Zhuangzi's Self-Concept in the Context of Cognition

Abstract

This study examines Zhuangzi's concept of self in the context of cognition, elucidating that it stems from two distinct interactions with the world. Specifically, Zhuangzi discerns between engagement with the world via language (imbued with socio-cultural biases) and engagement with the world as it exists (through resonance). He then advocates for the latter as the mode by which an ideal being interacts with the world. These two types of interactions correspond to Zhuangzi's linguistic self and the resonant self. Thus, in the pivotal expression "I lost myself" in Chapter 2 of the Zhuangzi, "myself" aligns with the linguistic self, while "I" aligns with the resonant self.