Masters Thesis

Self, dependence, and flow in the Zhuangzi: forgetting to freedom

This thesis explores the notion of 'freedom through complete dependence' that Zhuangzi scholar Scott Cook glosses over in his article, "Harmony and Cacophony in the Panpipes of Heaven". The first section of the thesis surveys previous conceptions of self in the Zhuangzi and consequently challenges them, attempting to wrestle what exactly is meant when one is instructed to 'forget oneself in the text. It will be argued that in preserving shen and keeping xin empty, which extends to forgetting wo and ji, one is not to mortify or abandon the body but rather preserves oneself whilst maintaining an all-encompassing flow experience in the Dao. The second section builds upon this new interpretation of self and establishes the relation of action to the self through relevant anecdotes in the Zhuangzi. Subsequently, it is explored how one should act, embodied in the concepts of wuwei and ming. The final section combines the former two sections into a loose account of Zhuangzian freedom, utilizing Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's notion of 'optimal experience' in his book, Flow. Ultimately this will both elucidate Cook's notion of attaining 'freedom through complete dependence' and how one can live a meaningful life merged in the Dao.

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