Middendorf, Ulrike. WebHuizis truism that Zhuangzi is not a fish shows some appreciation of the problem of SpR, but the ensuing conclusion that Zhuangzi couldnt know fish happiness assumes that Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju . This curiosity about the man behind the story I will return to later. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 2003. In Dao Companion to the Philosophy of the Zhuangzi, edited by Kim-chong Chong and Kai-Yuan Cheng. Great gourd , stink tree ), By doing nothing one can accomplish everything. In this sense, though the stories are often fantastic, the book is meant to offer a realistic lesson in the uselessness of trying to figure out life.18 So that might be the message stop trying so hard to understand, to look for a (main) point, to have things to make sense. HuiZi said to ZhuangZi, "The Prince of Wei gave me a seed of a large-sized kind of gourd. 2003. The Tradition of Emotive Writing in the Zhuangzi and Its Echoes in Later Generations. Frontiers of Philosophy in China 10.3: 340352. Dschuang-Dsi. 2007. Guo, Xiang , and Cheng Xuanying , annot. I planted it, and it bore a fruit as big as a five bushel measure. 19To be fair, I should note that Zhuangzi doesnt always leave the reader in the dark as to what a story is about or what he himself thinks of the characters involved. 2011. Lynn, Richard John. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. It only seems useless to you because you want to turn it into something else and dont know how to appreciate it for what it is. Leiden: Brill. Zhuangzi, the Taoist philosopher, lived in. It amounts to life-affirmation or to life-denialto acceptance or to rejection. 2010. The video below (Flight from the Shadow) is an example of the type of teaching he engaged in. What is there to dislike?There is no commentary from Zhuangzi himself on this story23, except that he writes of other people who also testify that whatever Heaven does to them, they do and should receive without resisting. Hui Shis questions reflect a narrow empiricist epistemic approach while Zhuangzis replies intimate that Hui Shis notion of how one knows is too restrictive (even Different disciplines have their different tools for doing so. Fraser, Chris. Cao, Chuji , trans. These are two requisites together, and one being so does not make the other. Zhuangzi. 1981/2001. Shun, Kwong-loi. I will then discuss some of the fictitious anecdotes that appear in the Zhuangzi. Huizi and Zhuangzi about gourds; the story of Cook Ding (sometimes called Butcher Ding); and the story of Wheelwright Pian. Even if we are confident about what to do in an imaginary case, the criticism has been raised that thought experiments dont actually reflect a truth about reality; rather, they just reflect our beliefs about reality13. For one, the hypothetical thought experiment involves a situation or type of person that is often simplified and underdescribed, meaning we might not know in the imagined case what the right thing to do is. The Complete Work of the Zhuangzi . Beyond the Troubled Water of Shifei: From Disputation to Walking-Two-Roads in the Zhuangzi. 8 Jackson has actually since changed his position on the thesis of physicalism and he no longer thinks its false. If you are content with the time and abide by the passing, theres no room for sorrow or joy. For example, in Chapter 1 of the Zhuangzi there is the story of a fish named Minnow turning into a bird named Breeze and being laughed at by the cicada and student-dove.19 Here Zhuangzi suggests that it is only because the little bugs have such a small perspective that they cant understand bigger things, so while its understandable that they laugh, its due to a short-sightedness on their part. 24Alternatively, perhaps Zhuangzi thinks Master Chariot is crazy, and he is inventing a character who seems accepting of such ridiculous things happening as a way of questioning the sanity of a mind that is so calm and unperturbedMaster Chariot then would be an example of how Daoist passivity can go too far. What is there to dislike? On Anger: An Essay on Confucian Moral Psychology. In Returning to Zhu Xi: Emerging Patterns within the Supreme Polarity, edited by David Jones and Jinli He. Other philosophers have subsequently offered slightly different variations of the trolley problem, but in all of these it is assumed that the humans involved are human beings with normal capabilities and desires who just happen to be in a very unfortunate situation. He lives an unexamined life and is thereby ignorant of his own ignorance. 2013. over 2,300 years ago He taught the Tao, or way, an approach to life based on effortlessness and harmony with ones nature. 2018. This is not to say that all thought experiments incorporate all of these things, but a good thought experiment will often touch on several. 1913/1983. In Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, edited by Philip J. Ivanhoe and Bryan W. Van Norden. Nozicks question is, would you plug into such machine for life? 18ZDA031]. He was down to earth and had a tongue in cheek sense of humour. The great man rises high into the air, that is, he raises his consciousnesshe becomes aware even of those things which scare and disgust him, even about himself (especially about himself). Napoli: Universit degli Studie di Napoli LOrientale.. 2007. 2015. Besides, at the very least, thought experiments and stories can show us candidates for what we might concern ourselves with.14. 2000. Theory of Non-Emotion in the Zhuangzi and Its Connection to Wei-Jin Poetry. Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40.2: 340354. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Zhuangzi and Huizi were strolling along the dam of the Hao Waterfall when Zhuangzi said, See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! 1957. Jinan : Qilu Shushe . London: Bernard Quaeitch. 28Traditional Western thought experiments and stories in Zhuangzi serve several purposes that might be harder to achieve with more straightforward argumentation or prose. A New Examination of Evidence about the Zhuangzi. Toung Pao 96.4/5: 299369. Klein, Esther. Promises and previsions in architecture and philosophy, Nespolo e la filosofia. ______, trans. You . The lack of full clarity and explanation is precisely what invites and allows the observer to make something out of the work for herself and thus arguably makes the piece, or whatever is taken from it, more memorable. What a habit, to obliterate possibility and potential in the mind out of bitterness and arrogance. And like Zhuangzis creative innovation, turning a gourd into a boat, the greater, higher man recreates what is possible for himself. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.32 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Chen, Guying , trans. Zhuangzi - Chapter 1 (Carefree Living) - Huizi's Giant Gords. What he doesnt realize is that it is his own potential which he is smashing. volume20,pages 133148 (2021)Cite this article. Lenehan, Katia. The maker of things is really knotting me up.Master Sacrifice said, Do you dislike it?He said, Not at all. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. Cao, Chuji , trans. Guiyang : Guizhou Renmin Chubanshe . Fraser, Chris. In both, finding the message of the work or the intention of its creator is not necessarily the purpose of the piece as much as is engaging with it and walking away with something even if that something is not an understanding of the actual work but rather a broadening of the mind, an interesting question, or a pleasurable experience. Some scholars have suggested that Huizis argument is self-contradictory; however, in fact, based on such evaluations of Huizis argument, we can conclude that Zhuangzis logic is also self-contradictory. Napoli: Universit degli Studie di Napoli LOrientale.. Giles, Herbert A., trans. Afterwards, one leaves behind the fantastical elements of the thought experiment and is just left with a proposition about human morality, epistemology, etc. New York: Seven Bridges Press. He hobbled over to look at his reflection in the well. It is to Zhuangzi that we now turn. This is the necessary humility for one to overcome his arrogance. With Zhuangzi, on the other hand, the people, animals and objects that defy reality do not necessarily teach us something about a reality of our own lives, except perhaps the idea that we are often limited by those realities. Change). Our text offers three additional examples: Nie Ques conversation with Wang Ni; Huizi and Zhuangzi about gourds; the story of Cook Ding (sometimes called Butcher Ding); and the story of Wheelwright Pian. First, we demonstrate that, while Huizi probably understands qing as something like feelings or emotions, Zhuangzis view is that having qing is connected with making shifei judgments whereas having no qing means that shifei has no grip on those ren, especially the shengren. Puett, Michael J. Lin Ma. Albany: State University of New York Press. On the other hand, youre certainly not a fish so that still proves you dont know what fish enjoy!, Zhuangzi said, Lets go back to your original question, please. Hui Tzu10 said to Chuang Tzu, "The king of Wei gave me some seeds of a huge gourd. A New Commentary on the Zhuangzi [in modern Chinese] . USefullnes is. Most scholars have understood qing in this exchange as referring to feelings or emotions. We take issue with such readings. . First, we demonstrate that, while Huizi probably understands qing as something like feelings or emotions, Zhuangzis view is that having qing is connected Zhuangzi. 4 0 obj Liu, Xiaogan. Les vres de Matre Tchouang. Our text offers three additional examples: Nie Ques conversation with Wang Ni; Huizi and Zhuangzi about gourds; the story of Cook Ding (sometimes called Butcher Ding); and the story of Wheelwright Pian. Mair, Victor H., trans. We might glean this lesson from taking in a set of Zhuangzis stories, with the assumption that he has some consistent view. Kjellberg, Paul, trans. Forthcoming. 1993. This kind of tree will resist wind and disease better than the more uniform trees of the plantation forest. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-020-09765-6, https://www.academia.edu/35172330/Zhuangzis_Doctrine_of_No_Emotions_forthcoming_in_Dao_Companion_to_the_Philosophy_of_the_Zhuangzi_Kim_Chong_Chong_and_Kai_Yuan_Cheng_eds_final_draft, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/23427, http://www.terebess.hu/english/chuang.html. Must? What is he trying to do? 2005. The Complete Work of the Zhuangzi . 1968. Hansen, Chad. I planted them, and when they grew, the fruit was a yard across. Why else would he deem the gourd worthy of destruction? 1994. Emotions That Do Not Move: Zhuangzi and Stoics on Self-Emerging Feelings. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 14.4: 521544. 3099067 This admittedly is a different kind of similarity, one involving the similar, Jackson has actually since changed his position on the thesis of physicalism and he no longer think, Roy Sorensen 1992 has a discussion of several criticisms on the use of thought experiments, stories, This is uncharacteristic of Western thought experiments where the philosopher presents the imagined, One could, for example, think here of Zhuangzis famous butterfly dream that concludes chapter 2 of. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, philosophy - U.S Elite Tutors Huizi And Zhuangzi 2003. Cheng, Anne. Frank Jackson7 writes about a brilliant neuroscientist named Mary who has extensive knowledge of all of the physical facts about color. Albany: State University of New York Press. Master Sacrifice went to ask after him. ______. Zhuang Zi . https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/23427 (last accessed on November 27, 2020). Wandering on the Way. WebThe skilled balm-maker and Huizi smashing gourds. Zhuangzis Doctrine of No-Emotion (pre-production draft). Forthcoming. Napoli: Universit degli Studie di Napoli LOrientale.. Roy Sorensen 1992 has a discussion of several criticisms on the use of thought experiments, stories, and intuition pumps, as Daniel Dennett calls them. Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju . Searle, J., 1980, Minds, brains and programs, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, III: 417-457. Register to receive personalised research and resources by email. Zhuangzi then states to him Youcertainly are dense when it comes to using big things! 3 0 obj 5Thought experiments have long been used in philosophy as a way to raise questions or pursue knowledge through considering hypothetical situations. Are happy feelings and experiences all that humans are ultimately after? Wang Bi and Xuanxue. In Dao Companion to Daoist Philosophy, edited by Xiaogan Liu. 2009. Zhuangzi on Qing: Lack of Qing, Giving Free Reign to Qing, and Setting Qing at Rest :. Philosophical Researches 4: 5059. Zhuangzi and Huizi | Cloud Temple Forum had a gourd of over a hundred pounds. People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. Dancy, J., 1985, The role of imaginary cases in ethics, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 66: 141-153. 2015. Les fondements philosophiques de la rhtorique chez les sophistes grecs et chez les sophiste chinois. Watson, Burton, trans. Zhuangzi and Hui Shi on Qing . Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, New Series 40.1: 2145. Graham, A. C. 1981. Zhang, Mosheng, , trans. I filled it with liquid, but it was not firm enough to lift. I cut them into pieces to make ladles, but they were so flat and broad that they wouldn't hold anything. 1913/1983. Zhuang Zi and the Education of the Emotions. Comparative Philosophy 9.1: 3246. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. Watson, Burton, trans. It is the acknowledgement of his ignorance which give him a reason to better himselfbecause he knows just how far he is from who he could become. The Zhuangzi () is named after Zhung Zhu (), who flourished in the later half of the fourth century bce. Feng, Youlan, trans. Anecdotes and thought experiments in Zhuangzi and Western philosophy, Rethinking Philosophy, Semiotics, and the Arts with Umberto Eco, Rethinking Schelling. 2010. China. https://www.academia.edu/35172330/Zhuangzis_Doctrine_of_No_Emotions_forthcoming_in_Dao_Companion_to_the_Philosophy_of_the_Zhuangzi_Kim_Chong_Chong_and_Kai_Yuan_Cheng_eds_final_draft (last accessed on October 12, 2020). Rather, we are freed when we can leave this (human) self and life behind. I used them as water containers, but they were so heavy that I couldn't lift them. Even though the lessons are in story form, that doesnt mean that they are easy to decipher. Here we see Zhuangzi make explicit that which hitherto he spoke of only implicitlythe significance of the phoenix, Peng, and the difference between the great and the small. Monica Link, Anecdotes and thought experiments in Zhuangzi and Western philosophy ,Rivista di estetica, 72|2019, 7-18. Zhuangzi. Reding, Jean-Paul. The Status of Qing in Philosophical Texts of Ancient China. In Expressions of States of Mind in Asia, edited by Paolo Santangelo. Register a free Taylor & Francis Online account today to boost your research and gain these benefits: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East, A logical analysis of the debate on Hao River, Department of Philosophy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, /doi/full/10.1080/09552367.2022.2108108?needAccess=true. Commentary and Subcommentary on the Zhuangzi . ______, trans. 2018. Das wahre Buch vom sdlichen Bltenland. 2002-2022 The Linguist Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. Huizi took the utility of gourds as being their usefulness as containers or drinking vessels, and so concluded that the gourds in question being too large for this purpose had no utility; Zhuangzi pointed out that there is a perspective that Huizi had not considered -- utility not as a container but as a raft -- from which this is not so. Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters. Sartres gnarly tree root and Zhuangzis useless tree: - Medium new essays on wine, taste, philosophy and aesthetics, arte, psicologia e realismo. This is the dialectical nature of the universe we discussed in the previous analysis, a nature that runs to the bottom of existence itself. A Complete Translation of the Zhuangzi [in modern Chinese] . Cheng, Anne. Fundamentals of Comparative and Intercultural Philosophy. We could leave out the trolley and avoid questions about why it's a runaway trolley and why you can't shout to the people on the tracks (which, if it were a real case, would seem like very reasonable things to do). Nothing Can Overcome Heaven: The Notion of Spirit in the Zhuangzi. In Hiding the World in the World: Uneven Discourses on the Zhuangzi, edited by Scott Cook. For example, Robert Nozick imagines a machine that can give a person whatever experiences she desires.16 While in this Experience Machine the person will really feel the pleasure of those experiences and will not know that its all just a simulation. In this article we focus on the famous dialogue between Zhuangzi and Huizi concerning the question whether or not ren (in particular the shengren ) have qing . Contemporary Annotations and Translations of the Zhuangzi . Zhuangzi. WebHuizi said to Zhuangzi, The king of Wei left me the seeds of a big gourd. Bradenton, FL: BookLocker. habit that he would encourage us to recognize and free ourselves of. A logical analysis of the debate on Hao River - Taylor & Francis Such thought experiments, if they exist, are probably not considered good (Western) thought experiments. Part of Springer Nature. Zhuangzi is a master storyteller and he uses that talent to teach important moral On another nearby track there is only one person working. 1985. Wang, Rongpei, trans. My chin is hidden in my navel. How is it you never thought of making it into an enormous vessel for yourself and floating through the lakes and rivers in it? Ren, Songyao. Despeux, Catherine. PubMedGoogle Scholar. Ray Sorensen writes that analytic philosophers make heavy use of thought experiment because it is the natural test for the clarificatory practices constituting conceptual analysis: definition, question delegation, drawing distinctions, crafting adequacy conditions, teasing out entailments, advancing possibility proofs, mapping inference patterns (1992: 15). The point is often to free us from the human perspective. 23 This is uncharacteristic of Western thought experiments where the philosopher presents the imagined case and then discusses what it implies. Wieger, Lon, trans. %PDF-1.5 2007. New York: Columbia University Press. endobj Sometimes he offers a direct commentary on a certain character or view; other times he doesnt. What better carriage? Such is the happiness of fish. Huizi said, You are not a fish, so whence do you know the happiness of fish? Assignment: the stories of chuang tzu - Academizedd Wieger, Lon, trans. I filled it with liquid, 2003. In the same way, your teachings have no practical use., Zhuangzi replied, This tree may be useless as lumber, but you could rest in the gentle shade of its big branches or admire its rustic character. Dao 20, 133148 (2021). Jackson uses this thought experiment to argue that because Mary gains some knowledge the first time she sees red, she didnt know everything to know about color through knowing all the physical facts about color and so, he says, the thesis of physicalism (i.e., the idea that everything is physical) is false.8. Les fondements philosophiques de la rhtorique chez les sophistes grecs et chez les sophiste chinois. Zhuangzi and Hui Shi on Qing . Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, New Series 40.1: 2145. If there werent other places where Zhuangzi seems to poke fun at so many people and schools of thought, arguably including Daoist thought,24 then we could be more confident in making a straightforward conclusion about what Zhuangzi likely thinks of Master Chariots all-embracing and arguably excited attitude towards his dramatically changing body and life. 2008. 2003. Beijing : Zhongguo Huaqiao Chubanshe . Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Giles, Herbert A., trans. This article was supported by National Social Sciences Funding (Major Program) of China [Grant No. Contrast the greater man with the lesser. Dordrecht: Springer. Zhuangzi does write that Master Chariot is of sound mind. In Les pres du systme Taoste. But in cherry picking some famous thought experiments and anecdotes in the Zhuangzi, I will demonstrate that there are a couple of interesting differences to draw out that I think would apply to many pairings of a Western thought experiment and one of Zhuangzis stories. Daoism: Laozi and Zhuangzi. In World Philosophy, edited by Jay L. Garfield and William Edelglass. Hansen, Chad. Huizi said to Zhuangzi, This old tree is so crooked and rough that it is useless for lumber. Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters. He is sabotaging the very tools he might have used to explore his unconscious self and discover something useful. His epigrams and parables praised those who achieved mastery through constant practice of a skill, following their own inclinations, He scorned complicated explanations and theories. And most of all just enjoy yourself! 2010. 2011. You tell me, what is the problem with the following syllogism? vres De Tchoang-Tzeu. 21Van Norden makes the following comment on this story as it relates to an overarching theme we see in Zhuangzi about freeing the mind: By stressing flexible responsiveness to particular contexts, Zhuangzi encourages us to think in creative and nontraditional ways. 2003. Zhuang Zi: De volledige geschriften: Het grote klassieke boek van het Taosme Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Augustus. I cut it in half to make a dipper, bit it was too wide to scoop into anything. Indianapolis: Hackett. My back is hunched out. Napoli: Universit degli Studie di Napoli LOrientale.. Zhuangzis Doctrine of No-Emotion (pre-production draft). How extraordinary of the maker of things to knot me up like this. Emotion in Pre-Qin Ruist Moral Theory: An Explanation of Dao Begins in Qing. Philosophy East and West 53.2: 271281. School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China (Zhe-xue-yuan), Av. This combined with Zhuangzis penchant for irony, the fact that Zhuangzi alludes to fictitious characters and texts, and even takes real figures like Confucius and attributes to the sage things we cant be sure Confucius actually said all of this can make it hard to know what exactly he thinks of the people and things he writes about.