Deleuze and Zhuangzi: Rethinking the Self ’s Engagement with the World

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to formulate a distinct theory of our engagement with the world. I focus on the self and its relationship to the world in terms of perception and action, arguing that the self—shaped by our biological and conceptual proclivities—limits both our perception of and engagement with the world. To transcend the self and engage more fully, I highlight the dual role of the world itself: forces whose intensity both affect us and exceed our established frameworks dismantle the self, and this selflessness, in turn, provides a basis for uncovering and engaging with previously hidden or invisible dimensions of the world. I characterize this discovery as an aesthetic mode of engagement, in which these dimensions are captured and expressed as manifestations of underlying forces.