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An Evaluation of the Chen Jingyuan Case Based on Roscelin of Compiègne's Philosophical Core Ideas

Roscelin of Compiègne (c. 1050-1125), a medieval nominalist theologian and teacher of Peter Abelard, was a radical proponent of conceptualism in the great debate over universals. His core ideas, as preserved in Abelard's accounts and his own fragments, assert that universals—abstract entities like "humanity," "justice," or "order"—are mere *flatus vocis* (vocal breaths or words), lacking independent reality; only concrete particulars exist, and language is a conventional tool for naming them, prone to idolatrous reification if treated as essences. Roscelin's nominalism challenged Platonic realism, emphasizing linguistic contingency and the danger of verbal fictions masking particular truths, influencing scholastic dialectics. The Chen Jingyuan case—a doctoral scholar sentenced to 20 months for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" (PRC Criminal Law Article 293) over Twitter forwards—through Roscelin's lens, exemplifies the peril of reified words: the judiciary's "disruption" and "intent" as flatus vocis inflate particular acts into universal essences, fabricating fictions that obscure concrete realities and pervert justice into nominal idolatry.

#### 1. Universals as Flatus Vocis: "Disruption" as Verbal Fiction Over Particular Acts

Roscelin's nominalism reduces universals to linguistic conventions—words without substance, useful for particular reference but dangerous when idolized as real forces.

The verdict idolizes "disruptive intent" as universal essence: presuming "high education implies discernment" breathes life into the flatus "quarrel," reifying Chen's particular forwards (e.g., <100 retweets of Hayek critiques or the "Trump-kneeling Xi" cartoon) as abstract "threats" to "order." This fiction veils particulars: no concrete harm (zero causal chaos, prosecutor's unverified admission), yet the word's breath inflates 20 months' penalty. Roscelin would decry this as dialectical idolatry: the closed-door trial nominalizes suppression—"shut up" as verbal fiat—without particular grounding, echoing his critique of Trinitarian realism. Selective enforcement (millions unpunished) exposes the flatus's hollowness: the same particulars signify harmlessness elsewhere, words' contingency unmasked.

#### 2. Particulars and Linguistic Contingency: Evidentiary "Chain" as Nominal Illusion Lacking Concrete Reference

For Roscelin, truth resides in particulars—singulars named by words—contingent and non-essential; universals mislead if detached from them.

The "evidence chain" is nominal illusion: linking particulars (posts) to universal "disorder" without concrete reference—no causal particulars (ripple metrics), the prosecutor's confession a singular breath of doubt. Chen's prison letter grounds in particulars: taxonomy (art/emotion/reason/fact) names singulars concretely, avalanche theory referencing non-linear flux—yet the non-oral appeal detaches them, words' contingency twisted into coercive essence. Roscelin would razor this abstraction: justice demands particular discernment, not universal fiat—the sentence's breath inflates fiction, as in Abelard's nominalist legacy, where words serve truth, not tyranny.

#### 3. Nominal Ethics and Dialectical Critique: Coercive "Justice" as Reified Wordplay Betraying Particular Virtue

Roscelin's ethics, influencing Abelard, judges acts by particular consent, critiquing verbal universals as sophistic veils over moral dialectics.

The verdict's "intent" reifies wordplay: particular consent (scholarly curiosity) dialectically yields virtue, yet universal "malice" veils it—evidentiary voids (unheeded taxonomy) betray the sophistry. The "upper-level instructions" as nominal fiat coerce without dialectic, fracturing ethics. Roscelin would see moral peril: particulars like Chen's theory demand consent's breath, not reified penalty—20 months' injustice as word's idolatrous excess.

#### Conclusion: Roscelin's Lens on the Case—Nominal Fictions Fracturing Particular Truth

From Roscelin of Compiègne's conceptual nominalism, the Chen Jingyuan case is verbal idolatry: flatus universals reify particulars, illusions veil contingency, and coercive wordplay betrays dialectical ethics. As of October 25, 2025, no retrial or exoneration has occurred; Chen's account remains dormant, its quiet a particular's unvoiced breath. This case cautions: words name, not command—idolize, and truth suffocates. As Roscelin nominalized, "Universals are nothing but names"—may justice breathe free.