Saturday, November 19, 2011

What distinguishes Chuang Tzu and Confucius? what is so important about Chuang Tzu?

what are some of the most important things about Chuang Tzu's philosophy?|||Zhuangzi and Confucius are completely different. Confucius' philosophy is about striving to achieve political and educational ideals that he associates with the "ways of the ancients." Zhuangzi's philosophy is about acting in accordance to the natural interconnected fluid principle of change, the Dao, and he thinks any assertive human action goes against it. Confucius holds education and learning in very high regard. Zhuangzi is often anti-intellectual.





I've studied a lot of Western Philosophy, but I'm a big fan of Zhuangzi. He's probably my favorite philosopher. I think his quietist approach to being and thought were way a head of his time. In particular he realised the distinction between the thinker and the thought, the subject and the object, is fundamental to the ontological nature of our universe in itself. This is a distinction that Descartes assumed without realising. In his critique of human rationality I think Zhuangzi anticipated some of the western postmodern philosophers.





Read the Inner Chapters of Zhuangzi.|||Chuang Tzu adhered to the basic philosophy of the Tao


which put simply is "go with the flow".


Kung Fu Tzu was more in the vein of western philosophers


such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates etc.


The important thing about Chuang was that it stressed


the concept of enlightment as being the exposure of the


true nature of a man. Shedding light on the things within


that live in darkness is the acquisition of consciousness.


It changes what we imagine ourselves to be into what


we, in fact, are.

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