Zhuangzi is one of the most known Chinese philosophers. He was the follower of Laozi and on par with him is one of the earliest to contribute to the philosophy of the Way. His main work and contribution to the field of philosophy is the Zhuangzi text. The style of narration is diverse – he employs a variety of techniques and manages to amuse the reader, produce an enjoyable experience, engage and, first of all, make him think (Hansen).
The philosophy of Zhuangzi very much resembles his living style. He valued a simple life, natural but prosperous. He was committed to overcoming artificial limitations of socialization, and cultivating own natural potential on the path of self-development. The fullest description of both his lifestyle and philosophy would be holistic. Zhuangzi encouraged people to be fluid in understanding and avoid strict and rough standards and categorizations in understanding (Coutinho). He was also in some way both relativist and skeptic.
Skepticism is broadly defined as denying the possibility of justifying knowledge and refuting the truth of non-empirical knowledge. Zhuangzi employed skepticism but not in its hard but soft form. His skepticism starts from questioning the credibility of winning a debate. He doubted whether such judgment would be valid. He considered that if two are arguing then how can they ultimately decide who is right. He questioned whether someone’s position is totally right or totally wrong, or whether both of them are partially right and partially wrong. But neither of the ones who dispute cannot make the ultimate decision on the abovementioned issue. So then if they invite someone else to judge then if she agrees to either of them how will she be able to solve and correct it? With such discussion, Zhuangzi rises the issue of ambiguity in knowledge and judgement which he will explore further. His skepticism is weak because he neither denies the possibility of knowledge nor tells that judgements are impossible and should not be made. His main position is that while we may know some standard of knowing it would not be suitable for all situations, moreover, that we might not know the best standard of knowing for every situation. He calls that all our judgements are results of the path that we followed, the result of our experience. Provided that our path was different, our perception, judgement, and knowledge would be wholly different too. His view is well described by the discussion where he challenges the basic assumption of knowing. He explains that one cannot possibly know what he does not know and how could he know “that what I call ‘knowing' is not not-knowing? And what I call ‘not-knowing,' is knowing." (Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinological Index Series, further H/Y, b.2 p.6)
The most glorious depiction of Zhuangzi’s philosophy with a pinch of mysticism is his conversation with Hui Shi about fish-pleasure where he defends from the skeptical challenge.
Zhuangzi and Hui Shi wandered over the Hao River bridge. Zhuangzi said, "those mini-fish coming from there and cruising around, relaxed and unhurried, are fish at leisure." Hui Shi said "You are not a fish; from whence do you know the leisure of fish?" Zhuangzi retorted, "You are not me, from what perspective do you know my not knowing fish at leisure?" Hui Shi responds, "I'm not you, of course, I don't know about you; You are not a fish, and that's enough to count as you're not knowing fish's leisure." Zhuangzi concludes, "Let's return to where we started. When you said ‘from what perspective do you know fish at leisure,' you clearly knew my knowing it as you asked me. I knew it here above the Hao.” (H/Y b.17 p.45)
References
Coutinho, Steve. "Zhuangzi". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Hansen, Chad. "Zhuangzi". Plato.stanford.edu. N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Zhuangzi Yinde (A Concordance to Chuang Tzu), Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinological Index Series, Supplement no. 20, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1956.
