Monday, June 11, 2012

More Guo: Spontaneity Rules II

Scott Bradley

But the world does not understand that knowing knows spontaneously, and hence they want to deliberately operate some 'knowing' to know with.
(Guo Xiang; Zhuangzi; Ziporyn)
In the wonderful story of Zhuangzi and Huizi debating how ("from whence") the former could possibly know the "happiness of fish" while standing on the bridge over the River Hao, Zhuangzi's final retort is simply: "I must have known it from here, up above the River Hao." (Chap. 17) He knows because knowing is spontaneous; it requires no elaborate epistemology, no deliberate knowing to know with. Huizi, however, insists he must know how he knows; how else could he be in control? Unless he knows a method of knowing which ensures its validity, he would ultimately be left with only a fundamental not-knowing, a void, a vastness. Where Huizi fears to tread, Zhuangzi gleefully wanders.

Wandering is enjoying spontaneity by virtue of having "handed it all over to the process of transformation".

You can check out Scott's writings on Zhuangzi here.

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