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Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future
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Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Humanities/Philosophies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 7003

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Alan Fox

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Philosophy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19711, USA
Interests: Asian & comparative philosophy; comparative religion; religion and psychology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

“Daoism,” like “existentialism,” is a retrospective designation. The “original” Daoists did not think of themselves as such. It is only in retrospect that we identify a consistent theme or train of thought. Thus, talk of “Daoism,” as is the case with all other traditions, refers to a diverse range of traditions, texts, and interpretations with some general family resemblance. One element common to most “Daoisms” is an emphasis on the Dao De Jing (道德經) and a few other texts written at about the same time and with similar sentiments, but there are many different ways of reading these texts. Such interpretive paradigms include, for example, mystical, spiritual, and philosophical readings, among others. Further, there is great diversity among philosophical interpretations alone, such as political, ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical approaches. This Special Issue focuses on metaphysical and phenomenological readings of Daoist materials, all of which derive from Daoist thought around the view of reality itself, which is the meaning of metaphysics. If “physics” describes how real things operate, then “metaphysics” discusses what it means to say that things are real. We hope to include ontological views, process views, linguistic views, and cognitive views, among others that are impossible to anticipate, with the goal of acknowledging the full spectrum of approaches. We invite submissions on any theme related to Daoist views of reality for inclusion in this Special Issue of Religions. We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor ([email protected]) or to the Religions Editorial Office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Prof. Dr. Alan Fox
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Daoism
  • Taoism
  • metaphysics
  • phenomenology
  • philosophy

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1048 KiB  
Article
Reversal Is the Movement of the Way: The Deleuzian Reconceptualization of Daoist Paradox
by Chungmin Maria Tu
Religions 2023, 14(11), 1392; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel14111392 - 8 Nov 2023
Viewed by 806
Abstract
This paper aims to unravel the underlying resonance between the Daoist Way and the Deleuzian idea of an aleatory point. The Daoist Way is explicated as the zhong dao 中道 or the Middle-Way, viewed in terms of interactivity between such Daoist-seeming polarities as [...] Read more.
This paper aims to unravel the underlying resonance between the Daoist Way and the Deleuzian idea of an aleatory point. The Daoist Way is explicated as the zhong dao 中道 or the Middle-Way, viewed in terms of interactivity between such Daoist-seeming polarities as you/wu (determinate/indeterminate) and Yin and Yang. The first part of the paper approaches the Daoist Way in terms of the concept of zhong 中 or the “Middle”, to explore the functionality of the Way and to comprehend the Chinese philosophical concept of the Middle, using the Deleuzian lens of the “aleatory point”. The “Middle” here is understood as process, change, or flux, whose volatility is not representational or repeatable. It is this irrepresentability that renders the concept of the “Middle” comparable with the Deleuzian notion of aleatory point. The second part of the paper probes the most fundamental paradoxes revolving around the Daoist Middle-Way to unveil the relationship between the Way and Chaos and to deconstruct the traditional misconception of Yin/Yang dynamics as unity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future)
23 pages, 903 KiB  
Article
On the Fiercely Debated Questions of a Chinese Metaphysics and a Tradition of Early Daoism: Western and Chinese Perspectives on the Daodejing and Huang-Lao Daoism
by Thomas Michael
Religions 2023, 14(10), 1281; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel14101281 - 11 Oct 2023
Viewed by 976
Abstract
Two long-standing and fiercely debated issues remain central to contemporary studies on Chinese philosophy. The first concerns whether there was an early tradition of metaphysics, and the second concerns whether there was an early tradition of Daoism. This study engages with both issues [...] Read more.
Two long-standing and fiercely debated issues remain central to contemporary studies on Chinese philosophy. The first concerns whether there was an early tradition of metaphysics, and the second concerns whether there was an early tradition of Daoism. This study engages with both issues simultaneously, since if there was a tradition of early Chinese metaphysics, then it is identifiable with Huang-Lao Daoism, and if Huang-Lao Daoism constituted an early Chinese tradition, then it is identifiable with the tradition of Chinese metaphysics. This study engages with these issues in two parts. The first part examines Western and Chinese perspectives concerning what is entailed by claims that there was or was not an early tradition of Chinese metaphysics and that there was or was not an early tradition identifiable as Huang-Lao Daoism. The second part is an analysis of contemporary Chinese scholarship that, deeply grounded in the growing collection of early Chinese excavated manuscripts, both affirms the dynamic existence of early Chinese metaphysics and the vibrant existence of an early tradition identifiable with Huang-Lao Daoism. Throughout, this study attempts to concurrently build on the work of contemporary Chinese scholars for reading certain early Chinese writings often held as Daoist, but instead of agreeing with them that Laozi’s Daodejing represents an early blossoming of metaphysics, it argues that his work is grounded in an originally non-metaphysical philosophy of the Dao that Huang-Lao Daoism transformed into a metaphysics, thereby originating the tradition of early Chinese metaphysics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future)
12 pages, 754 KiB  
Article
Metaphorical Metaphysics in the Dao De Jing
by Alan Fox
Religions 2023, 14(9), 1188; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel14091188 - 18 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1086
Abstract
Many readers of the Dao De Jing have identified an ontology associated with the text. In such ontological readings, the term dao 道 is taken to refer to some type of monolithic, eternal, abstract fundamental reality. They generally point to certain chapters of [...] Read more.
Many readers of the Dao De Jing have identified an ontology associated with the text. In such ontological readings, the term dao 道 is taken to refer to some type of monolithic, eternal, abstract fundamental reality. They generally point to certain chapters of the text as supporting this interpretation. The implication seems virtually theological, at least in the impersonal “Advaitic Brahman” sense. However, if we carefully examine the passages to which such proponents refer as evidence of this position, it becomes clear that these chapters are metaphorical rather than metaphysical. I propose to examine several of these chapters to clarify the tentative and rhetorical nature of their expression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future)
29 pages, 2673 KiB  
Article
Untamable Dragons and Dubious Calculations: A Reading of Xiaoyaoyou 1–3
by Manuel Rivera Espinoza
Religions 2023, 14(9), 1130; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel14091130 - 3 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1291
Abstract
The paper explores the metaphysical and cosmological implications of the Xiaoyaoyou chapter of the Zhuangzi. Beginning with an exploration of the Kun–Peng fable’s epistemological aspects, the study transitions to emphasize its connection to fundamental metaphysical forces, such as yinyang 陰陽, qi 氣, [...] Read more.
The paper explores the metaphysical and cosmological implications of the Xiaoyaoyou chapter of the Zhuangzi. Beginning with an exploration of the Kun–Peng fable’s epistemological aspects, the study transitions to emphasize its connection to fundamental metaphysical forces, such as yinyang 陰陽, qi 氣, and wuxing 五行. The dragonesque features of Kun and Peng are seen as analogies for cosmic and metaphysical change, forming the basis for an alternative, non-epistemological interpretation. Accordingly, the expression “anxious calculations” (shushu 數數) is interpreted as both a critique of the scholar-officials’ (shi 士) reliance on “numbers and methods” (shushu 數術) to tame dragons and control the cosmos and a commendation of the masters’ (zi 子) ability to transcend them. Drawing from the archaeological record, the term shushu is linked to astrological frameworks and cosmological systems prevalent during the Warring States period. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the skepticism depicted in the Xiaoyaoyou is specifically directed at shushu knowledge, the scholarly and state-sanctioned understanding of the cosmos’ metaphysical foundations. The study suggests that, as explained in this chapter, these enigmatic foundations, much like dragons, defy complete comprehension, remaining beyond precise calculation and domestication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future)
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15 pages, 849 KiB  
Article
Zhuangzi’s Copernican Revolution from the Perspective of Structural Realism
by Liqi Feng and Yuanxiao Ma
Religions 2023, 14(8), 1007; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel14081007 - 7 Aug 2023
Viewed by 792
Abstract
This article discusses Zhuangzi’s metaphysical theory from the standpoint of a form of structural ontology that was developed by neurophilosopher Northoff and which differs from typical studies of Zhuangzi’s metaphysics. According to Nossoff’s world–brain relationship, a structural positivism based on relationships, the body [...] Read more.
This article discusses Zhuangzi’s metaphysical theory from the standpoint of a form of structural ontology that was developed by neurophilosopher Northoff and which differs from typical studies of Zhuangzi’s metaphysics. According to Nossoff’s world–brain relationship, a structural positivism based on relationships, the body is nested in the world and the brain is nested in the body. Northoff contends that elements of Eastern philosophy support this viewpoint. I have examined three aspects of Zhuangzi’s philosophy by interpreting his texts: the existence of a world independent from the subject and mind, the subject and mind dependent on the world, and the coexistence of differentiation and inclusiveness between the world and the subject. The problem this article attempts to address is how Zhuangzi achieved a Copernican revolution within the framework of non-reductive neurophilosophy, bringing about a shift away from non-anthropocentrism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future)
20 pages, 962 KiB  
Article
Guo Xiang’s Metaphysics of Being and Action: On the Importance of Xing 性
by Paul Joseph D’Ambrosio
Religions 2023, 14(7), 879; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel14070879 - 6 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1182
Abstract
Guo Xiang 郭象 (d. 312) holds a unique place in the history of Chinese thought. The only Zhuangzi we have access to is the version heavily edited, likely changed, and perhaps even rewritten by Guo Xiang. However, his commentary on this Daoist classic [...] Read more.
Guo Xiang 郭象 (d. 312) holds a unique place in the history of Chinese thought. The only Zhuangzi we have access to is the version heavily edited, likely changed, and perhaps even rewritten by Guo Xiang. However, his commentary on this Daoist classic is not simply an explanation of what the Zhuangzi says, and in many ways, it is not even a development of the thought found within this text—though at times it is indeed both. Reading Guo’s work reveals a complex philosophical system that critically reimagines some of the key terminologies in early Chinese thought, as well as core assumptions about what things are (being) and how they interact (action). This paper seeks to provide a sketch of Guo Xiang’s metaphysical appreciation of being and action by investigating his unique understanding of the relevant terms and their interrelation. Most scholars see ziran 自然 “self-so” as the conceptual glue that holds Guo’s complex system together. In this paper, I will argue that xing 性, which may be translated as “nature” or “natural dispositions” is more fundamental. In other words, without properly appreciating how Guo conceives of xing, interpretations of Guo’s philosophy can easily go awry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Daoist Metaphysics: Past, Present and Future)
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