Fasting, Forgetting, and Mirroring

Abstract

Abstract This chapter applies an analytic framework introduced by Michel Foucault to examine the Zhuangist adept’s process of self-constitution or ‘ethical work’. The chapter suggests that the crux of the practical process by which the Zhuangist agent becomes a dào virtuoso who wanders the way and applies dé to live a flourishing Zhuangist life lies in attaining the blank, clear, or open psychological state the texts describe as ‘emptiness’ or ‘openness’ (xu). The major technique for attaining such emptiness is ‘fasting’ or ‘purging’ the heart or mind, thereby ‘forgetting’ (wang) distractions and attending fully to one’s situation. Agents who successfully ‘forget’ and attain ‘emptiness’ are able to apply their heart or mind ‘like a mirror’, thus manifesting the contextual sensitivity needed to find appropriate courses of action in changing circumstances. This mirror-like functioning is thought to facilitate a life of dé and wandering. The chapter investigates accounts in the Zhuāngzǐ of the practices, techniques, and processes by which an agent may become an ethical adept and considers potential shortcomings of this Zhuangist approach to ethical work. It concludes that, provided we remain aware of its limitations, the Zhuangist approach may indeed be fruitful.