 Why did Zhu Xi go to the trouble of constructing his elaborate system and making and discussing all these observations if they didn’t carry him beyond common sense to a deeper and more accurate perception and account of reality, to go beyond the details of particular cases to more general principles and truths? Zhu’s ultimate purpose was pragmatic rather than epistemic; that is, he was laying out the concepts, framework, and practices that he deemed most conducive to self-cultivation, self-realization, and ethical practice, rather than formulating objectively accurate concepts, systems, and methods for ascertaining objective truths about the world. So, he did not have a practical interest in pushing his inquiries in purely scientific directions. But, this way of putting it is not completely right because Zhu had considered a variety of philosophic positions and did think he had selected the best and most accurate of the concepts and systems at his disposal. And, he did attempt to render his ideas in a manner that was faithful to reality, the devotion to which was one of his core cultivation  themes.[17]  Clearly, he did not have the requisite concepts, framework, or style of thinking through which to conceive the world under overarching scientific principles and abstract generalities.