[Revised entry by Chad Hansen on March 24, 2024.
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography]
Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu 莊子 “Master Zhuang” late 4th century BC) is the pivotal figure in Classical Philosophical Daoism. The Zhuangzi is a compilation of his and others’ writings at the pinnacle of the philosophically subtle Classical period in China (5th – 3rd century BC). The period was marked by humanist and naturalist reflections on normativity shaped by the metaphor of a dao (道) – a social or a natural path. Traditional orthodoxy understood Zhuangzi as an…

Originally appeared on Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Read More