Must? Wang Bi and Xuanxue. In Dao Companion to Daoist Philosophy, edited by Xiaogan Liu. And like Zhuangzis creative innovation, turning a gourd into a boat, the greater, higher man recreates what is possible for himself. 1920. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy so you already knew I knew it when you asked the question. Changsha: Hunan Renmin Chubanshe. Many involve imagining human beings as participants. Sometimes he offers a direct commentary on a certain character or view; other times he doesnt. 2003. 2003. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Qin, Xuqing , and Sun Yongchang , trans. ______. 2004. Mair, Victor H., trans. Since these questions might be hard to grasp in the abstract, philosophers come up with thought experiments, and based on what our understanding of the hypothetical situation is, we then move to a similar real-world scenario, having gained insight, supposedly, of how to think about those situations. 2016. Zhuangzi, aka Chang Tzu, aka Zhuang Zhao, was a Chinese Taoist master, c. 300 AD. Watson, Burton, trans. Are we just engaging in irresponsible moral epistemology in using hypothetical thought experiments and taking them, at best, as tools of persuasion to belief in a certain claim and, at worst, as grounds of evidence for a position? 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. 29I will end with one of my favorite passages in the Zhuangzi, from chapter 26 in which he writes, a trap is for fish: when youve got the fish, you can forget the trap. What a habit, to obliterate possibility and potential in the mind out of bitterness and arrogance. But Mary has never actually seen anything colored because she lives in a black and white world. 20Zhuangzi here seems to be criticizing Huizi for not being creative enough, for being limited in his understanding of the varying uses something can have. Les fondements philosophiques de la rhtorique chez les sophistes grecs et chez les sophiste chinois. Paris: ditions de lencyclopdie des nuisances. Middendorf, Ulrike. Legge, James, trans. Zhuangzi and the Happy Fish Dialogue. Zhuangzi. 2001. 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. New York: Seven Bridges Press. 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. Emotionless in Confucianism and Daoism: A New Interpretation. Journal of Chinese Philosophy 38.1: 118133. Graham, A. C. 1981. Jackson has actually since changed his position on the thesis of physicalism and he no longer thinks its false. It is to Zhuangzi that we now turn. In the latter case, the focus is on the idea or question raised, which, Ive suggested, is made patently obvious in a good thought experiment. It wasnt that they werent wonderfully big, but they were useless. Abstract On a prima facia reading, Zhuangzi seems to endorse some form of skepticism or relativism. Leiden: Brill. In fact, there is more value in destroying it than keeping it around. Now imagine we were discussing an idea, say, a potential solution to a problem. Zhuang Zi . Once weve gotten the message e.g., about utilitarianism, physicalism, or transformations in life Zhuangzi is suggesting that in some sense we can leave behind the artificial intellectual trap that got us the idea. What follows is that the expression wuqing should not be identified as a doctrine of nonemotion. Instead, wuqing implies that Zhuangzi advises us to lead a life of tranquility, calmness, and stillness. 28Traditional Western thought experiments and stories in Zhuangzi serve several purposes that might be harder to achieve with more straightforward argumentation or prose. The Asian master of wit and storytelling is the Daoist, Zhuangzi (sometimes spelled Chuang-Tzu). 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. If you dont loose yourself, things will bind you. Leiden: Brill. 2011. Albany: State University of New York Press. Beijing : Zhongguo Huaqiao Chubanshe . Huizi believes his knowledge is sufficiently complete as to be capable of using rational deduction to come to only correct answers. 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. Moreover, by elaborating on the implicit premises omitted by Zhuangzi and Huizi, the actual logical process of the debate can be restored, and the logical fallacy of clandestine change of argumentative issue are revealed. Puett, Michael J. Zhuangzi does write that Master Chariot is of sound mind. ______. The Status of Qing in Philosophical Texts of Ancient China. In Expressions of States of Mind in Asia, edited by Paolo Santangelo. Feeling in Zhuangzi: From Joy to Serenity. In Expressions of States of Mind in Asia, edited by Paolo Santangelo. Most scholars have understood qing in this exchange as referring to feelings or emotions. We take issue with such readings. Ziporyn, Brook, trans. 2003. Lin Ma. Zhuangzi. This study presents clear modern logic analysis of the debate; it can also provide a more reliable logical basis for the discussions of Zhuangzi and Huizis related philosophical thoughts. Again on Qing: With a Translation of the Guodian Xing Zi Ming Chu. Oriens Extremus 47: 97159. 15Or to take an example not from ethics, John Searle writes about being in a room with a manual that helps him to correlate certain Chinese characters such that he can answer questions given to him in Chinese (even though he knows no Chinese) by referring to a manual written in English about which characters to give in response to which character inputs. Napoli: Universit degli Studie di Napoli LOrientale.. 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. The Philosophy of Life: A New Reading of the Zhuangzi. These are two requisites together, and one being so does not make the other. Introduction: Emotions and the Conceptual History of Qing . In Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature, edited by Halvor Eifring. 2008. Step 2: Check your email inbox & spam folder for a verification letter to complete the process (This is to ensure your email is valid). Liu, Xiaogan. Because my conclusion follows logically, my premises must also be correct; therefore, evidence which contradicts my premises must be false; therefore my premises must be true; and therefore my conclusion also must be correct.. The Zhuangist Views on Emotions. Asian Philosophy 28.1: 5567. You get something when its time. 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. Wandering on the Way. Dao There is a runaway trolley that is headed towards five people who are repairing the tracks up ahead. WebAn interesting legend of Zongzi has been passed down through generations from ancient China. 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. 2010. Emotion in Pre-Qin Ruist Moral Theory: An Explanation of Dao Begins in Qing. Philosophy East and West 53.2: 271281. Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters. Dancy, J., 1985, The role of imaginary cases in ethics, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 66: 141-153. 4This paper has two main sections. 8One hallmark of thought experiments is that they involve stretching ones imagination for a time in order to imagine either an unusual human, an unusual situation, or both. Even though the lessons are in story form, that doesnt mean that they are easy to decipher. Lin, Yutang , trans. The Philosophy of Life: A New Reading of the Zhuangzi. new essays on wine, taste, philosophy and aesthetics, arte, psicologia e realismo. 2016. . Feeling in Zhuangzi: From Joy to Serenity. In Expressions of States of Mind in Asia, edited by Paolo Santangelo. Eifring, Halvor. Then I will explain some differences in the way Zhuangzi presents and uses fictional anecdotes. 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. Why dont philosophers just state their questions or positions more plainly? Foot, P., 1967, The problem of abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect, Oxford Review, V. Hochsmann, H., Guorong, Y., 2007, Zhuangzi, Boston, Pearson Education. Jena: Diederichs. 2005. Giles, Herbert A., trans. In Dao Companion to the Philosophy of the Zhuangzi, edited by Kim-chong Chong and Kai-Yuan Cheng. Zhuangzi. 2000. The Zhuangzi () is named after Zhung Zhu (), who flourished in the later half of the fourth century bce. Chinese and Western philosophy in dialogue, Anecdotes and thought experiments in Zhuangzi and Western philosophy. Das wahre Buch vom sdlichen Bltenland. 2004. We do see that philosophers use the thought experiments to align themselves with particular positions (e.g., non-physicalism, utilitarianism, weak artificial intelligence, etc.) Nature, Myth, Realism, The science of futures. Even though the lessons are in story form, that doesnt mean that they are easy to decipher. Sometimes the human beings are normal human beings, but they are involved in highly unusual situations. Shun, Kwong-loi. This kind of tree will resist wind and disease better than the more uniform trees of the plantation forest. Napoli: Universit degli Studie di Napoli LOrientale.. He is trapped within the boundaries of his own preconceptions. 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. The Ethics of Responding Properly: The Notion Qing in Early Chinese Thought. In Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature, edited by Halvor Eifring. Leiden: Brill. 2003. My teachings are like this.. Well end by analyzing a parablea conversation between logician Huizi and a fictionalize version of Zhuangzi himself: Huizi said to Zhuangzi, The King of Wei gave me the seed of a great gourd. Les vres de Matre Tchouang. Wang, Rongpei, trans. 1928/1989. 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). 2002-2022 The Linguist Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. ______. The video below (Flight from the Shadow) is an example of the type of teaching he engaged in. 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. Beyond the Troubled Water of Shifei: From Disputation to Walking-Two-Roads in the Zhuangzi. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 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. 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. Feng, Youlan, trans. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3 In fact, in Zhuangzis case, the featured voices are often non-human. The yak and the weasel. Dao 20, 133148 (2021). Insofar as these are aims in philosophy, Zhuangzi might do better in prompting these in his reader than one who puts forth a self-standing thought experiment advancing a particular thesis. 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. We show that these peaceful attitudes are associated with the idea of wuwei in the Zhuangzi. New York: Bantam Books. <>
Albany: SUNY Press. %PDF-1.5
1981/2001. Liu, Xiaogan. 1920. Our hypothetical logician has forgotten that for an argument to be sound the premises must be true and they must follow to the conclusion. 1891. Ma, Lin, and Jaap van Brakel. The great gourd. 1957. Arthur C. Danto e l'ontologia dell'arte, Il Significato Eluso. %
had a gourd of over a hundred pounds. Klein, Esther. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. What he doesnt realize is that it is his own potential which he is smashing. 2007. 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).
Is Olivia Streisand Related To Barbra Streisand,
Team Elite Basketball Aau,
Manufacturing Overhead Is Applied With A Debit To,
Articles H