Liberation as Affirmation

Ge Ling Shang

Description

In this book, author Ge Ling Shang provides a systematic comparison of original texts by Zhuangzi (fourth century BCE) and Nietzsche (1846–1900), under the rubric of religiosity, to challenge those who have customarily relegated both thinkers to relativism, nihilism, escapism, pessimism, or anti-religion. Shang closely examines Zhuangzi's and Nietzsche's respective critiques of metaphysics, morals, language, knowledge, and humanity in general and proposes a conception of the philosophical outlooks of Zhuangzi and Nietzsche as complementary. In the creative and vital spirit of Nietzsche, as in the tranquil and inward spirit of Zhuangzi, Shang argues that a surprisingly similar vision and aspiration toward human liberation and freedom exists—one in which spiritual transformation is possible by religiously affirming life in this world as sacred and divine.
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

Reinterpreting Zhuangzi and Nietzsche
Perspective on Comparative Philosophy
Method and Plan

2. Zhuangzi’s Dao: A Way of Freedom

The Concept of Dao in Early Chinese History
Wuwu: A Deconstruction of Metaphysical Perspectives of Dao
Dao Throughs as One
Wuzhi: Equalizing Opinions is the Way of True Knowledge
Language without Words: Beyond Language and Silence
Wuwei or Non-doing: Against the Tradition of Morality
Xiao Yao You: A Spiritual Freedom Realized in this World

3. Nietzsche’s Philosophy of Life Affirmation

Nietzsche’s Mission: Revaluation of All Values
Genealogy: A New Way of Philosophizing
Truth, Knowledge, and Morals
Metaphysics as a Symptom of Human Decadence
Truths as Lies and Will to Truth as Ascetic Ideal
Language and Truth
Does Nietzsche Renounce the Existence of Truth?
A Genealogical Critique of Morality
Overcoming Metaphysics
The World of Appearances and the Will to Power
Religiosity: Liberation as Life Affirmation

4. An Interplay between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche

Goblet Words and Dionysian Dithyramb
Truth, Knowledge, and Interpretation
Revaluation and Devaluation: Beyond Good and Evil
Nature as Primary Unity
True Person and Übermensch: Living in the World
Ziran and Freedom: Life Affirmation
Further Reflections on Differences Between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche

5. Converging New Worlds: Zhuangzi, Nietzsche, and Contemporary Philosophy

Affirmation after Deconstruction: Zhuangzi and Nietzsche Challenge Postmodern Solutions
The Liberation of Thought: Zhuangzi and Nietzsche in Contemporary China
Philosophical Religiosity

Notes
Selected References
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Philosophy of religion
• Taoism

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791482247
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Liberation as AffirmationSUNY series in
Chinese Philosophy and Culture
Roger T. Ames, editorLIBERATION AS AFFIRMATION
The Religiosity of Zhuangzi and Nietzsche
Ge Ling Shang
State University of New York Pressb
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2006 State University of New York
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Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shang, Geling.
Liberation as affirmation: the religiosity of Zhuangzi and Nietzsche / Ge
Ling Shang.
p. cm. — (SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-6667-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Philosophy, Taoist. 2. Philosophy. 3. Philosophy, Comparative.
4. Zhuangzi. 5. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844–1900. I. Title.
II. Series.
BL1920.S45 2006
181 .114—dc22
2005007995
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1To My Father Shang XüCONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1. Introduction 1
Reinterpreting Zhuangzi and Nietzsche 2
Perspective on Comparative Philosophy 4
Method and Plan 5
Chapter 2. Zhuangzi’s Dao: A Way of Freedom 9
The Concept of Dao in Early Chinese History 11
Wuwu: A Deconstruction of Metaphysical Perspectives of Dao 15
Dao Throughs as One 23
Wuzhi: Equalizing Opinions is the Way of True Knowledge 29
Language without Words: Beyond Language and Silence 37
Wuwei or Non-doing: Against the Tradition of Morality 46
Xiao Yao You: A Spiritual Freedom Realized in this World 52
Chapter 3. Nietzsche’s Philosophy of Life Affirmation 59
Nietzsche’s Mission: Revaluation of All Values 60
Genealogy: A New Way of Philosophizing 67
Truth, Knowledge, and Morals 71
Metaphysics as a Symptom of Human Decadence 72
Truths as Lies and Will to Truth as Ascetic Ideal 76
Language and Truth 78
Does Nietzsche Renounce the Existence of Truth? 79
A Genealogical Critique of Morality 80
Overcoming Metaphysics 83
The World of Appearances and the Will to Power 86
Religiosity: Liberation as Life Affirmation 93
viiviii CONTENTS
Chapter 4. An Interplay between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche 103
Goblet Words and Dionysian Dithyramb 104
Truth, Knowledge, and Interpretation 108
Revaluation and Devaluation: Beyond Good and Evil 113
Nature as Primary Unity 118
True Person and Übermensch: Living in the World 125
Ziran and Freedom: Life Affirmation 131
Further Reflections on Differences Between Zhuangzi and
Nietzsche 134
Chapter 5. Converging New Worlds: Zhuangzi,
Nietzsche, and Contemporary Philosophy 137
Affirmation after Deconstruction: Zhuangzi and Nietzsche
Challenge Postmodern Solutions 138
The Liberation of Thought: Zhuangzi and Nietzsche in
Contemporary China 146
Philosophical Religiosity 153
Notes 165
Selected References 181
Index 189ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would have been an impossible task for me to accomplish without
the direct and indirect contributions by a great many people to its
production.
I wish to thank late Charles Wei-Hsun Fu, who encouraged me to come
to study in the United States and worked with me on this topic at the outset.
His delicate taste and acute criticism of philosophy, his passionate and
exuberant will to love and friendship, and his conscientious study and continuous
search for knowledge kept reminding me how to live and work as a
philosopher. Many of the ideas in the book originated from our conversations and
discussions during the years we spent together at Temple University.
Special thanks to Joseph Magolis, Yü Ying-shih, Thomas J. Dean, Sandra
Wawarytko, Lisa Portmess, and Louis J. Hammann whose critical comments
and constructive advice through most parts of my graduate studies are
invaluable for its further development. I am happy to acknowledge specifically the
help and support I received from Donald Munro, Peimin Ni, and Stephen
Rowe. They read my final manuscript and provided very concrete advice and
serious corrections for its completion. I would like to thank my friends
Weiming Tu, Yanming An, Yong Huang, Zao Zhang, Tania Oldenhage, Kui-de
Chen, Wansheng Huang, Guorong Yang, Xuanmeng Yü, Jianchu Chen, and
Elizabeth Rossmiller for their constant support and stimulating conversations,
which have always been the most precious wells of my inspiration. My special
appreciation goes to Douglas Berger, because almost every step I made and
every pain I went through for this work has to do with his care, patience, and
wisdom.
I am grateful to Harvard-Yenching Institute at Harvard University for a
fellowship (in 1999–2000) which gave me tremendous support both
academically and financially. I would also like to acknowledge the philosophy
department and The Institute of Modern Chinese Thought and Culture at
East China Normal University for giving me the opportunity to teach and
do research in China (2003–2004). It enabled me to exchange ideas with
many Chinese scholars, which benefited my study enormously.
ixx ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Finally, I appreciate Roger Ames, Nancy Ellegate, and State University of
New York Press for their interest in my work and all the supporting work
they have done for its production. And of course, I am thankful from my
bottom of heart to my family, my wife Yu Lin, my sister Lingguo Shang, my
mother Xiaoyun Wei, and my niece Jiawei Wang, for their selfless care, love,
and support.0
L*
³
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
As a Chinese intellectual living in China in the 1980s, I cheerfully anticipated
China’s political and economic reform after the closure of Mao’s reign, but
felt pessimistic about whether such reform, based as it was on commommunist unist
ideology and a vast bureaucracy, would bring prosperity andand w well-being toto m my
country. This predicament evoked my fascination in the great philosophers,
Zhuangzi ( , 399–295399–295 BCE) and FrBCE) and Friedrichich Nietzsche (1845–1900),Nietzsche (1845–1900), who who
were frequently seen by Chinese intellectuals as having nothing in common
except their marginalization. On the one hand, I found consolation in
Zhuangzi’s advocacy of detachment and disengagement from secular concerns,
and I admired his independent and noble spirit of freedom (xiaoiaoyaoyou,
), which most Confucian, activist, and communist intellectuals had fervently
opposed. On the other hand, Nietzsche’s devastating attack on traditional and
modern values had enormous appeal to, and in fact intoxicated, me and my
generation of intellectuals, as his writings had intoxicated intellectuals in earlier
1turbulent periods of Chinese history.
It was only later that I was able to articulate the two main purposes of
this book. One is to interOne is to interpret ZhuangziZhuangzi and Nietzsche’ and Nietzsche’s texts frs texts fromom a nea nneeww
2perspective of religiosity, which crosses and transcends the boundary of
philosophy defined conventionally. HerHere, rreligiosityiosity is seen as a ris seen as a religiousious feeling feeling
or sentiment characterized by a “r religiously” ” prprp rofoundofound and passionate concerand passionate concernn
for things in life that that aree beliebelieveed to be pard to be particularly ly meaningful,meaningful, sacrsacred, or or
sublime. I tend to set religiosity or religiousness free from the narrow but
prevailing Western notion of religion premised solely on the God-human
relation and directed exclusively toward a supersupernatural being or beings.being or beings.
Following some important thinkers of our time such as Emile Durkheim (the
distinction of sacred and profane), PPaul aul Tillich (ultimateTillich (ultimateultimate concerconcern, hidden hidden
theology),, and Jand Johnohn De Deweyy (r (religiousious experexperience), I define rI define religiosityiosity br broadlyoadly
to include religious feelings that are not necessarily directed toward a god or
supreme truth. The feelings or “spir“spirspiritualitual sensibility”itual sensibility” ” (Rober(Rober(Rober(Rober(Roberts,ts,ts,ts,ts, 5) to5)5)5)5) totototowwwwwaaaaarrrrrddddd lifelifelifelifelife,,,,,
totality, infinity, perfection, responsibility, freedom,, and liberation,and liberation,, etcetc., araree for for
me religiousus in qualityin quality. ReligReligiosity as such has existed thriosity as such has existed throughout out human human
1ë

2 LIBERATION AS AFFIRMATION
history and served as the the originalinal inspiration and immanentinspiration and immanent drdrivee of the of the
development of religion and philosophy. In this respect, religiosity is not
something external to philosophy but an an indispensabindispensabdispensablelelele parparparparparttttt of it.ooooffff it.it.it.it. FrFrFrFrFrom the omomomom thethethethe
perspective of religiosity, I I beliebelieve, wwe cancan get aget a betterbetter under understandingstanding of of
philosophy including those aspectsincluding those aspects that mathat mayy appearappear nonrnonreligiousious or e or even en
antireligious. I found that both Zhuangzi and Nietzsche Nietzsche exhibited prexhibited profoundofound
religiosity, which is essential for underwhich is essential for understandingstanding their w their works.
The other pur purposepose of this book isof this book isis to comparto comparee Zhuangzi and NietzscheZhuangzi and Nietzsche,
by encountering their philosophical writings through the perspective of
religiosity, in order to provide two great examples of philosophers in the history
of world philosophy who made their philosophies capable of dealing with the
fundamental problems