Note on the Philosophy of Chapters 1 to 7 original: "Chaps. i-vii"

"The Golden Mean" original: "the mean" was the crowning achievement of the practical inquiries of the Greeks and served as the ethical equivalent of their artistic development. But in 1861, we were introduced by Dr. Legge to a Confucian work attributed to Zisi original: "Tzŭ Tzŭ", the grandson of Confucius and a contemporary of Socrates. This work, titled The Doctrine of the Mean,¹ presents the "mean" as the true moral path for the perfect man, while all others either exceed it or fall short. Yet, even those who claimed to find the Christian doctrine of the Trinity in the Tao Te Ching original: "Tâo-Tê-Ching" have not, as far as we know, suggested that Aristotle had secret access to the Liji original: "Li Chi" or "Book of Rites".

Without accusing either side of plagiarism or the theft of ideas, we can point out some parallels between Zhuangzi original: "Chuang Tzŭ" and a great Greek thinker.

Zhuangzi’s first chapter is mainly critical and destructive, pointing out the worthlessness of common judgments and the unreality of knowledge gained through the senses. The gigantic Peng bird original: "Rukh", flying at a height of 90,000 li about 30,000 miles, is a mere speck of dust in a sunbeam. This is because size is relative. The cicada, which can barely fly from tree to tree, laughs along with the dove at the Peng bird’s high flight. This is because space is also relative. Compared to a mushroom that lives only a day, Peng Zu original: "P'êng Tsu" is as old as the biblical Methuselah; but what is his age compared to the legendary tree whose spring and autumn each last 8,000 years, making a full cycle of 16,000 years? Time, then, is also relative. And though people wonder at the man who could "ride upon the wind and travel for many days" a reference to the philosopher Liezi, he is like a child compared to one who "roams through the realms of eternity" original: "For-Ever".

This doctrine of "relativity," which is a common topic in both Greek and modern philosophy, serves as the foundation for two opposite conclusions in both ancient and modern times. One argument is that because all sensory knowledge is relative, and the senses are our only tools for learning, real knowledge is impossible. Alternatively, the relativity of sensory knowledge leads people to make a sharp distinction between the senses and reason, turning away from the external world to listen to the inner voice. The first option is skepticism; the second is idealism. In Greek thought, the earliest representatives of skepticism are the Sophists, while Heracleitus represents idealism.

There is no doubt as to which side of this opposition original: "antithesis" Zhuangzi belongs. His exposure of false and superficial thinking looks at first like the—

¹ In 1885, this treatise was republished by Dr. Legge as Book 28 of the Liji original: "Lî Kî" (Sacred Books of the East, volumes 27 and 28), with the new title The State of Equilibrium and Harmony. However, the similarity to Aristotle’s doctrine is as obvious as ever.