Dao Beyond Dao: On the Transcendence and Ultimate Ground of the Dual-Source

Western and Chinese metaphysical traditions have generally understood the transcendent noumenon as a unified, identical “Great One,” “Absolute,” or “Supreme Good,” leading to an inherent tension between transcendence and dyadicity/difference. Within the framework of “Dao is Two” ontology, this paper further pursues the ultimate metaphysical question: Is the dual-source self-sufficient? How is the dyadic structure itself possible? Must transcendence always return to the “One”? This paper proposes “Dao Beyond Dao” as the transcendental ground and condition of existence for the dual-source, aiming to articulate a new form of transcendence that is non-unifying and non-identical. It adopts a “problem diagnosis—conceptual construction—justification and dialogue expansion” argumentative strategy: first, it traces the typological characteristics and structural dilemmas of Chinese and Western transcendental traditions; second, it defines the core meaning and basic features of “Dao Beyond Dao,” clarifying its non-objectifiable, neither-one-nor-two, transcendent yet immanent essence; third, it demonstrates the theoretical necessity of positing “Dao Beyond Dao” from the triple dimensions of logical necessity, philosophical necessity, and epistemic necessity; furthermore, through in-depth dialogue with Kant’s “thing-in-itself,” Heidegger’s “ontological difference,” and Wang Bi’s “nothingness,” it reveals its paradigmatic breakthrough over traditional transcendental theory; finally, it clarifies the “manifestation—letting-manifestation” relationship between “Dao Beyond Dao” and “Dao within Dao (the dual-source),” uncovering its philosophical significance as the foundation for dynamic becoming and freedom. This paper attempts to provide a non-dogmatic path of transcendence that breaks free from the constraints of unity and points to dyadic possibility, completing the systematic extension of Dao-Er philosophy from ontology to transcendental theory.