Me, Myself and I: the notion of Self in the Zhuangzi

Abstract

The present dissertation argues against the “holist” position that portrays Chinese culture as lacking any concept of “self” or of body/mind dualism. I analyzed in the Zhuangzi 莊子 a set of characters from a linguistic point of view: ji 己, shen 身, xing 形, zi 自, wu 吾 and wo 我, xin 心, and ti 體. I went through each passage where these characters refer to the body, the mind and the self. The results suggest that the authors of the Zhuangzi reasoned extensively about the self, considered the relationship between body and mind to be dualistic, and developed a proper philosophy of mind, with the characters mentioned above having a specific meaning each. Subsequent to the analysis of the notions of self and of body/mind dualism, I explored the boundaries of one’s self and being as exposed in the Zhuangzi, considering the concept of sociality and its features developed in many of the Chinese philosophical debates which took place during the historical period the text belong to. Complementary to these analyses, two chapters discuss the current scholarship on the subject, reconsidering both the “holistic” position and recent studies on the Chinese notion of “individualism” in early China under the light of new discovery. I conclude by suggesting a reconsideration of the “neo-Orientalist” methodology, which wants European concepts, carefully selected according to the aim of the research, to be the benchmark for any comprehension of Chinese culture.