Today’s Reading
Today we’re moving on to the Zhuangzi to explore a different set of approaches to knowledge. Today’s reading is in four parts.
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The opening paragraph about the pursuit of knowledge.
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The story of Cook Ding cutting up the ox.
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The story of Gongwen Xuan and the Commander of the Right
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The story of Lao Dan’s death, and Qin Shi’s visit to mourn him.
Discussion
To start with, we’re going to have a chance to talk about the text. We’re going to start with the following questions:
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How is this text different from Plato’s Theaetetus?
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What is your experience of this text? Is it enjoyable? Frustrating? Intriguing?
Writing exercise
In the Zhuangzi, it says, “Your life has a limit, but knowledge has none. If you use what is limited to pursue what has no limit, you will be in danger. If you understand this and still strive for knowledge, you will be in danger for certain!”
Write in response to this claim for 6/7 minutes. Then we’ll bracket and share.
Cook Ding
We’re going to look in more detail at the passage on Cook Ding. First, we’ll share a reading of it, popcorn-style. We’ll start from the beginning of the chapter, and read on to “I have heard the words of Cook Ding and learned how to care for life!”
Questions on Cook Ding
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How did Cook Ding acquire his skill in cutting up oxen?
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Does this reflect your own experience of acquiring skills?
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What do you think Cook Ding means when he says, “I go at it by spirit and don’t look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop, and spirit moves where it wants”?
NaN. Cook Ding doesn’t always work fast and intuitively. He also works slowly and carefully, as in the passage: “However, whenever I come to a complicated place, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I’m doing, work very slowly…” What do you think Zhuangzi is saying here?
NaN. In what sense can Cook Ding be said to “care for life”?
NaN. In what sense is Cook Ding’s skill a kind of knowledge?
Homework
For your homework, we’re going to read the second section from Zhuangzi, this time with the famous butterfly dream. It’s reading 6 on Canvas! It’s a slightly longer reading than last time, but it’s full of rich, interesting material.
Further Resources
Zhuangzi resources
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This essay on Zhuangzi is a nice introduction: https://aeon.co/classics/on-the-path-to-improvement-follow-the-jester-not-the-sage
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A short introduction that I wrote to Zhuangzi: https://www.lookingforwisdom.com/zhuangzi/
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The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy essay on Zhuangzi by Chad Hansen: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zhuangzi/
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I love this paper: Wong, David B. (2005), ‘Zhuangzi and the Obsession With Being Right’, History of Philosophy Quarterly, 22 (2), 91-107.
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And here’s a great video from Edward Slingerland about the Zhuangzi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jj8g6XfcSM
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And a one-minute introduction from Michael Puett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-qgdwX8w1M
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And the text of the first reading from Zhuangzi, in Chinese: https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/nourishing-the-lord-of-life
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This paper by Eric Schwitzgebel questions the traditional reading of Zhuangzi as being a writer who writes in praise of skill. It’s well worth reading: https://philarchive.org/archive/SCHTUZ-2
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This is a good one: Raphals, L. (1994). Skeptical Strategies in the “Zhuangzi” and “Theaetetus.” Philosophy East and West, 44(3), 501–526. https://doi.org/10.2307/1399738