In this paper I consider two different perspectives on aesthetic experience. On the one hand, there is the tradition of Plato that proposes a metaphysical representation of the world in which ...sensible and over-sensible are rigidly separated. On the other hand, the early Chinese tradition of Daoism suggests an undivided experience of the world in which the aesthetic engagement with the myriad things (wanwu 萬物) makes actions effective. In particular, I consider how the Zhuangzi, one of the main books of philosophical Daoism, offers an excellent opportunity to rethink the aesthetic experience of the world not as subordinated to epistemology or to the supersensible but as a possibility to adapt oneself to changing circumstances.
Abstract
In the modern globalised world, there is a growing realisation that global awareness and transnational efforts are required to address global challenges. One attempt to foster this is ...through global citizenship and education. However, to be truly global, global citizenship education must draw on diverse traditions beyond Western-European paradigms. This article adds to this endeavour by drawing on Zhuangzi’s philosophy of
hua
—change or transformation—to develop an account of global identity that is both familiar and innovative. It begins with an overview of global ‘citizenship’ understood as a figurative form of citizenship orientated towards ethical and educational values. This is followed by an introduction to the concept of
hua
in Daoism, especially in the
Zhuangzi
, whereby all things are seen as changing according to their own nature and environment. Such an understanding of
hua
guides us toward “spontaneous” and “noncoercive” actions that reflect the true nature of an entity and its changing circumstances. These ideas are then applied to global citizenship (GC) and global citizenship education (GCE) via two sets of examples: first, they are applied at the local level in diverse contexts (such as schools and cultural groups) to illustrate the utility of Zhuangzi’s dynamic approach; and second, the article explores examples that highlight when it is “noncoercive” to implement or fail to implement GC. In sum, this article utilises Zhuangzi’s concept of spontaneous change to develop some suggestions of how to foster GC identity in a way that responds meaningfully to the dynamism and complexity of the modern globalised world, and that looks beyond the voices that have traditionally dominated the discourse.
Supporting the concept of DEI, yet, perturbed by the volatility that marks today’s societal and professional climate, the authors of this article examined three Eastern spiritual traditions in search ...of common guidelines addressing contemporary issues related to social unrest, imbued by inequity and injustice. The areas of review included Buddhist psychology, with some of its foundational concepts such as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the concept of ahimsa (non-harming), and the understanding of the impermanence of everything as inclusive managerial practices; Daoist philosophy, with its observations of oneness and equality, and holistic self-alignment with virtue through practicing tranquility; and Hinduism, which focuses on the absence of distinction between ourselves and others around us, thus forming the foundation for morality and ethical behavior with its emphasis on unity in diversity. This collective investigative journey has led us to gather some powerful common behavioral and ethical guidelines, to steer away managers from hyperindividualism and self-centeredness to a greater and consistent respect for the unity among all beings.
Channeling affinities with certain motifs of Daoism, Walter Benjamin renews a form of dialectical thought that diffuses ideological notions of progress and grants minimal weight to the ontological ...distinction of the Subject. In fleeting yet pivotal moments of contact with Chinese aesthetics, Benjamin moves attention toward the practice of ‘thinking by way of resemblance’ – a phenomenon he variously enacts. Calling forth resonances within late-capitalist modernity, he retrieves from Daoist literature a notion of dialectical reversal freed from progressive synthesis, as well as image-repertoires of self-forgetting, which he understands to be irreducible to reification. The Daoist imaginary offers Benjamin resources for breaking open the anthropocentric closure of Hellenic accounts of mimesis. He theorizes similitude more capaciously as something that can flash up across temporally discontinuous phenomena – without deferring to predetermined categories of Being. Benjamin thus recasts resemblance – regarded by Enlightenment rationality as an impoverished mode of cognition – as a medium of historical apprehension that resists the occlusion of transience by the ontology of the victors.
Eric S. Nelson’s Heidegger and Dao: Things, Nothingness, Freedom masterfully interweaves the philosophies of Martin Heidegger and classical Daoism, offering an intricate examination of their ...treatment of key concepts such as things, nothingness, and freedom. The book explores the nuanced variations and transformative interpretations of these central ideas, illuminating their profound impact on both Western and East Asian philosophical traditions. Both Asian and Western academics have long sought a book that offers a coherent and comprehensive introduction to the European reception of East Asian, and especially Daoist, philosophy, and thus one of the most significant contributions of this work is in fulfilling this need.
Eric S. Nelson’s Heidegger and Dao: Things, Nothingness, Freedom masterfully interweaves the philosophies of Martin Heidegger and classical Daoism, offering an intricate examination of their treatment of key concepts such as things, nothingness, and freedom. The book explores the nuanced variations and transformative interpretations of these central ideas, illuminating their profound impact on both Western and East Asian philosophical traditions. Both Asian and Western academics have long sought a book that offers a coherent and comprehensive introduction to the European reception of East Asian, and especially Daoist, philosophy, and thus one of the most significant contributions of this work is in fulfilling this need.
The story of Futijinhu 浮提金壺 (“Golden Pot of Futi”) in Shiyiji 拾遺記 (Record of Gleanings), whose authorship is traditionally attributed to Wang Jia (王嘉) from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, appears to be a ...Daoist rendition at first glance, reimagining the legend of Laozi’s Daodejing. However, upon closer examination of the depiction of “Golden Pot of Futi”, the characters with “Shentong Shanshu” (神通善書, supranormal cognition and exceptional writing ability) and the narrative of writing and its outcomes, it becomes evident that this tale harbors a multifaceted Buddhist essence. In the tale, one can observe the changes and diversity in the early methods of translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, the references and adaptations of Buddhist imagery and narratives by Daoists, the understanding and imagination of materials used for writing Buddhist scriptures and early iconographic forms, and even the author’s insights and responses to the evolving religious landscape of their era. When placed in a broader historical context, exploring the Buddhist elements in this tale further aids in understanding the dynamic interactions between Buddhism and Daoism during the Wei and Jin periods.
Boundary of the Sky D'Ambrosio, Paul
Azijske študije (Spletna izd.),
05/2023, Volume:
11, Issue:
2
Journal Article
There are three good reasons why Daoism is a bad candidate for addressing contemporary environmental issues. First, the Laozi and Zhuangzi do not contain a concept of “nature” akin to ours today. ...Second, the philosophies of the Laozi and Zhuangzi are anything but revolutionary in spirit—and we need some revolutions. Finally, we need big changes from the top, and early Chinese thinkers did not conceive of political institutions in the way that we have them. Despite these reasons, or perhaps precisely because of them, early Daoist attitudes can provide insightful resources for reflecting on some of our most unreflected upon attitudes. In particular, the need for growth in nearly all areas of society is taken as a given, or even necessity, for our way of life. And while environmentalism and climate change are complex and tricky issues, growth has been identified by many as a common denominator when figuring out exactly what needs to change. This paper argues that if we shift our focus from seeking to find environmental concerns in the Laozi and Zhuangzi to philosophizing with these texts, then we can reflect on our environmental issues in interesting ways. To this end I will present “not contending” (不爭) “awareness of contentment” (知足), “not acting for” (無為) and “according to itself” (自然) as key Daoist attitudes which steer our thinking away from growth and along trajectories which can help human systems be better synchronized with non-human ones.
Boundary of the Sky Paul D'Ambrosio
Azijske študije (Spletna izd.),
05/2023, Volume:
11, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Open access
There are three good reasons why Daoism is a bad candidate for addressing contemporary environmental issues. First, the Laozi and Zhuangzi do not contain a concept of “nature” akin to ours today. ...Second, the philosophies of the Laozi and Zhuangzi are anything but revolutionary in spirit—and we need some revolutions. Finally, we need big changes from the top, and early Chinese thinkers did not conceive of political institutions in the way that we have them. Despite these reasons, or perhaps precisely because of them, early Daoist attitudes can provide insightful resources for reflecting on some of our most unreflected upon attitudes. In particular, the need for growth in nearly all areas of society is taken as a given, or even necessity, for our way of life. And while environmentalism and climate change are complex and tricky issues, growth has been identified by many as a common denominator when figuring out exactly what needs to change. This paper argues that if we shift our focus from seeking to find environmental concerns in the Laozi and Zhuangzi to philosophizing with these texts, then we can reflect on our environmental issues in interesting ways. To this end I will present “not contending” (不爭) “awareness of contentment” (知足), “not acting for” (無為) and “according to itself” (自然) as key Daoist attitudes which steer our thinking away from growth and along trajectories which can help human systems be better synchronized with non-human ones.
La nada y el vacío son conceptos que podemos reconocer como fundamentales en la filosofía oriental, sin embargo, a diferencia de las concepciones adoptadas en Occidente, en el pensamiento antiguo ...chino –y haciendo énfasis en el daoísmo (??)– la nada no se presenta como algo de carácter ontológico, sino como un estado previo indefinible. De manera similar, el espacio vacío se manifestaba en las artes como la representación del lugar en el que ocurrían los cambios y las transformaciones de la realidad, apuntando hacia el ideal del artista en dejarse fluir durante el proceso de creación. De esta manera se hacía presente la ausencia, acercándose al origen de todas las cosas.
This article has three objectives: (1) to situate the history of Daoist ritual study within ritual studies; (2) to reflect on the role of ritual in Chinese culture; and (3) to survey the history and ...present focus of Daoist ritual studies. In the first part I will look at the impact of Protestant ideas of religion that militated against the development of ritual studies until the 1960s and 70s. In the second I will use Vandermeersch's idea of Western 'teleologic' vs. Chinese 'morphologic' to clarify the implications of the central role of ritual in both Confucian and Daoist history. Finally, I will discuss briefly how the shift from the study of pre-Tang ritual that dominated the first phase of Daoist ritual studies to the current emphasis on field work and more recent historical eras contributes to our understanding of Chinese intellectual history.
