Finding a Way Together

Abstract

Abstract This chapter inquires into the attitudes and conduct towards others that complement the admirable individual life as depicted in the Zhuāngzǐ. It proposes that, on a broadly Zhuangist understanding, interpersonal ethics is simply a special case of competence in applying dé and following dào, one application of a general ideal of exemplary activity in which we employ our dé to find a fitting, free-flowing dào by which to navigate contingent, changing circumstances. A Zhuangist account of how to treat others is simply an account of how to apply dé to find dào in cases where other agents and our relations with them are signal features of our situation. Interactions with others present contexts in which, instead of wandering the way on our own, we must find our way together. Rather than framing our conduct in terms of doing what is morally right or permissible, a Zhuangist approach evaluates the quality of our activity as a performance of dào and manifestation of dé, examining whether it is adept or clumsy, free-flowing or obstructed, in harmony with the situation or at odds with it. Our interactions with others are guided by a deeply contextual responsiveness that seeks to find provisional points of convergence between their dào and ours. ‘Good fit’ between their dào and ours is indicated by an absence of conflict and by smooth, free-flowing, mutually acceptable interaction. The chapter sketches how such indicators may reflect a distinctively Zhuangist understanding of the sources of normativity.