This chapter proposes a twofold theory. First, it offers an explanation for why architectural styles in the Greco-European tradition constantly change. The chapter utilizes philosophical principles in Plato's cave allegory and applies them to Western architectural-historical developments. The upshot is that stylistic changes in Western architecture reflect a series of stages in the progression out of the cave, in which each style represents the latest version of true knowledge—for a while. Second, the chapter shows how Chinese architecture underwent far less stylistic change thanks to principles embedded in the correlative nature of Chinese ideas. It also shows how Confucian social roles corresponded with, of all things, architectural framing members as relational entities indexed to social hierarchies. If Confucian social relations were enduring, why would we ever change architectural members if they were indexed to that social structure?.