The Evolution of Cognitive Abilities' Theories before the Qin Dynasty

The philosophers before the Qin Dynasty paid close attention to human being's cognitive abilities,and through deep thinking,they had built a comparatively correct cognitive abilities' theory step by step. From distinguishing the various sensory organs' abilities and the corresponding cognitive objects to the foundation of the Heart's cognitive ability,and the foundation of the Heart's corresponding cognitive objects and the establishment of the Heart's initiative in process of cognition,we can see from the thinking of Gongsun Long,Mozi and Xunzi that the logical evolution of cognitive abilities' theories were completed by the philosophers before the Qin Dynasty,and two kinds of cognitive abilities,namely perceptual cognition and rational cognition were simply differentiated ultimately,and the dialectical relationship between the two kinds of cognitive abilities was correctly grasped to some extent.