nature of the unity and mutual interrelation of all
phenomena; and they came to recognize that all
things are seen as interdependent and inseparable
parts of the cosmic whole. He further recognized
that the whole realm of natural phenomena is a
dynamic interconnections and continuous changes
in cyclic patterns with space and time; and believed
that these theories in modern physics follow the
philosophy of Heraclitus in ancient Greece. The
Heraclitus’ concept of Logos emphasized that
“everything flows” and that all changes are in cyclic
patterns; this in turn led to the discovery that all
opposites are polar and thus united. Capra (1975)
was surprised that this great similarity between the
concept of Dao and Heraclitus’ concept of Logos
arose at about the same time during the sixth
century BC, and concluded that modern science
leads in the same direction towards a view of the
world, which is very similar to the view of ancient
eastern philosophy (See Table 2.3).
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© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
Table 2.3 Parallels between Western and Eastern Philosophy
New Science
Heraclitus
Eastern Philosophy
• Interdependent
• Everything flows
• World of continuous flow
• Inseparable
• All changes in cyclic patterns
• Cyclic nature & pattern of changes
• Interrelation
• Polar opposite and united
• Polar opposite and Tai Chi
• Continuous change in pattern
• Nature & unity
Cooper-Marcus (1987, p. 10) further pointed out
that as a number of holistic and interdisciplinary
scholars have been pushing for a new paradigm
of science, there are requirements “to balance
masculine and feminine values, rational knowing
with intuitive wisdom, action with contemplation,
competition with co-operation.” She believed that
“the mysteries of Chinese wisdom might be close
to a truth beyond the ken of academic disciplines
and current scientific logic” (Cooper-Marcus, 1987,
p. 10).
FENG SHUI Knowledge
Feng Shui is a realm of knowledge and practice
that has been developing throughout the existence
of Chinese history and civilization, and has evolved
from Chinese philosophy. It is founded from the
earliest and greatest philosophy document, Yi
Jing (The Book of Changes) that developed in
ca. 800 BC. By the end of the Zhou Dynasty, when
Daoism was established, the Yin-Yang Theory
and Qi Theory had a distinct significance in the
philosophy of Feng Shui. At an early stage, Feng
Shui was used to determine the locations of houses
or graves. The primitive knowledge of Feng Shui
was based on observations from three sources:
astronomical phenomena, natural phenomena
and human behavior (Feuchtwang, 1974); it was
an ancient Chinese wisdom which related to
architecture and built environment. The philosophy
of Feng Shui was to achieve harmonization
amongst heaven, earth and human beings by
providing equilibrium amongst nature, buildings
and people (Lee, 1986).
The most significant development of Feng Shui
since the late Tang (618–907) and Song Dynasties
(960–1279) has been the evolution of two distinct
schools of practice: Compass and Form School.
The Compass School was based primarily on
the use of the Luopan (Feng Shui compass),
and was composed of elements of time in space.
The Compass School emphasized metaphysical
speculations of cosmology that originated from
Yi Jing (The Book of Changes). In particular, this
school analyzed the directional aspects of a given
site in terms of the relationships amongst the Five
Elements, Eight Trigrams, Heavenly Stems, Earthly
Branches and Constellations (Lee, 1986). Direct
reference to various astrological and other symbols
is of utmost importance in the Compass School and
its practice was highly formulaic (Skinner, 1982).
The Form school was concerned with the
physical form of the site under consideration and
its surrounding environment in order to detect
the subtle flow of Qi. Form School practice first
observed the land formation and terrain, and
then determined the location and orientation of
buildings. The Form School placed less emphasis
on compass and cosmic symbology, and instead
concentrated on the analysis of sites, seeing the
shapes and imagery discerned in the landforms as
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2. Science and Feng Shui
the primary importance (Mills, 1992). Its analysis
was based on the Five Secret Geographical factors,
namely dragon, sand, water, cave and direction
(Lip, 1979). The development of the Form School
has been widely accepted by the upper class of
ancient Chinese society and attracted scholars
and intellectuals to join its practice. The principles
of the Form School were applied to the design
and construction of castles, palaces and towns in
China since ancient times (He and Luo, 1995). Lee
(1986, p. 367) concluded that the principles and
practices of the Form School approach represent “a
compendium of Chinese architectural theory.”
After the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), these two
schools of thought were not exclusively attached
to their own methods for the practice of Feng Shui,
but rather combined and integrated ideas with
each other (Lee, 1986). However, the Form School
approach remained the primary consideration in
Feng Shui practice (Xu, 1990; Too, 1996).
Western Acceptance of
Feng Shui Knowledge
In the nineteenth century, the concept of Feng Shui
was first introduced to the West by missionaries
to China, the Rev. Yates (1868) being the first to
write an English article on the subject. In 1873,
the Rev. E. J. Eitel published the first western book
about Feng Shui and was followed by J. J. M. de
Groot (1897). All these western writers described
Feng Shui as a system which is half science and
half superstition. Eitel (1984, p. 2) described Feng
Shui as “a thing like wind, which you cannot
comprehend, and like water, which you cannot
grasp,” and Feng Shui was considered mysterious
because it is abstract, invisible, untouchable and
intangible.
Western world’s first real interest in Feng Shui
began to develop in the late 1950s and early 1960s
as evidenced by Needham’s study of traditional
Chinese science (Needham, 1956, 1959). Being a
western-trained scientist himself, he recognized that
Feng Shui explained the Chinese system of natural
science and hence defined Feng Shui as “PseudoScience” (Needham, 1959, vol. 2, Section 14).
Freedman (1968, p. 5) began to make connections
between Feng Shui and the physical environment
and described Feng Shui as “mystical ecology”
concerned with “the ritual aspect of the interaction
between men and their physical environment.”
Under the influence of deeper understandings of the
relationships between people and their surrounding
environment in eastern philosophy, Lynch (1960,
p. 139) realized that Feng Shui is “an opened
analysis of the environment and the relationship
amongst heaven, earth and human.” More
explicitly, John Michell said in his commentary to
Eitel’s book (Eitel, 1984, p. 72), “Chinese ‘natural
science’ . . . is now becoming recognized as a
model for the reformed code of science which the
circumstances of our time are demanding.”
Recently, Feng Shui knowledge in particular
the Form School approach has been recognized
as comprising scientific basis in the analysis of
the built environment (He, 1990; Wang, 1992a;
Cheng & Kong, 1993). One of the most important
research investigations, carried out by Xu (1990),
has compared the Feng Shui concepts using the
Form School approach and the Hendler model, a
well-known western model of site analysis. The
results indicated that Feng Shui has proved to
be a more powerful tool in site analysis than the
Hendler model. Also, Mills (1992) investigated
the spiritual landscapes of burial mound sites in
the Upper Mississippi river basin and Feng Shui
practice in tomb siting with particular reference to
the Form School approach. The results suggested
that there are many similarities between these
approaches even though they spring from very
different cultural backgrounds.
Summary
Feng Shui, literally translates as “wind” and “water,”
is a body of ancient Chinese knowledge for
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Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
improving the relationship between people and the
environment. It has had a great impact on Chinese
architectural theories and practices for thousands
of years. In the nineteenth century, western
scholars first classified Feng Shui as a mixture of
superstition, religious sentiment, and observational
science. Since the emergence of the new scientific
paradigm in the 1970s, however, western scientists
have found that the “scientific methods” of analysis
and logical reasoning can never explain the whole
realm of natural phenomena, and begun to seek for
deeper understanding of the relationships between
humans and natural environment. They recognized
that there are similarities between modern science
and eastern philosophy. As a consequence,
westerners have also changed their attitude
towards the ancient Chinese’s view of nature and
the environment, realizing that the principles and
practices of Feng Shui could contribute to the built
environment.
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© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
SCIENTIFIC METHODS
AND
FENG SHUI STUDY
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© 2011 City University of Hong Kong
Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
A Scientific Approach to
Feng Shui Study
as well as to the organized body of knowledge
gained through such research (Popper, 1959).
Scientific method is not something tangible; it
cannot be seen nor grasped in your hands. It refers
to the objective ways and systems of gaining,
organizing, analyzing, summarizing and the keeping
of data or information in the form of knowledge
that can be passed down through history. There
are stringent requirements for such methods and
different schools of practicing them. What do we
need to understand science, empirical science more
precisely, in order to study Feng Shui? Without any
approach in terms of scientific methods, the study
would soon fall prey to superstition. This chapter
highlights the basic philosophy of science, the
definition of scientific theories, and the recognition
of different types of scientific methods as well
as the main concerns of science. It is hoped that
readers will always bear in mind the essence of
scientific method when studying Feng Shui in order
to avoid blindly accepting or rejecting something.
We must always keep an open mind to analyze
any rules or theories proffered by different schools
of Feng Shui. Only in this way will the study of
Feng Shui be able to gain favor from the world of
academia, scientists, and eventually, the sceptics. An
important part of this chapter was extracted from
a lecture and handout by Dr. Kwok Chun Wong of
The University of Hong Kong. The authors would
like to acknowledge his contribution to the book.
Different fields of science are commonly
classified along two major lines, namely natural
sciences which study natural phenomena (including
biological life), and social sciences which study
human behavior and societies. These groupings
are “empirical sciences,” which means that
the knowledge must be based on observable
phenomena capable of being tested for validity
by other researchers working under the same
conditions.
There are three generally-held principles
of empirical science. Firstly, viewing a natural
phenomenon or activity is based on subjective
human judgments, but such judgments must be
agreed among those viewing the same phenomenon
or activity. Here, “phenomena” usually refer to
those studied in natural sciences, while “activities”
in social sciences. Scientifically, the concepts
of phenomena, facts, behavior, activities and
observations are quite similar.
Secondly, all phenomena or activities confirmed
in a scientific way must be objective and have
regular patterns, i.e., they are not entirely random
in the normal sense. Although quantum physics
may seem to be an exception in the sense that
it deals with the probability of occurrence of
phenomena, such probability does follow a pattern
as phenomena seen in our daily life due to a
quantum effect are normally predictable.
Finally, any phenomenon or activity must have
one or more corresponding causes. Such cause(s)
can be described and explained, and the subsequent
occurrence of the phenomenon or activity can be
conjectured or speculated.
Empirical Science
Wikipedia.com reveals that “science” (from Latin
scientia, meaning “knowledge”), in the broadest
sense, refers to any systematic knowledge or
practice (Webster, 2007). Examples include the
expressions like “political science” and “computer
science,” which are named according to the older
and more general use of the word. In a more
restricted sense, “science” refers to a system of
acquiring knowledge based on scientific methods,
According to empirical science, a fact which is
observable cannot be explained by another fact,
and the regular pattern of a fact must be described
or explained by abstract concepts built upon facts.
For example, raining and the formation of clouds
are two different facts. One cannot explain the
phenomenon of raining by the formation of clouds.
The tiny water molecules inside clouds have to
be imagined to form clusters together, become
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3. Scientific Methods and Feng Shui Study
heavy and finally fall in the form of rain. Without
description or explanation based on abstract
reasoning, nobody can learn anything or formulate
any knowledge merely from the observable facts.
Scientific method seeks to explain the events
of nature in a reproducible way, and to use these
reproductions for useful predictions. It is done
through an observation of natural phenomena
and/or through experimentation. It provides an
objective process to find solutions to problems.
Scientists use models to refer to a description or
depiction of something, specifically one which can
be used to make predictions that can be tested by
an experiment or observation.
Scientists use three special terms to describe
the nature of the conclusions which are reached
after experiment or observation. A hypothesis is a
contention that is neither well supported nor ruled
out by experiments. A theory is a logically selfconsistent model or framework for describing the
behavior of certain natural phenomena, which can
normally describe the behavior of much broader
sets of phenomena than a hypothesis. A physical
law or law of nature is a scientific generalization
based on a sufficiently large number of empirical
observations taken as fully verified.
review of published results, ongoing reviews and
repeated experiments and observations by multiple
independent researchers. Only by fulfilling these
expectations can a concept be proven reliable for
potential use by others.
Sometimes ad hoc theories are proposed but
they may have too many assumptions. Any theory
that has been refuted can very often be saved by
adding more criteria but the price may be too high.
A good theory is one that can explain more but
is simple enough. The Occam’s razor (sometimes
called Ockham’s razor) is a principle attributed
to the fourteenth century English Franciscan friar
and scholastic philosopher, William of Ockham.
The principle states that the explanation of any
phenomenon should make as few assumptions as
possible, eliminating those that make no difference
in the observable predictions of the explanatory
hypothesis or theory. That is why modern scientists
look for “beauty” in a law of physics. Here,
“beauty” refers to the simplicity and perfection
of the theory. As a result, scientists may tend to
believe in a theory (such as the string theory, for
example) before they can get an observable proof if
the theory is “beautiful enough.”
The Logical Approach
Scientific Theory
All hypotheses, theories, and laws of science that
can describe or explain a phenomenon must
be refutable by facts. In other words, scientific
statements are those that can be wrong but are not
yet proven wrong. Scientists never claim absolute
knowledge of nature or the behavior of the subject
under study. Unlike a mathematical proof, a
scientific theory is empirical, and is always open to
modification or complete rejection if new evidence
is found. Even the most basic and fundamental
theories may turn out to be imperfect if new
observations are inconsistent with them. One
critical process is to make every relevant aspect
of research publicly available, which allows peer
Karl Popper discussed the logic of scientific
discovery from the viewpoint of refutation. An
objection, also known as a refutation, is a reason
arguing against a premise, lemma, or main
contention. And an objection to an objection is
called a rebuttal. In Chinese literature, we have
an idiom saying that “All crows on Earth are
ubiquitously black in color,” which means that
people of the same class or the same type are all
bad. Let us say, for example, that a zoologist found
10,000 crows or ravens that were all black. He
might then conclude that “all crows are black.”
However, this theory may not be absolutely true as
there is every possibility that the 10,001st crow is
in white. This is what we mean that the statement
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Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
Table 3.1 Truth Table—A / B
A
B
Not A
Not B
A and B
(A and B) or (Not A) or (Not B)
T
T
F
F
T
T
T
F
F
T
F
T
F
T
T
F
F
T
F
F
T
T
F
T
can be wrong. As a matter of fact, albino crows
exist, destroying the validity of the idiom if it is
treated as a scientific theory.
A theory incapable of being wrong can hardly
be used to predict something, for example, all
bachelors are unmarried men. This statement
can never be wrong and it is called a tautology.
Tautologies are analytic statements, the truth value
of which depends purely on logic. For example, (A
and B) or (Not A) or (Not B) is a tautology because
whatever A or B is, the entire statement is still true.
We can check this by using a truth table as shown
in Table 3.1.
As shown from Table 3.1, A and B can either
be “true” (T) or “false” (F). “A and B” can only be
true when both A is true and B is true. For an “or”
operation, the final result is true if either one of the
many variables is true. So, no matter what truth
value does A or B take, the resultant statement is
always true. And this is called tautology.
The negation of a tautology is a contradiction,
a sentence that is false regardless of the truth
values of its propositional variables, i.e., the A and
B in the previous example, and the negation of a
contradiction is simply a tautology. An example
of a contradiction is the statement: “A cat is not a
cat.”
A statement that is neither a tautology nor a
contradiction is logically contingent. For example,
the statement, “The sun rises in the East” is
logically contingent because it can be false. One
day, if the Earth’s self rotation is in reverse due to
an impact of a big meteor, we shall find that the sun
rises from the West. Such a statement can be made
either true or false by choosing an appropriate
interpretation of its propositional variables. Only
such statements are meaningful in science.
It is often difficult to determine whether a very
long and complicated statement is a tautology. This
field of study is known as “automated theorem
proving.” When substitution is implemented, it is
far more difficult to judge a statement. For example,
if A is replaced by (C or D) and B is replaced by (if
C then E), we shall have the new statement:
X = ((C or D) and (if C then E)) or ((not C
and not D) or (not (if C then E))) which is still a
tautology although difficult to identify. Let’s refer
to another truth table (see Table 3.2).
In order to simplify the table, certain
mathematical symbols have been used. “And” is
represented by and “Or” is represented by and
“if - then” is represented by . A statement of is
true whenever the “then” part is true. So, from the
truth table, we can see that though the statement,
X, is so complicated, it is still a tautology. Readers
may imagine that if all such C, D and E are
sentences describing something happening in our
daily life, it is very difficult for us to judge that it is
a tautology. In metaphysics, readers must be careful
about encountering tautologies put forward by the
masters or authoritative literature.
For example, when a boy says “I’ll love you
forever!” to a girl, it is not as impressive as saying
“no matter the sky will collapse or not, the sea will
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3. Scientific Methods and Feng Shui Study
Table 3.2 Truth Table—C / D / E
C
D
E
C→D
C→E
T
T
T
T
T
F
F
T
T
T
T
F
T
F
F
T
F
T
T
F
T
T
T
F
F
T
T
T
F
F
T
F
F
T
F
T
F
T
T
T
T
F
F
T
T
F
T
F
T
F
F
T
F
T
F
F
T
F
T
T
F
F
T
F
F
F
F
F
T
T
F
T
dry up or not, I’ll love you forever!” The first two
parts of the latter statement are merely tautologies.
It is because the sky can either collapse or not
collapse while the sea can either dry up or not dry
up; so the first two parts simply always return true
value, i.e., meaningless.
Only by using a truth table are we able to tell if
a statement is a tautology or not. However, with the
increasing number of propositional variables, it is
extremely difficult, though not impossible, to draw
out the truth table as the number of valuations that
must be checked increases as 2k, where k is the
number of variables in the statement.
Besides tautology, there are four other situations
in which a theory cannot be turned down by
evidence. Firstly, a vague theory that is not well
defined can never be proven wrong. For example, a
good guy will also achieve good results. The “good”
here is not well defined and it is impossible to
prove that this statement is wrong.
Secondly, a contradictory theory can never be
proven wrong, e.g., a pure white sheet with black
spots. When there are black spots on a pure white
sheet, it is not white any more.
Thirdly, a theory that cannot explain anything
due to the non-existence of elements inside the
∼C
∼D
∼(C → E)
((C
D)
( C → E))
X
theory, e.g., the statement “pipi can lead to didi”
can never be falsified because there is nothing
called “pipi” or “didi” in the world.
Finally, a theory that can explain anything due
to the unlimited phenomena to be deduced, e.g., “A
can lead to B, C, D, E, . . . or anything” can always
be verified.
Contrary to an analytic statement, the validity
of a synthetic statement cannot be decided on pure
logic. One needs to check facts and observable
phenomena of the empirical world to judge
whether a synthetic statement is true or false. These
statements are therefore testable hypotheses or
refutable implications. All existing laws in natural
sciences belong to this category. For example,
the force applied to an object is proportional
to the linear acceleration of it if the mass of the
object is constant. This is the second Newton’s
Law of Motion. Throughout the centuries, many
experiments have been performed to verify this law.
Therefore, deriving testable hypotheses is to
stick one’s neck out, taking the chance of being
rejected or refuted. The process will be ongoing
until one’s theory is rejected by evidence. That’s
why Karl Popper argued that scientific discoveries
are achieved by refutations, not by induction.
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Readers are reminded to bear this in mind
whenever they come across any theories or rules in
Feng Shui. This approach to study Feng Shui is then
known as “Scientific Feng Shui” as suggested by the
authors.
However, Popper’s logic carries one drawback.
What if counter examples exist? If the zoologist
found one white crow while the next 100,000
found by him were all black, should the theory,
“all crows are black” be turned down immediately
based on Popper’s logic of refutation? Obviously,
the theory of “all crows are white” is incorrect
because the zoologist could find only one white
crow, i.e., the albino one. At this stage, Popper’s
logic is incapable of distinguishing one theory from
another although he once addressed this issue by
proposing the concept of “degree of corroboration”
which increases with the degree of testability of
a hypothesis but that is still loose and unclear.
Corroborated evidence is evidence that tends to
support a proposition already supported by some
previous evidence.
Hans Reichenbach, a leading philosopher of
science, an educator and proponent of logical
empiricism (Reichenbach, 1951), proposed that
scientists advance their theories by observations
and posits, i.e., axioms. The more the number
of observations a scientist makes, the closer is
the convergence to the scientist’s posit. Posits
are by definition inductives as they involve the
proposal of general rules based on limited, known
and particular facts. When a counter example is
discovered to attack an established theory, this
theory is not rejected immediately, but initiates
a search for a better theory to explain existing
known facts as well as the counter example.
Nevertheless, before the new, more appropriate and
comprehensive theory is found, the existing theory
continues to be used. Compared to Popper’s degree
of corroboration and testability, Reichenbach’s
inductive probability may be much more practical
and provide a better guide to the advancement of
science.
Having said that, Popper’s principle of refutation
is still important. Finding a crow which is not black
tells us more about the biological world regarding
DNA mutation. So, Popper’s logic is still useful in
explaining our empirical world.
Scientific Method
Scientific method is a process by which scientists,
collectively and over time, endeavor to construct
an accurate, reliable, consistent, and non-arbitrary
representation of the real world. Recognizing that
personal and cultural beliefs heavily influence both our
perceptions and interpretations of natural phenomena,
scientists aim, through the use of standard procedures
and criteria, to minimize those influences when
developing a theory. It is because if we do not have a
conscientious set of protocols to develop a theory and
eventually a law, smart people—as a famous scientist
once said—can always come up with very good
explanations for mistaken points of view. Overall, a
scientific method attempts to minimize the influence
of bias or prejudice of the experimenter when testing a
hypothesis or a new theory.
There are in general four steps that must be
followed to study some phenomena by a scientific
method:
(1) the observation and description of a
phenomenon or activity or a group of
phenomena;
(2) the formulation of a hypothesis to explain
the phenomenon; (an abstract one; recall
that a fact cannot be used to explain a
fact). In physics, such a hypothesis often
takes the form of a causal mechanism or
a mathematical relation;
(3) using the hypothesis to predict the existence
or occurrence of other phenomena, or to
quantitatively predict the result of any new
observations;
(4) the performance of experimental tests of
the predictions by several independent
experimenters and properly regulated
experiments.
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3. Scientific Methods and Feng Shui Study
If the experiments bear out the hypothesis, it
may come to be regarded as a theory or ultimately a
law of nature. If the hypothesis is not borne out by
experiment, it must either be rejected or modified.
However, it must be recalled that the modification
must not involve too many assumptions as the
Occam’s Razor principle advises that a theory built
on too many assumptions is usually an incorrect
one. There are quite a number of common mistakes
related to scientific methods:
(1) It is easy for a scientist to be influenced
by his/her own culture and preference, in
particular in areas of social sciences.
(2) Sometimes “common sense” and “obvious
logic” tempt a scientist into believing that
no test or experiment is needed to verify
a hypothesis.
(3) Certain data not supporting a hypothesis
can easily be ignored or ruled out as
errors or noise.
(4) C o n v e r s e l y, s y s t e m a t i c e r r o r s c a n
sometimes override useful data, causing
a scientist to miss something important.
There are many examples of alleged “new
discoveries” which are later proven to be
prone to systematic errors not accounted
for by the “discoverers.”
(5) A phenomenon may be due to several
causes, while one cause has to be isolated
from other confounding factors to be
verified to be genuine. This process is
extremely difficult when the study is not
confined to a controlled environment.
(6) There are circumstances where the
scientist cannot isolate a phenomenon or
cannot make the measurement repeatedly.
Statistical analysis on the history of
occurrence of the phenomenon has to be
relied on, in which case it may sometimes
be misleading as correlation of limited
data may not reveal the truth.
Five common scientific research methods are
briefly discussed below. They can be used in the
study of Feng Shui with great care.
Experimental Method
Experimental method is practiced by a scientist who
manipulates a variable (anything that can change)
under highly controlled conditions to investigate if
such a variable produces or causes any changes to a
second variable. For example, the second Newton’s
Law of Motion is used again. This variable, or
variables, that the researcher manipulates is called
the independent variable(s) (sometimes referred to
as antecedent conditions) while the second variable,
one measured for changes, is called the dependent
variable. Here, the external force on an object
is then the independent variable while the linear
acceleration produced is the dependent variable.
Most disciplines of natural sciences rely on
this method because scientists are interested in
understanding the cause-and-effect relationship
of phenomena in nature. In order to see this
relationship, the researcher must make sure that
the manipulations of the independent variables
are the only variables having an effect on the
dependent variables. All other variables that
may have an effect on the dependent variables
must be kept constant. In our example, the mass,
one variable as well, of the object must be kept
constant. As a matter of fact, the second Newton’s
Law of Motion does take care of the variation
in mass but its discussion is beyond the scope of
this book. Performing such experiment is difficult
in two respects. First, it is sometimes impossible
to single out one independent variable from the
variables. Second, the scientist does not actually
know how many variables in nature are affecting
the dependent variables.
The major limitation of this method is
practicality. It can only be used when it is ethical,
economical and possible for the researcher to
manipulate the antecedent conditions. At the
same time, the effect must be observable within
a reasonable time duration. With regards to this,
although it would be highly desirable, it is very
often not entirely feasible to conduct experiments
along these lines in the study of Feng Shui. First, the
researcher is not allowed to change the landscape
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Scientific Feng Shui for the Built Environment—Fundamentals and Case Studies
of an auspicious site in order to test whether
something disastrous may otherwise happen.
Second, it is believed that the effect of Feng Shui
engineering can only be observable in decades or
even centuries.
Correlation
Correlation is classified as a non-experimental and
descriptive method which is used when variables
cannot be directly or freely manipulated by the
scientist. Though it is a type of research method in
its own right, it is more of a mathematical technique
for summarizing data as a statistical tool. A
correlative study is designed to determine the degree
and direction of relationship between two or more
variables or measures of behavior. Quantitatively, a
coefficient of correlation is a numerical index of this
relationship. A positive correlation, indicated by a
positive sign, implies a direct relationship, meaning
that a high score on one variable is associated
with that on the second variable, while of course
the reverse applies for a negative correlation. The
magnitude of the coefficient indicates the strength
of relationship, varying from –1.00 to 0.00 for a
negative correlation and from 0.00 to +1.00 for a
positive one.
When two variables are strongly related, and
the stronger the better, it is possible to predict the
performance of one from the other. For example,
psychologists and educators in the United States
know that there is a fairly strong relationship
(about + 0.50 to + 0.60) between scores on the
SAT or ACT results and GPAs in college. So, most
universities in the US rely on these test results for
admission requirements.
The strength of correlation can be used when
it is impractical or unethical to manipulate the
variables. However, the greatest limitation is
that it cannot tell whether the relationship is
causal. It only shows that two variables, with the
provision of limited data, are apparently related
in a systematic way. Sometimes, the stock market
can be correlated to results of soccer games when
the availability of data is limited and focused. Of
course, the coefficient becomes smaller and smaller,
with relationship being weaker and weaker, as
more data is available.
Having said that, correlation remains a
promising method to study Feng Shui. Provided
that historical data can show us the prosperity of
cities as well as some descriptive evaluations based
on well established Feng Shui theories, we may be
able to find out the correlation between Feng Shui
and the built environment.
Naturalistic Observation
This is classified under the broader category of field
studies, a type of non-experimental approach which
is mainly used in real-life settings. The scientist
carefully observes and records a particular behavior
or phenomenon, sometimes over a prolonged period,
in its natural setting. The subjects under investigation
are not directly interfered with in any sense, such as
studies in social sciences involving the observation of
humans or animals as they go about their activities
in real-life settings, or in natural sciences, observing
the eruption of a volcano.
The major strength of naturalistic observation
is that it allows researchers to observe behavior in
the setting in which it naturally occurs, rather than
in the artificial and limited setting in a laboratory.
Further applications of the naturalistic observation
approach may include studying nature for its own
sake, or using nature to validate some laboratory
findings or theoretical concepts. Nonetheless, this
method has quite a number of limitations. Firstly,
it is descriptive, not explanatory. The cause-andeffect relationship between variables cannot be
drawn. Secondly, this method is both time and
labor consuming. Finally, since it is not permissible
to disrupt nature, it is difficult to codify results
in a manner appropriate for statistical analysis.
Naturalistic observation has been used for millennia
by Feng Shui masters to uncover the relationship
between the harmony of nature, mankind and good
fortune, but it has never been done in a systematic
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3. Scientific Methods and Feng Shui Study
and consistent manner. Traditionally, Feng Shui
masters observed the circumstances of people at
interesting sites, such as those where the mountains
and rivers were of special patterns, and also took
into account the orientation of the cities which
were to be built. It is the obligation of modern Feng
Shui researchers to improve this approach to make
Feng Shui study more scientific.
Surveys
The Survey method does not involve direct
observation by a researcher. Inferences about
behavior are made from data collected via interview
or questionnaires which commonly include an
assortment of forced-choice questions (e.g., true or
false, or one out of five ranks etc.) or opened-ended
questions (e.g., essays in short answers) to which
subjects are asked to respond. This mode of data
collection is sometimes referred to as a self-report.
Surveys are particularly useful when researchers are
interested in collecting data on aspects of behavior
that are difficult to observe directly, mainly related
to the thinking and opinion of individuals when it
is desirable to obtain a large sample of subjects.
The major limitation is that it is based on opinion
of people instead of on actual fact. For example,
when people were asked about the shape of the
Earth some six hundred years ago, everybody would
reply it was a flat table. Intentional deception, poor
memory, poor knowledge or a misunderstanding
of the question may all contribute to inaccuracy
in the data. This method is also descriptive, not
explanatory, and is not able to tell the cause-andeffect relationship between variables.
S i n c e s u p e r s t i t i o n a r i s e s f r o m p e o p l e ’s
misunderstanding and ignorance, it is unfortunate
that such surveys can wholly reflect the blind faith of
people towards some irrational Feng Shui theories or
rules. Of course, it is possible to use surveys to find
out the impact of Feng Shui on citizens as a study in
social science, but such surveys may have limited use
for verifying Feng Shui hypotheses.
Case Study
Case Study is also a non-experimental and
desc riptiv e met hod, i nvolv ing an in- depth
descriptive record kept by an outside observer
of an individual or group of individuals. In
social sciences, this often involves collecting and
examining various observations and records of
an individual’s experiences and/or behaviors.
Typical data collected may include biographical
data, medical records, family history, observations,
interviews, and the results of various psychological
tests. In natural science, it may involve in-depth
study of a particular animal or group of animals or
some detailed investigation of a particular physical
phenomenon.
Case studies are particularly useful when
researchers want to get a detailed contextual
view of an individual’s life or of a particular
phenomenon and when it is not practical or ethical
to do experiments. Again, this method cannot
give us the cause-and-effect relationship. Much
of the information collected is retrospective, i.e.,
recollections of past events, and hence its accuracy
is very sensitive to problems inherent to memory.
In Feng Shui, interesting cases can be looked
into more details. However, the results cannot be
universally applicable to other situations. Case
study can be used in Feng Shui when cases can be
treated as illustrative examples for reference by
researchers and readers. In this book, Chapters
10 and 11 are case studies related to Form School
approach, while Chapter 17 provides case studies
according to Compass School methods.
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