Chuang Tzi

Just an essay I wrote a while back for assignment. Hope you have some fun reading it.


It is Chuang Tzu’s assertion that most distinctions are arbitrary, hence most arguments are futile. To what extent are his arguments convincing and logical?

Chuang Tzu argues that most distinctions are arbitrary, which make arguments based on such distinctions futile. By ‘arbitrary’, he is suggesting that distinctions depend on individual discretion and are not fixed by any rule or law. Hence, if every single different distinction is based on some reasons, then it must be true if considered in a certain context. Thus, if everything is true, and right, then there really is no reason to argue and negate, which makes argument futile and purposeless. His argument is largely convincing and logical because firstly, one’s perspective of matters is greatly colored by their personal experiences and principles, which makes argument futile because there is no common basis of comparison. Secondly, due to human’s ignorance, our stance change frequently making argument pointless because what was decided today may not stand tomorrow. Thirdly and more importantly, arguments are futile because there is no way to find out for sure if a conclusion is absolutely right or wrong. Since a conclusion can never be reached, why bother to have an argument about anything?

Due to people’s different personal experiences, we all have a unique set of principles and perspectives on the same matter, resulting in futile argument because there is hardly any basis of comparison. Take a nursery rhyme that we are familiar with as an example.

“Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.”

In the normal linguistics context, the use of the word “but” suggests that life is a dream. However, one can tweak the meaning of “but” around such that the function of the word is to negate. Then, the verse will suggest that life is not a dream. Many find the second meaning faulty, due to how they have been taught about linguistics. The ones who are acceptable of the second meaning are able to disregard whatever knowledge they have about the use “but” and consider another alternative. Hence, depending on our perspective and culture, we respond to things differently. In chapter 20 of Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters, Chuang Tzu suggests that “Humans consider Mao Ch’iang and Li Chi the most beautiful of women. But if fish saw them, they’d head for deep water. If birds saw them, they’d scatter into azure depths. If deer saw them, they’d go bounding away. So of these four, which knows the truth about beauty for all beneath heaven?” Through the use of various animal imagery and exaggeration, the comparison set up between all the different species produces a humorous effect. This ridicule human’s definitions of beauty, and more significantly, mocks the claims we make about matters. These claims are unnecessary as they are founded on different basis of comparison. This is the principle of relativity, which suggests that everything is the way it is claimed to be as long as there are justifications. Hence, arguments based on such claims are unnecessary and useless because all arguments are right with relative to something.

Human's ignorance renders most of our argument futile. Due to our lack of understanding and narrow view of matters, we often fail to overlook certain details which can be so minute, or even non-existent in the grander scale of things. Arguments hence arise when we place too much focus on these irrelevant details. Simply illustrated in Chapter 13, “three in the morning” of the same text, “a monkey trainer who said at feeding time, “You get three in the morning and four in the evening.” The monkeys got very angry, so he said, “Okay, I’ll give you four in the morning and three in the evening.” At this, the monkeys were happy again.” In the bigger picture, the monkeys did not gain anything more in the second proposal, yet they were more satisfied with it. This illustrates the lack of complete understanding of the monkeys, thus rendering their argument with the trainer futile. The use of anecdote and metaphor effectively convey the idea that humans are ignorant and more importantly, provoke readers to reflect about such similar experiences. By relating his arguments to readers’ personal experiences, Chuang Tzu is able to persuade the readers to agree to his arguments.

Being a practical person, the most compelling reason as to why arguments are futile is not because distinctions are arbitrary, but because there is no conclusion to arguments. It defeats the whole purpose of having an argument because if one cannot convince another to agree to his argument, and himself cannot agree to another’s argument, and no one is able to decide on which is  the correct argument, then the entire episode is just a waste of time. Even if someone is able to decide on which is the correct argument, if anyone disagrees, the argument continues endlessly. In Chapter 22, of Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters, he explains

“Suppose I win and you lose. Does that mean I’m really right and you’re wrong?

Is one of us right and the other wrong? Are we both right and both wrong? …

We could get someone who agrees with you, but if they agree with you how

could they decide who’s right and wrong? … We could get someone who

agrees with both of us, but if they agree with both of us how could they decide?

Not I nor you nor anyone else can know who is right and who wrong. So

what do we do? Wait for someone else to come along who can decide?”

Chuang Tzu illustrates the inconclusiveness of arguments through his pseudological debate, and along with the questioning technique at the end of the debate, a sense of hopelessness is evoked in the reader.  This further persuades the reader the futility of arguments because there is absolutely no way to arrive at any sort of a resolution.

In conclusion, Chuang Tzu is largely convincing and logical in presenting his argument that most arguments are futile due to the fact that most distinctions are arbitrary. However, it is ironic that this argumentative essay tries to discuss about the futility of arguments. Hence, although the stand of this essay supports the argument put forth by Chuang Tzu, the very existence of this essay negates it. The fact that the essay supports Chuang Tzu’s argument renders all the arguments presented in the essay useless. Hence, I apologize for wasting your time in reading this essay because nothing stands.

References

Song lyric of Row Row Row Your Boat, Virtual Songbook

Retrieved from: http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/rowyourboat.html

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations

Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters, trans. David Hinton (Counterpoint, 1998)

Burton Watson’s translation (NY: 1968)

Retrieved from: http://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu.html

Lin Yutang’s Translation (Taipei, 1948)

Retrieved from: http://mindgazer.org/tao/chtzu_level.htm

“Introduction” – Chuang Tzu, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, Burton Watson, Trans. (NY: Columbia University Press, 1968)

Tissue that got wet

I always wondered why does tissue becomes harder after they've got wet and dry again.

Today, I had an idea.

They got stronger.

Definitions

Throughout the history of mankind, we attain knowledge by defining and classifying things, people and matters. So much so that the process of defining has become an intrinsic habit. This has made the presence of definitions so important in our lives that we find ourselves lost and confused when we fail to define certain matters. Definitions help us process the happenings around us, it makes matters more lucid and hence allowing matters to be more easily communicated. We have become so used to defining everything that the inability to define throws us into a world of uncertainty and amibiguilty, and for some of us, it is intolerable.

Same Old Conflict Between the Heart and the Mind

Most of the time, my mind and my heart agree with each other on whether something can be done or not and if a certain risk is worth taking. There are hardly any time where my heart wants something that my mind doesnt allow it to possess, except dessert. Dessert will always be an exception. However, right now, my heart is demanding for something that even it is not sure if it really wants, and my mind ain't letting my heart make the decision. It will be so much easier if my heart knows exactly what it wants but it cannot know without trying, but trying is not an option here. It really isnt't. I can just follow what my mind thinks but how can I just ignore my heart when it demands to be felt, and what if I thought wrong? Maybe I need a bit more time for my heart and my mind to come to a common concensus. However, this luxury of time is not something that my conscience is allowing me to have. And to be honest, I am so scared that if I give my heart and mind all the time they need, they will take the easy way out and won't ever make a decision. That, that is the worst and most hateful.
I saw this quote from a friend's fb wall.

"Nothing lasts forever, so live it up, drink it down, laugh it off, avoid the bullshit, take chances & never have regrets, because at one point everything you did was exactly what you wanted."-Marilyn Monroe

That sounds just about right, just do what you want and live life with no regrets. Month ago, that will be my advice to myself for everything in life,but now, I am starting to see that there are some regrets that I must and have to live with.

I think I might go with my mind, but another problem. How do I go about breaking that news to the heart? How to do it as gently as possible so that minimal pain is inflicted? The heart knows that pain is coming, but that doesn't mean it is ready for it.

This Is For You

I hope that one day, you will learn to make yourself happy and not wait for others or external events to brighten up your day.

I hope that you will stop wishing for a better day and start making your day better.

I hope that you can have a little more faith and confidence in yourself, and stop living on assurance from others.

I hope that you will only do things because you want to and not because you think it will make you indispensable. No one is indispensable.

I hope that you can be a bit more honest with yourself.

I hope that you can try to put yourself into another's shoes more frequently.

I hope that one day, you will be enough for yourself.



If not, I hope that you will have enough strength to survive life.

How I wish my friends are rocks

Recently, so many things happened for the first time, but they all end up having me wishing that my friends are rocks.

I haven't got into trouble for telling the truth for a while now, until last Saturday. Telling lies is obviously wrong, but I forgot this really important advice that a friend had given me, that is if I have nothing nice or good to say, just dont say anything. I am a very frank and honest person, even insensitive and hurting at times when I forget the power of my words and the weight they carry. Sometimes, I am too dumb to see the extent of impact they have on people until damage is done. Done and never gone. Anger and humiliation can be treated with reflection and  sincere apology, but pain, hurt will never go away, even if there is forgiveness. I guess that's why they say people will forgive, but they will never forget, not because they don't want to, because they can't. Once in a while, just when you think you have gotten over the pain, something will happen to kick you in the gut and say 'Hey! You're never getting rid of me!' This pain is stubborn, unreasonable and well, forever.

This is why I wish my friends are rocks, so that they are impenetrable. Impenetrable in the sense that my cutting edge words cannot go through, can't even touch them and not in the sense that my friends are impossible to understand. I am very lucky that I have more than a couple of rock friends, so grateful for them, for being who they are and accepting me for who I am. But greedy me am greedy, I hope that all my jelly friends will one day become rock friends, while I learn to wield my sword.

Two people

I never used to like going out with just one friend, like two people. Okay, that's not a fair way to put it because before this period of time, I never go went out with just one friend, so a more accurate way of putting it is I didnt like the idea of going out with just one friend. I used to think that it was too, intimate and intense. And very easy to get awkward (I am a very awkward person, even after my social skills got slightly better). I like a group of three, it just feels right. It is just fitting for any corridor too; you can walk side by side without hearing any 'tsk' from strangers. Anything more than three is rather hard because people will break up into groups. And you cant walk side by side. However, some time back, I went out with just one friend, and it turned out well surprisingly.

There is something amazing about going out with just one friend. You notice things that you never do when you go out as a group, you discover new things about the friend, you establish more similarities and differences between the two of you, you go into debates over something trivial forever, you become exceptionally frank and straightforward, you hear the other person humming to a random song, you feel the person's slightest reaction to her surroundings. It is like, your entire attention is given to that one person and you're rewarded with a new perspective and experience. Wow, that's really intimate and intense. And odd, I'm actually okay with that.

What you say and what others hear

It is amazing. How you can say one thing and another understands it to be a completely different thing.

I was discussing about my future job with my mother after dinner. I am not 100% sure, but I may join the police force. That is okay with her, but I think she wants me to get a job that pays better.

First misunderstanding.
What I said: It will be very difficult, possible even impossible, to reach the top position of the police force, espcially when I'm a female.
What she heard: I will never get promoted and will always remain at the bottom. (and so will my paycheck)

Second misunderstading.
What I said: Money is not everything.
What she heard: Money is nothing.

It is truly unbelieveable what she can make out of what I'm saying. I'm not saying that I will never get promoted, I'm just saying probably not to the highest position, and I'm not saying that money is not an important factor, I'm just saying that it should not and is not the only factor to consider when I choose my career.

There was a period of time when she and my Aunt managed to convinve me that money is the only important consideration. That I just find a job that I dont hate and pays good money. Once I have money, I can pursue my interests and passion in my free time. They said careeer and interests ought to be different things, and only a handful v lucky people can get to do a job they really like and get paid for it. I believed them. Then someday, I think after a convo with a friend, I realised it need not be this way. Coming from a not very well-to-do family, I do recognise that the importance of money, not just for survivial, but for indulgence as well. Of course, I will love to earn lotsa money, but that is not going to be the main priority. I need more than just money to lead my life, I need challenges, new experiences, a sense of satisfaction, meaning, I need to be a part of something bigger. I cant just live for myself, or just my family. And, my mum, the adults who are bribed over by money, they just cant understand. They have been made cold and hard my money, and I have no wish to become like that.

But I guess thats what happens when you have to foot a pile of bills every month. Maybe even have to worry to make ends meet and try not to show it. 

Please, dont let become like that. Oh, in order to not become like that, I need to have lots of money right.

Damn this shit.