THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes: ERIC SCHWITZGEBEL (University of California Riverside)
With responses from: CHRISTOPHER GOWANS (Fordham University)

Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion Department on *THURSDAY*, OCTOBER 13th at 5:30PM for his lecture entitled:

“Death and Self in the Incomprehensible Zhuangzi”

ABSTRACT: The ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi defies interpretation. This is an inextricable part of the beauty and power of his work. The text – by which I mean the “Inner Chapters” of the text traditionally attributed to him, the authentic core of the book – is incomprehensible as a whole. It consists of shards, in a distinctive voice. Despite repeating imagery, ideas, style, and tone, these shards cannot be pieced together into a self-consistent philosophy. This lack of self-consistency is a positive feature of Zhuangzi. It is part of what makes him the great and unusual philosopher he is, defying reduction and summary.  In this talk, I will look at Zhuangzi’s inconsistent remarks about death and the self.

*THURSDAY*, OCTOBER 13, 5:30-7:30 pm
Rm. 101, 80 Claremont Ave, Columbia University. Map: http://goo.gl/maps/zfUKH

UPCOMING COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY SEMINAR EVENTS:

November 11: TONGDONG BAI (Fudan University)
December 2: ALEXUS MCLEOD (University of Connecticut)

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: http://www.cbs.columbia.edu/cscp/