Non-humans in the Zhuangzi: Animalism and anti-anthropocentrism

Some argue that animals and non-human figures in the Zhuangzi help displace the significance of humans. According to others the Zhuangzi suggests a certain time of ‘animalism,’ asking us to be more like various types of fauna and flora that do not share our self-centeredness. In this paper the use o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: D'Ambrosio, Paul J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Carfax 2022
In: Asian philosophy
Year: 2022, Volume: 32, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-18
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Zhuangzi 365 BC-290 BC / Plants / Animals / Anthropocentrism / Rejection of / Zhu, Xi 1130-1200, Lunyu-jizhu
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
BM Chinese universism; Confucianism; Taoism
KBM Asia
Further subjects:B Zhuangzi
B Anthropocentrism
B Animals
B Daoism
B Chinese philosophy
B Chuang-Tzu
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:Some argue that animals and non-human figures in the Zhuangzi help displace the significance of humans. According to others the Zhuangzi suggests a certain time of ‘animalism,’ asking us to be more like various types of fauna and flora that do not share our self-centeredness. In this paper the use of non-human characters in the Zhuangzi will be examined through a survey of traditional Chinese commentary, comparisons with the Lunyu, and placing the use of non-human characters within the larger context of the Zhuangzi. Thus we find that while anti-anthropocentric and animalistic perspectives can be philosophized with the Zhuangzi, the text itself is not overly concerned with these subjects. Animals and non-human characters are mainly allegorical or metaphorical, allowing the Zhuangzito 1) make broadly applicable arguments; 2) playfully discuss ideas that may be unappealing at first glance, and; 3) create a distance that allows the text to resist ossification.
ISSN:1469-2961
Contains:Enthalten in: Asian philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2021.1934218