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Book Chapter: Heart-fasting, forgetting, and using the heart like a mirror: applied emptiness in the Zhuangzi
Title | Heart-fasting, forgetting, and using the heart like a mirror: applied emptiness in the Zhuangzi |
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Authors | |
Keywords | Emptiness (Philosophy) Philosophy, Chinese |
Issue Date | 2014 |
Publisher | Routledge |
Citation | Heart-fasting, forgetting, and using the heart like a mirror: applied emptiness in the Zhuangzi. In Liu, J & Berger, DL (Eds.), Nothingness in Asian philosophy, p. 197-212. New York, NY: Routledge, 2014 How to Cite? |
Abstract | Previous research has identified three roles attributed to empty, vacant, or blank
psychological states in the early Daoist anthology Zhuangzi. Such “psychological emptiness” is
variously treated as instrumental to efficacious action, as an intrinsically valuable component of
a good life, and as a core feature of the radical ideal of the perfected agent who wholly merges
with nature. The present paper applies Foucault’s analytical framework of ethical relations to
examine the role of emptiness in the ascetic element in Zhuangist thought—what Foucault calls
the “ethical work.” For Foucault, “ethical work” comprises the “technologies of the self” by
which agents subject themselves to norms and transform themselves into ethical adepts. The
paper proposes that psychological emptiness is a core feature of a broadly Zhuangist conception
of ethical work. It then explores four questions: (1) What exactly are the “technologies of the
self” by which different parts of the Zhuangzi propose to undertake “ethical work”? (2) By what
processes or mechanisms do these technologies purport to function? (3) What are their supposed
psychological effects or results? (4) How do these effects have the instrumental and normative
consequences claimed for them? The Zhuangzi’s own analogy of “using the heart like a mirror”
proves helpful in articulating various Zhuangist views on these questions. The paper will include
both a descriptive reconstruction and a preliminary critical evaluation of these views. |
Persistent Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/190992 |
ISBN |
DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.author | Fraser, CJ | - |
dc.date.accessioned | 2013-09-17T16:04:48Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2013-09-17T16:04:48Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2014 | - |
dc.identifier.citation | Heart-fasting, forgetting, and using the heart like a mirror: applied emptiness in the Zhuangzi. In Liu, J & Berger, DL (Eds.), Nothingness in Asian philosophy, p. 197-212. New York, NY: Routledge, 2014 | - |
dc.identifier.isbn | 9780415829434 | - |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/190992 | - |
dc.description.abstract | Previous research has identified three roles attributed to empty, vacant, or blank psychological states in the early Daoist anthology Zhuangzi. Such “psychological emptiness” is variously treated as instrumental to efficacious action, as an intrinsically valuable component of a good life, and as a core feature of the radical ideal of the perfected agent who wholly merges with nature. The present paper applies Foucault’s analytical framework of ethical relations to examine the role of emptiness in the ascetic element in Zhuangist thought—what Foucault calls the “ethical work.” For Foucault, “ethical work” comprises the “technologies of the self” by which agents subject themselves to norms and transform themselves into ethical adepts. The paper proposes that psychological emptiness is a core feature of a broadly Zhuangist conception of ethical work. It then explores four questions: (1) What exactly are the “technologies of the self” by which different parts of the Zhuangzi propose to undertake “ethical work”? (2) By what processes or mechanisms do these technologies purport to function? (3) What are their supposed psychological effects or results? (4) How do these effects have the instrumental and normative consequences claimed for them? The Zhuangzi’s own analogy of “using the heart like a mirror” proves helpful in articulating various Zhuangist views on these questions. The paper will include both a descriptive reconstruction and a preliminary critical evaluation of these views. | - |
dc.language | eng | - |
dc.publisher | Routledge | - |
dc.relation.ispartof | Nothingness in Asian philosophy | - |
dc.subject | Emptiness (Philosophy) | - |
dc.subject | Philosophy, Chinese | - |
dc.title | Heart-fasting, forgetting, and using the heart like a mirror: applied emptiness in the Zhuangzi | - |
dc.type | Book_Chapter | - |
dc.identifier.email | Fraser, CJ: fraser@hku.hk | - |
dc.identifier.authority | Fraser, CJ=rp01221 | - |
dc.identifier.hkuros | 221548 | - |
dc.identifier.spage | 197 | - |
dc.identifier.epage | 212 | - |
dc.publisher.place | New York, NY | - |
dc.customcontrol.immutable | yiu 130930 | - |