Freedom's frailty : self-realization in the neo-Daoist philosophy of Guo Xiang's Zhuangzhi / Christine Abigail L. Tan ; with foreword by Brook Zipozyn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tan, Christine Abigail L., 1990- author.

Series:

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Guo, Xiang, -312. Zhuangzi zhu.

Guo, Xiang.

Liberty--Philosophy.

Liberty.

Self-realization--Religious aspects--Taoism.

Self-realization.

Philosophy, Chinese--To 221 B.C.

Philosophy, Chinese.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Other Title:

Path to Open

Place of Publication:

Albany, NY : State University of New York Press, [2024]

Summary:

This book starts with the radical premise that the most coherent way to read the Zhuangzi is through Guo Xiang (d. 312 CE), the classic Daoist text's first and most important commentator, and that the best way to read Guo Xiang is politically. Offering an investigation of the notions of causality, self, freedom, and its political implications, the book provides a comprehensive account of freedom that is both ontological and political, using Guo's notion of self-realization (自得 zide). This is a conception of freedom that introduces a "dependence-based autonomy," in which freedom is something we achieve and realize through our connection to others. The notion that a subject is born with freedom—and that one can return to it by isolating oneself from others—would be a strange idea not just to Guo but to most Chinese philosophers. Rather, freedom is complex and frail, and only the kind of freedom that is collectively attained through radical dependence can be worth having. In sum, the book makes a new contribution to Chinese philosophical scholarship as well as philosophical debates on freedom.

Notes:

Title from online title page (viewed on May 31, 2024).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438497488

1438497482

OCLC:

1429845435

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.