A DREAM OF THE SELF: IDENTITY IN THE "INNER CHAPTERS" OF THE ZHUANGZI. (September 2020)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- A DREAM OF THE SELF: IDENTITY IN THE "INNER CHAPTERS" OF THE ZHUANGZI. (September 2020)
- Main Title:
- A DREAM OF THE SELF: IDENTITY IN THE "INNER CHAPTERS" OF THE ZHUANGZI
- Authors:
- Hamm, Matthew James
- Abstract:
- Abstract: This article examines self and identity in the "Inner Chapters" ( neipian 內篇) of the Zhuangzi 莊子. Previous scholarship on this topic has tended to support its arguments by defining the "Way" ( dao 道) as either a normative order or an objective reality. By contrast, this article argues that the Way is a neutral designation for the composite, ever-changing patterns of the cosmos that does not provide normative guidance. Within this cosmos, the human "self" ( shen 身) is likewise defined as a composite, mutable entity that displays "tendencies" ( qing 情) of behavior and thought. Two of these tendencies include the positing of unitary agents and the creation of "identities" ( ming 名)—imaginative constructs used for self-definition. As a result of combining and reifying the two tendencies, most humans conflate their identities with their larger selves. The result is a simplified vision of an essential self that gives rise to normative judgements, blinds humans to the changing cosmos, and creates problematic social structures. The text advocates that one should retrain the tendency toward identity by cultivating an inviolate "sense of self" or "virtue" ( de 德) that is empty of specific identity. Virtue acts as an emotionally safe space in which the mirror-like mind can temporarily take on the identities of other creatures. This practice increases practitioners' empathetic understanding of the world, detaches them from destructive social structures, and has the potentialAbstract: This article examines self and identity in the "Inner Chapters" ( neipian 內篇) of the Zhuangzi 莊子. Previous scholarship on this topic has tended to support its arguments by defining the "Way" ( dao 道) as either a normative order or an objective reality. By contrast, this article argues that the Way is a neutral designation for the composite, ever-changing patterns of the cosmos that does not provide normative guidance. Within this cosmos, the human "self" ( shen 身) is likewise defined as a composite, mutable entity that displays "tendencies" ( qing 情) of behavior and thought. Two of these tendencies include the positing of unitary agents and the creation of "identities" ( ming 名)—imaginative constructs used for self-definition. As a result of combining and reifying the two tendencies, most humans conflate their identities with their larger selves. The result is a simplified vision of an essential self that gives rise to normative judgements, blinds humans to the changing cosmos, and creates problematic social structures. The text advocates that one should retrain the tendency toward identity by cultivating an inviolate "sense of self" or "virtue" ( de 德) that is empty of specific identity. Virtue acts as an emotionally safe space in which the mirror-like mind can temporarily take on the identities of other creatures. This practice increases practitioners' empathetic understanding of the world, detaches them from destructive social structures, and has the potential to generate new versions of human society. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Early China. Volume 43(2020)
- Journal:
- Early China
- Issue:
- Volume 43(2020)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 43, Issue 2020 (2020)
- Year:
- 2020
- Volume:
- 43
- Issue:
- 2020
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2020-0043-2020-0000
- Page Start:
- 29
- Page End:
- 60
- Publication Date:
- 2020-09
- Subjects:
- Zhuangzi "Inner Chapters", -- identity, -- self, -- qing, -- virtue
莊子內篇, -- 身份, -- 自我, -- 情, -- 德
China -- Periodicals
China -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
China -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals
931.005 - Journal URLs:
- http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=EAC ↗
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=earlychina ↗
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~earlychina/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1017/eac.2020.1 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0362-5028
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store
- Ingest File:
- 14692.xml