huizi and zhuangzi about gourds
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. This is what Jonathan Dancy suggests9. 2005. Qing (Emotions) in Pre-Buddhist Chinese Thought. In Emotions in Asian Thought: A Dialogue in Comparative Philosophy, edited by Joel Marks and Roger T. Ames. 1 0 obj 2014. Daoism: Laozi and Zhuangzi. In World Philosophy, edited by Jay L. Garfield and William Edelglass. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. ______. Introduction: Emotions and the Conceptual History of Qing . In Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature, edited by Halvor Eifring. It would seem that the virtue of Master Chariot is that he humbly accepts whatever happens to him, and it is the mental (ability to let go) that is more important than the physical. A New Examination of Evidence about the Zhuangzi. Toung Pao 96.4/5: 299369. Nozicks question is, would you plug into such machine for life? 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. Many involve imagining human beings as participants. %PDF-1.5 1985. Lynn, Richard John. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1920. Overall, Zhuangzi clearly recommends open-minded flexibility as when he scolds Hui Shi for being tied to conventional thinking about how to use giant gourds. Please read this book to learn how to take advantage of the abundant language resources and opportunities for communication that surround you. All Is Well in the Great Mess. His logic must be correct, as proven by its consistency with itself; therefore, he feels justified in taking vengeancein mocking, destroying, demolishing, and abolishing all those things which make him too keenly aware of the conflict. Klein, Esther. . This curiosity about the man behind the story I will return to later. 2019. Albany: SUNY Press. Instead, you worried that it was too wide to scoop into anything, which I guess means the mind of our greatly esteemed master here is still clogged up, occupied with its bushes and branches! (Zhuangzi 7-8). 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. Shun, Kwong-loi. Lynn, Richard John. I further argue that the central concern of the two philosophical personae in the passage Zhuangzi and Huizi is not with the epistemic standards of human judgements (the established view since Hansen, The Relatively Happy Fish), but with the more basic problem of species-specific perspectives. In comparing the features of Western thought experiments to fables from Zhuangzi, we will see that although Zhuangzis stories would likely fail to be considered good philosophical thought experiments (according to the Western tradition), the very thing that makes them fail is arguably what allows the writings of Zhuangzi to continue to inspire philosophical reflection and dialogue. 2001. Guiyang : Guizhou Renmin Chubanshe . 23 This is uncharacteristic of Western thought experiments where the philosopher presents the imagined case and then discusses what it implies. Beijing : Shangwu Yinshuguan . The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The Ethics of Responding Properly: The Notion Qing in Early Chinese Thought. In Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature, edited by Halvor Eifring. 3 0 obj This is uncharacteristic of Western thought experiments where the philosopher presents the imagined case and then discusses what it implies. Therefore, this paper mainly focuses on the logical aspects of the debate. Huizi, aka Hui Shi, was a representative of the School of Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Each moment, the opportunity to switch between Huizi and Zhuangzi presents itself. For example, consider the story in Chapter 6 of a man who is physically deformed. Part of Springer Nature. In seeking the truth, philosophers have long used fiction and counterfactual scenarios to raise and answer questions, to foster dialogue or give a commentary on some facet of life. 2004. 2000. So I smashed them.2. And insofar as part of what makes something good philosophy is that it sparks wonder and further questioning, Zhuangzis stories might even do better than self-standing thought experiments. ______. The debate between Zhuangzi and Huizi has profound epistemological significance, however, the main body of their debate comprises logical inferences and Liu, Qingping. It was big and all, but because it was so useless I finally just smashed it to pieces., Zhuangzi said, You are certainly stupid when it comes to using big things. One thing that does seem clear is that Zhuangzi advances the view that anything one asserts is necessarily from a certain perspective. Were There Inner Chapters in the Warring States? Zhuangzi and Huizi were strolling along the bridge over the Hao River. Why dont philosophers just state their questions or positions more plainly? Si, L , trans. % Leiden: Brill. Wilhelm, Richard, trans. 27In comparison, Zhuangzis stories arguably fail as good thought experiments because there often isnt a clear question being asked, nor is it always evident what position Zhuangzi is trying to advance, what distinctions or aspects of the story he thinks are important, etc. We are less interested in the person offering up the thought experiment or in figuring out how it relates to other things that person has written. The Drunkards And The Tavern A Poem by Rumi, An illustrated ebook of Vigyan Bhairav Tantra translated by Lakshman Joo. Paris: Les belles lettres. In Western thought experiments although there often are elements that defy reality as we know it, it is understood that that kind of setup is necessary to bring out certain features of a problem that do correspond to our reality. He went on to plant these seeds when they grew too large to be able towater them, he decided to smash them into pieces instead. If, in time, he turns my left arm into a rooster, Ill use it to crow the day. Zhuangzis Doctrine of No-Emotion (pre-production draft). Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. volume20,pages 133148 (2021)Cite this article. 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. Qin, Xuqing , and Sun Yongchang , trans. My shoulders are peaked. The Writings of Kwang-Tze. Eifring, Halvor. And between one individual and another, and another, each will be in some ways Huizi, and in other ways Zhuang Zhou. The Tradition of Emotive Writing in the Zhuangzi and Its Echoes in Later Generations. Frontiers of Philosophy in China 10.3: 340352. Emotion in Pre-Qin Ruist Moral Theory: An Explanation of Dao Begins in Qing. Philosophy East and West 53.2: 271281. Thomson, J., 1985, The Trolley Problem, Yale Law Journal, 94: 1395-1415. The video below (Flight from the Shadow) is an example of the type of teaching he engaged in. (LogOut/ New York: Seven Bridges Press. Beijing : Zhongguo Huaqiao Chubanshe . This frees the mind to see the value of the Daoist way of life. Sometimes the human beings are normal human beings, but they are involved in highly unusual situations. I used them as water containers, but they were so heavy that I couldn't lift them. My premises and conclusion follow from each other; therefore, me conclusion is logically valid. 3099067 Zhuangzi - Chapter 1 (Carefree Living) - Huizi's Giant Gords. Qin, Xuqing , and Sun Yongchang , trans. Afterwards, one leaves behind the fantastical elements of the thought experiment and is just left with a proposition about human morality, epistemology, etc. 1When it comes to persuading people to acknowledge a truth or think a certain way, there are many ways that we try to discover and convince each other of the truth. Or in Searles Chinese Room, Searle argues that because he is functioning just like a computer running a program but understands nothing of the meaning of the inputs and outputs (in Chinese) that he is manipulating, so artificial intelligence, just in virtue of running a certain program, does not have understanding. Dschuang-Dsi. Sometimes he offers a direct commentary on a certain character or view; other times he doesnt. Once a conclusion has been reached, the presupposer in question rejects all evidence which contradicts his premises. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-020-09765-6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-020-09765-6. Zhuangzi. Wilhelm, Richard, trans. 1993. Fundamentals of Comparative and Intercultural Philosophy. 2018. 1957. The Status of Qing in Philosophical Texts of Ancient China. In Expressions of States of Mind in Asia, edited by Paolo Santangelo. Les vres de Matre Tchouang. Tang, Yijie. but we dont typically look at what other things the philosopher has said or what we know about the person in order to figure out how to interpret a thought experiment. Perhaps Zhuangzi would affirm Master Chariot for being so free. I planted it, and it bore a fruit as big as a five bushel measure. The video below (Flight from the Shadow) is an example of the type of teaching he engaged in. 1994. 2015. Theory of Non-Emotion in the Zhuangzi and Its Connection to Wei-Jin Poetry. Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40.2: 340354. Dao This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. Lin Ma. Zhuangzi said, The minnows swim about so freely, following the openings wherever they take them. Changsha: Hunan Renmin Chubanshe. I cut them into pieces to make ladles, but they were so flat and broad that they wouldn't hold anything. Jackson, F., 1986, What Mary didnt know, Journal of Philosophy, 83: 291-295. 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. Changsha : Hunan Renmin Chubanshe . 2015. Wang Bi and Xuanxue. In Dao Companion to Daoist Philosophy, edited by Xiaogan Liu. First I will discuss Western thought experiments and a few reasons that have been given for and against using these tools to acquire knowledge. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/23427 (last accessed on November 27, 2020). ______. 2016. Machek, David. Words are for meaning: when youve got the meaning, you can forget the words.26 Zhuangzis fantastical stories, along with the most beloved Western thought experiments, are devices that philosophers use to communicate a certain message, and in Zhuangzis case it might be a message that goes beyond words. Therefore, this paper mainly focuses on the logical aspects of the debate. 1995. The maker of things is really knotting me up.Master Sacrifice said, Do you dislike it?He said, Not at all. All Is Well in the Great Mess. 2003. 2004. 2013. ______. 2014. 4This paper has two main sections. Reding, Jean-Paul. Saggi in onore di Lucia Pizzo Russo, la neurofenomenologia. Zhuang Zi . A Didactic Annotation to the Zhuangzi . Chen, Guying , trans. One tool a philosopher can use is hypothetical scenarios. Even though the lessons are in story form, that doesnt mean that they are easy to decipher. 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. 2010. Zhuangzi does write that Master Chariot is of sound mind. WebAnother storyHuizi and Zhuangzi about gourds starts when the king of Weis large gourdgives Huizi gourd seeds. This is what the ancients call loosing the bonds. At other times, he presents a story and just leaves it more up to the reader to interpret. 1913/1983. stream Graham, A. C. 1981. Klein, Esther. - 69.163.152.102. The goal is to figure out what to do in the actual case, which can shed light on what our prima facie duties are in other actual cases. crits de Matre Wen , . I filled them with water but they werent sturdy enough to hold it. Emotion in Pre-Qin Ruist Moral Theory: An Explanation of Dao Begins in Qing. Philosophy East and West 53.2: 271281. Such distractions can be left out of fabricated cases so that we can better focus on the relevant moral principles. One could, for example, think here of Zhuangzis famous butterfly dream that concludes chapter 2 of the Zhuangzi or of his testimony about his reaction to his wifes death in chapter 18. Beijing : Shangwu Yinshuguan . Most scholars have understood qing in this exchange as referring to feelings or emotions. We take issue with such readings. 2013. 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. Fraser, Chris. You are able to divert the trolley to the other track (you cant stop the trolley or have it go in between the tracks; at least one person is going to die in this scenario). Registered in England & Wales No. esperienza, percezione, cognizione, documentalit: l'ontologia degli oggetti sociali, Artworld & Artwork. Ironic, then, that our representative of logic, logician Huizi, is not capable of such creativity. Changsha : Hunan Renmin Chubanshe . Zhuangzi on Qing: Lack of Qing, Giving Free Reign to Qing, and Setting Qing at Rest :. Philosophical Researches 4: 5059. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-020-09765-6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-020-09765-6. 2015. 3Of course there is no way in one paper that I could hope to take into consideration the variety of contemporary Western thought experiments and compare them to even half of the fables we find in the Zhuangzi. 1994. Levi, Jean, trans. Abstract On a prima facia reading, Zhuangzi seems to endorse some form of skepticism or relativism. There is a question in the literature about whether Zhuangzi is more of a relativist or a skeptic15, and it is often hard to pin down what his own stance positive stance is, if he has one. 2011. Psychology and Self-Cultivation in Early Taoistic Thought. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 51.2: 599650. Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu Master Zhuang late 4th century BC) is the pivotal figure in Classical Philosophical Daoism.The Zhuangzi is a compilation of his and others writings at the pinnacle of the philosophically subtle Classical period in China (5th3rd century BC).The period was marked by humanist and naturalist reflections on Zhuangzi: The Inner Chapters. She knows an enormous amount of information about color, much more than you or I do, but is there anything she doesnt know about color if she has only read all about it? Xu, Bing . 12With Western thought experiments often the goal is to bring us back to a truth or situation about human life. Zhuangzi, aka Chang Tzu, aka Zhuang Zhao, was a Chinese Taoist master, c. 300 AD. My chin is hidden in my navel. Middendorf, Ulrike. 2012. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. . Wang, Rongpei, trans. The specific type of fiction that Western philosophers use is often called a thought experiment. 30Perhaps if only Zhuangzi and others didnt come up with such memorable traps. Das wahre Buch vom sdlichen Bltenland. We do see that philosophers use the thought experiments to align themselves with particular positions (e.g., non-physicalism, utilitarianism, weak artificial intelligence, etc.) Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi describes a man who is skilled at making balm to keep the hands from chapping (p. 7).4 His family never earns 2004. Albany: State University of New York Press. Frank Jackson7 writes about a brilliant neuroscientist named Mary who has extensive knowledge of all of the physical facts about color. ______, trans. Zhuangzi then states to him Youcertainly are dense when it comes to using big things! Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. I filled it with liquid, but it was not firm enough to lift. Lin, Yutang , trans. 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). 2014. endobj Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. Schipper, Kristofer, trans. Do you divert the trolley or not? For example, we might want to interpret Master Chariots story in light of other thingsZhuangzi says about the natural transformation of things25 and conclude that Zhuangzi is trying to say that transformation (whether an arm into a rooster, or life into death) is nothing to fear or avoid. And most of all just enjoy yourself! Anecdotes and thought experiments in Zhuangzi and Western philosophy, Rethinking Philosophy, Semiotics, and the Arts with Umberto Eco, Rethinking Schelling.