nihlism and nothingness

8/8/2019 Nihlism and Nothingness

1/20

F r o m N i h i li sm to N o t h in g n e s s : A C o m p a r is o nO f N i e tz s c h e a n a n d D a o i s t T h o u g h t

K a t rin F r o e s e *

T h e n ih ilis tic u n d e r to n e s o f la te m o d e m a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y E u r o p e a n p h i-l o s o p h y a r e r e f le c ti v e o f a w o r l d i n w h i c h m e t a p h y s i c a l h o r i z o n s a r e r a p id l yc o ll a p si n g . N i e t z s c h e ' s i n f a m o u s p r o c l a m a t i o n th a t " G o d i s d e a d " m a r k s t h ee n d o f a m e t a p h y s i c a l e r a in w h i c h a s i ng l e o r d e r u n d e r p i n s a ll o f e x is te n c e .W h il e N i e tz s c h e is c o g n i z a n t o f th e w i d e s p r e a d d e sp a i r th a t " G o d ' s " d e a t hm i g h t u s h e r i n, h e i n v e ig h s a ga in s t t h e n o t i o n t h a t m e a n i n g d e p e n d s o n c e r-t a in t y a n d a rg u e s t h a t p a r t ic i p a t io n i n th e d y n a m i c m o v e m e n t o f li fe is m o r ec o n d u c i v e t o a m e a n i n g f u l e x i st e nc e . H e r e b e ls a g a i n s t p h i l o s o p h i e s w h i c h

i n v o k e a t r a n s c e n d e n t r e a lm o f p e r m a n e n c e t o d e n i g ra t e a n d d e v a l u e th e f lu xo f l if e , a rgu ing tha t th is is the n ih il is t ic ac t p a r exce l lence . InTu ik 'ght o f the Idols ,N i e t z s c h e n o t e s t h a t p h i l o s o p h e r s h a v e a p r o p e n s i t y t o p r o c l a i m li fe w o r t h -less (Nie tzsche 1968e :1 . 1 )a n d a r e i n f e c t e d w i t h a p e r v a s i v e " w e a r i n e s s w i t hl i fe" (Nie tzsche 1968e:1 . 1 ) .

T h e t e r m n i h i li s m h a s n e g a t i v e c o n n o t a t i o n s i n t h e W e s t , p r e c is e ly b e -c a u s e o f t h e g r i p t h a t m e t a p h y s i c a l t r u t h s h a v e h a d o n t h e We s t e r n p s y c h e .Ye t , o n e s h o u l d g u a r d a g a i n s t si m p l y e q u a t i n g n i h il is m w i t h a n a w a r e n e s s o fn o t h i n g n e s s . N i h i l i s m r e fe r s t o a w o r l d s t r i p p e d o f its m e a n i n g . I n t h i sg u i s e ,n i h i li s m o f t e n r e fl e ct s t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l a s s u m p t i o n s t o w h i c h w e a r e s till

w e d d e d , b e c a u s e i t is a s s u m e d t h a t w i t h o u t a s i n g u la r o r d e r, l if e is m e a n i n g -l es s a s w e a r e b u ff e t e d a b o u t i n a c h a o t ic r e a l m o f f lu x . T h e r e f o r e , n i h i l is m ist h e s y m p t o m o f b e i ng s w h o o n l y r e lu c ta n tl y p a r t w i th t h e ir m e t a p h y si c a lg u i d i n g s ta rs a n d a r e i m b u e d w i t h n o s t a lg i a in t h e i r a b s e n c e . W h i l e m e t a -p h y s i c a l t r u t h s t h e m s e l v e s h a v e b e e n d i s c r e d i t e d , t h e a s s u m p t i o n r e m a i n st h a t o n ly p e r m a n e n t t r u th s c a n b e s t o w m e a n i n g u p o n o u r l iv es . T h e d i sd a i nf o r c h a n g e a n d f lu x is th e r e s id u e t h a t m e t a p h y s i c a l t h o u g h t h a s l e f t b e h i n d .I n N i e t z s c h e ' s v i e w, t h i s k i n d o f d e s p o n d e n t n i h i l i s m i s n o t a n i m p e t u s t oc r e a ti v e a c t io n b u t r a t h e r le a v e s u s i m i t a t in g Z a r a t h u s t ra ' s h i g h e r m e n , w h ow o u l d r a t h e r w o r s h i p a b r a y in g as s t h a n n o t h i n g a t a ll. T h e a c t o f w o r s h i p

*Associate Professor,Departmento f PoliticalSciences,Universityof Calgary,2500 U niversityD r., N.W . Calgary,Alberta, Can adaT2 N 1N 4; email: [email protected]

Dao:A JournalofComparativePlu'losophyD ecem ber 2004, V ol. IV, No . 1, pp. 97-116.9 2004 by G lobal ScholarlyPublications.


2/20

98 Dao: A Journalo f ComparativePhilosophy(IV. 1)

r e m a i n s e v e n i f t h e i de a ls h a v e b e e n d e t h r o n e d . O r d e r is p u r s u e d f o r its o w nsake , even i f i t is no long er inve s ted wi th m e taphys ica l s ign i fi cance . T he s t a tus

qu o i s thoug h t l e s s ly adh ered to beca use a supe r f ic i a l s tab i li ty be co m es thes u b s t i t u t e f o r t h e w a n i n g m e t a p h y s i c a l h o r i z o n . C o m f o r t t a k e s t h e p l a c e o fm e a n i n g as t h e p r i m a r y g o al . T h i s , a c c o r d i n g t o N i e t z s c h e , m a r k s t h e c r i p -p l i n g a s p e c t o f n i h il is m .

H o w e v e r, N i e t z s c h e a l s o i ns is ts t h a t a l o s s o f f a it h i n u n iv e r s a l o r d e r c a nac t a s a t r em en do us ca ta lys t to ac t iv ity and inc i te a k ind o f se l f - r e f lec t ion tha tb e c o m e s a c ti ve n ih il is m . G r o u n d l e s s n e s s c a n m a k e h u m a n b e in g s a w a re o ft h e i r e n d le s s p o t e n t i a l s in c e t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f a b s o l u t e t ru t h s i n N i e t z s c h e ' sm i n d c o u l d a l lo w f o r t h e c r e a ti v e p ro l i fe r a t io n o f m a n y t r u th s . I t is t h is k i n do f a ct iv e n ih i l is m w h i c h is to o v e r c o m e w h a t N i e t z s c h e r e fe r s t o a s t h e m o r ep a s s iv e n i h i li s m o f t h e h e r d . I n f a ct , N i e t z s c h e p r a is e s t h e k i n d o f n i h il is mw hich re fuses to c l ing to abso lu te t ru ths :"Radicalnihi l i smis t h e c o n v i c t i o n o fa n a b s o l u te u n t e n a b i li ty o f e x i st e n c e w h e n i t c o m e s t o t h e h i g h e s t v a l u es o n erecogn izes ; p lus the r ea l iza t ion tha t we l ack the l eas t r igh t to po s i t a bey on do r a n i n - it s e lf o f t h i n g s t h a t m i g h t b e ' d iv i n e ' o r m o r a l it y in c a r n a t e "(Nie tzsche 1968d: 3) .

A c o m p a r i s o n w i t h th e D a o i s t t ex ts o f L a o z i ~ q : a n d Z h u a n g z i ~ - 7 : c a nhe lp to s he d l igh t on the pec u l i a ri ty o f W es te rn n ih i l i sm s ince the re i s v i r tua l lyn o t ra c e o f n ih i l is m i n D a o i s t w r i ti n gs . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , n o t h i n g n e s s p l a y sa p o w e r f u l a n d i m p o r t a n t r o le i n t h e s e w o r k s , b u t r a t h e r t h a n b e i n g a s o u r c eo f m e a n i n g l e s s n e s s , it is th e w e l ls p r i n g o f m e a n i n g . I n W e s t e r n t h o u g h t ,n o t h i n g n e s s is s i m p l y s e e n a s a n e g a t i o n o f w h a t i s, a n d t h u s is o f t e n a s s o ci -a t e d w i t h n i h i l i s m . H o w e v e r, o n e c o u l d a rg u e t h a t We s t e r n n i h i l i s m s t e m sf r o m a la c k o f aw a r e n e s s o f n o t h i n g n e s s a s t h a t w h i c h c r e a t e s a k i n d o f u n i t ya n d m e . a n in g r a t h e r t h a n t h a t w h i c h d e s t r o y s it. I n D a o i s t t h o u g h t , n o t h -i n g n e s s is s o m e t i m e s d e s c r i b e d a s a c o s m o l o g i c a l p o i n t o f o r ig i n w h il e a t t h es a m e t i m e s ig n i fy i n g t h e f u n d a m e n t a l i n t e r c o n n e c t i v i ty o f a ll t h in g s a so p e n n e s s . T h e D a o i s t s ag e w a n d e r s , n o t b e c a u s e h e is w a r d i n g o f f a s u r-r o u n d i n g a b ys s, b u t b e c a u s e h e t r ie s t o m i m i c t h e o p e n n e s s o f n o t h i n g .

N o t h i n g n e s s is th e s p a c e o r o p e n i n g t h a t a ll ow s t h i n g s to c o n n e c t t o o n ea n o t h e r , a n d m e a n i n g a ris es o u t o f t hi s c o n n e c t io n . A s t h e " i n - b e t w e e n "a s p e c t o f a ll th i n g s , " n o t h i n g " is s o m e t h i n g t o b e c e l e b ra t e d , f o r i t b r in g sp a r t ic u l a r b e i n g s i n t o h a r m o n i o u s a c c o r d . B e i n g a n d n o t h i n g n e s s a r e in t e r-d e p e n d e n t r a th e r t h a n d i am e t ri ca ll y o p p o s e d , f o r t h i n g s o n l y c o m e t o b ethroughn o t h i n g . T h u s , n o t h i n g n e s s i s a l s o t h e b a l m t h a t h e l p s t o h e a l t h ew o u n d s o f a n a g o n i z in g N i e t z s c h e a n i n d iv i d u at io n a n d t h u s c o u l d e v e n b ei n v o k e d t o c o u n t e r n ih il is ti c t e n d e n c i e s . N o t h i n g n e s s i s n o t s i m p l y a n a b -s e n c e , f o rits presenceis ke en ly felt .

I. A b y s s e s a n d E m p t y S p a c e s i n N i e t z s c h e

N i e t z s ch e 's w r i ti n gs a b o u n d w i th b o t h o d e s t o n i h il is m a n d v e h e m e n t c o n -d e m n a t i o n s o f it. T h e u l t im a t e a c t o f n i h i li s m , in N i e t z s c h e 's v i e w, is t h e


3/20

Froese: Fr om N ihilism to N othingness 99

des t ruc t io n o f n ih il is t ic appr oac hes to l if e it se l f, w hic h N ie tzsch e be l i evedw e r e u s h e r e d i n b y t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l o r d e r s i n t e n d e d t o p r o p u p , e x p l a in , a n d

j u st if y o u r e x i st e nc e . T h e k i n d o f n i h il is m w h i c h N i e t z s c h e e x t o ls i s t h e n i -h i li sm o f r e j u v en a t io n . A c c o r d i n g t o N i e tz s c h e , t h e " a b s o l u t e " n a t u r e o f" a b s o l u t e " t r u t h s w i ll i n e v it a b ly b e t h r o w n i n t o q u e s t i o n a n d w h e n t h e y ar et o m a s u n d e r, t h e e n t ir e e d if ic e w h i c h h a d b e e n b u i lt a r o u n d t h e m a ls oc r u m b l e s . B e c a u s e m e t a p h y s i c a l f a it h w a s t h e b a s is o f m e a n i n g i n o u r l iv e s , it sd e m i s e se n d s r i p p le s o f d e s p a ir th r o u g h t h e h u m a n s o u l. N i e t z s c h e r e f e r s toa p s y c h o l o g i c a l d e s p a i r t h a t b e d e v il s u s w h e n w e f e el th e r e is n o l o n g e r ap u r p o s e i n o u r l iv e s ( N i e tz s c h e 1 9 6 8 d: 1 2). H i s h e r o Z a r a t h u s t r a e n c o u n t e r sa p r o p h e t o n h ! s w a n d e r i n g s w h o l a m e n t s t h e s o r ry s ta t e o f a ff a ir s in t h es h a d o w o f G o d s d e a t h : ' " I t is all o n e , n o t h i n g is w o r t h w h i l e , t h e w o r l d i sw i t h o u t m e a n i n g , k n o w l e d g e c h o k e s " ' ( N i e tz s c h e 1 96 9: I V.2 ) . N i e t z s c h e ' sc h a l le n g e is t o r e s u sc i ta t e m e a n i n g i n li fe w i t h o u t h a v i n g r e c o u r s e t o " s u -per te r res t r i a l hopes . "

N i e t z s c h e ' s r a d ic a l s u g g e s t i o n is t h a t t h e e r o s i o n o f p e r m a n e n t h o r i z o n sw a s n o t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f n i h il is m , b u t r a t h e r t h a t r e i g n i n g i m m u t a b l e t r u t h sh a d w h i t t le d a w a y t h e m e a n i n g i n o u r e x is te n c e b y e v is c e ra t in g a n d h e a p i n gs c o r n u p o n l i f e . " L i f e " p a l e s i n c o m p a r i s o n t o t h e g l o r i o u s r e a l m o f t r u t h ss u c h a s t h e P l a t o n ic f o r m s , a n d i t b e c o m e s t h e t a rg e t o f r e p r o b a t io n . I r o n i -cally, the re veng e ag a ins t l if e even tua l ly dep r ived t ru th i t se l f o f the n ou r-

i s h m e n t i t n e e d e d . T h i s i s w h y N i e t z s c h e i n s i s t s t h a t w e s h o u l d c e l e b r a t er a t h e r t h a n m o u r n t h e d e m i s e o f s u c h t r u t h s . P a r a d o x i c a l l y, o n c e w e a r et a u g h t t o h o l d lif e it se l f i n c o n t e m p t , w e b e c o m e i n f e c te d w i th a n e m p t in e s st h a t m a k e s it im p o s s i b l e t o l o v e e v e n t h e t r u t h s t h a t w e a ll eg e d ly h o l d s o d e a r.Tr u t h b e c o m e s d e b i li ta t in g r a t h e r t h a n i n v ig o r a ti n g . T h u s , f o r N i e t z s c h et h e r e i s a s t r o n g c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n n i h i li s m a n d a b s o l u t e m a t h . O f e l i aS c h u t te a rg u es t h a t n i h i li sm a n d p h i l o s o p h y b e c o m e i n te r t w i n e d w h e n p h i -l o s o p h y s e p a ra te s t h e " r ea l" w o r l d o f tr u t h f r o m t h e t e m p o r a l w o r l d o f e x -i s tence . In th i s sense Nie tzsche goes b ey on d n ih i l ism ( see Schu t te : 1 ).

N i e t z s c h e s u g g e st s t h a t S o c r at es a n d P l a to w e r e " s y m p t o m s o f d e c a y"(Nie tzsche 1968e : 1 .2) beca use the y w ere th e fa the r s o f the un iversa l r easo nt h a t ha s s i nc e b e c o m e t h e h a l lm a r k o f W e s t e rn t h o u g h t : " I f o n e n e e d s t om a k e a t y ra n t o freason, as Socra tes d id , the n the re m us t ex i s t no l it tl e dan gero f s o m e t h i n g el se p l a y in g t h e t y r a n t " ( N i e t z s c h e 1 9 68 e : 1 .9 ). R e a s o n b e c o m e si r ra t iona l on ce i ts t en tac les beg in to ex te nd to a ll a spec t s o f l if e in the a t t em ptt o e x p u n g e a ll s p o n t a n e it y, se n s u a li ty, a n d m o v e m e n t . F o r N i e t z s c h e , i t is b u ta s h o r t l e ap f r o m P l a t o n i s m t o t h e a t ta c k o n s e n s u o u s n e s s t y p ic a l o f C h r is t ia nd o g m a . N i e t z s c h e w r it e s t h a t t h e w o r l d o f C h r is ti a n it y is " p u r e l y f i c ti o n a l"s in c e " n e i t h e r i ts m o r a l i t y n o r r e li g io n h a s a n y p o i n t o f c o n t a c t w i t h r e a li ty "(Nie tzsche 1968a : 15). For N ie tzsch e , C hr i s ti an i ty p ro pa ga ted an essen t i a llyl if e - d e n y i n g m e s s a g e t h a t r e v e a le d d e e p d i s sa t is f a c ti o n w i t h t h e n a t u r a l w o r l d .T h e l if e - d e n y i n g m e s s a g e o f t h e C h r i s ti a n G o d i ni ti al ly in s t it u t e d p a i n a sd e si re s w e r e r e p r e s se d a n d t h e b o d y w a s " r a c k e d w i th h o m e s i c k n e s s f o r t h ew i ld" (Nie tzsche 1968c : 11.16) . A t th is po in t , hu m an be ings ha d to l ea rn too b e y th e c o m m a n d s t h a t w e r e b e i n g i m p o s e d u p o n t h e m a n d t h u s t his w a s


4/20

100 Dao : A Journal o f Comparative Ph ilosop~ ~ 1)

the Judeo-Chr i s t i an t r ad i t ion ' s mos t c rea t ive moment . Even tua l ly, inNie tzsche ' s v iew, Chr is ti ani ty succe eded in red uc ing every th ing to the lowes t

c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r, u s h e r in g in a c o m f o r ta b l e e x is te n c e w h e r e a c t i o n w a sred uc ed to a herd-l ike m imicry w ith individuals n ot daring to challenge the m -selves or on e another. G o d be cam e increasingly unnec essary as the soul 's paindiminished:

T h i s d o m i n a t i n g s e n s e o f d i s p le a s u r e i sc o m b a t e d , f i r s t ,b y m e a n s t h a t r e d u c e t h efee l ing o f l if e in genera l to i ts lowes t po in t . I f po ss ib le , wi ll and des i re a re abo l -i shed a l toge ther ; a l l tha t p ro du ces a ffec t s and " b lo od " i s avo ided . .. . [T]he resu l t ,e x p r e s s e d i n m o r a l - p s y c h o l o g i c a l t e r m s i s " s e l f le s s n e s s ," " s a n c t i f i c a ti o n " ; i np h y s i o lo g i c al t er m s : h y p n o t i s a t i o n - - t h e a t t e m p t t o w i n f o r m a n a n a p p r o x i m a -t ion to wha t in ce r ta in an imals i sh ibe rna t ion . . . t hem i n i m u m m e t a b o l is m a t w h i c h

l ife wi l l s t il l subs i s t wi tho u t rea l ly en te r ing consc iou sness . (Nie tzsch e 1968c :I I I . 1 7 )

Th us, in N ie tzsche 's v iew, the Jude o-C hris t ian re lig ion had es tabl isheda G o d w h o w a s b o u n d t o s e l f- d e st ru c t b e c a u se h e w a s n o l o n g e r n e e d e d :" I nthis w ay C hrist ianityas a dogmawasdes t royed by i ts ow n m ora li ty ; in the samew ay Chr ist iani tyas morak~m ust no w per i sh , too : w e s t and on the th resho ldo f th is ev en t" (Nie tzsche 1968c: I I I.27). Th e rapid decl ine o f fa ith in G o d w asa testament to Christ ianity 's success as well as to i ts fai lure. The soothingpoul t ice the re lig ion had p rov ided w as e ffec t ive in rende r ing hu m an be ings so

com atose tha t the panacea i t se l f beca m e unnecessa ry. Eng aged in rou t inem imicry, the se l f 's bou nda r ies be co m e i r re levant. Because we s imply imi ta teo the rs , we do n o t hav e to l e t o the r s in, no r do we l eave our o w n impr in t onou r su r round ings . Zara thus t ra po in t s ou t tha t "yo ur love o f you r ne ig hbo uris you r bad love o f yourse lves" (N ie tzsche 1969: 1 .16). Fo r N ie tzsche , th isconst i tu tes a l ived nihi l ism that i s dang erous precise ly becau se i t is so co m -fortab le . Zara thus t ra heaps con dem nat ion upo n such an ex i s tence : " I en t rea ty o u , m y b r o t h e rs ,remain tru e to the earth,a n d d o n o t b e li ev e th o s e w h o s p ea kto y ou o f superte rrest ri a l hopes ! The y a re po i soners , w he the r they know i t o rno t . Th ey a re desp ise rs o f life , a t rophy ing and se l f-po i soned m en , o f w h omthe ea r th i s weary: so le t the m be g on e" (Nie tzsche 1969: P.3).

However, Nie tzsche does no t imply tha t nega t ion shou ld a lways becondemned, for he a lso sees i t s crea t ive potent ia l . In h is account of themaster-s lave dy nam ic , the s laves , represe nt ing a weak er li fe force , are fo rcedin to a co nf ron ta t ion wi th po we r fu l and ebu l li en t mas te r s tha t th rea ten tot rample them . Th e mas te r, over f lowing in life , conce ives o f " the basic con -c e p t o f t h e ' g o o d ' i n a d v a n c e a n d s p o n t an e o u s l y o u t o f h i m s e l f " ( N i e tz s c h e1968c : 1 .11) and m any o f the wea ker beings a re c rushed in the s t amped e o fshe er strength. A s a result , the f irst creative act ivity o f the slave is to say" n o "

to the m as te r s . Nega t ion marks the b i r th o f mora l ity and a t the sam e t imeconst i tu tes an a ff i rmat ion o f the s lave: "W hile every nob le m oral i ty developsfrom a t r ium ph ant aff i rma t ion of i tself , slave m oral i ty f ro m the outse t saysN o to w ha t is 'outside ' , w ha t is 'differ ent ' , w ha t is 'no t i tself , and this N o is i tscrea t ive de ed " (Nietzsche 1968c: 1.10). N ega t ion is bo rn ou t o f the react ionaga ins t a th rea ten ing w or ld and the ac t o f rebe l lion marks the b i r th o f


5/20

Froese: Fro m N ihilism to N othingness 101

se l f- ident ity. Th e s lave d eludes h i m sel f and othe rs in to th in king that h is in-act iv i ty is a del ibera te choice , wh i le the m aster ' s ac t ions rep rese nt a weak ness

o f will. Subject iv ity is bor n s ince the s lave invents the "d oe r" w ho s tandsbehind the deed 0Nietzsche 1968c: 1.13). He turns his inabil i ty to act into acapab il ity fo r cho os ing ac tion . By nega t ing the w or ld w hich th rea tens h im, hees tablishes a d is tance f ro m i t and there by affi rms himself . I t i s th is k ind o fnihi li sm that N ie tzsch e pra ises fo r i t has a t ransform at ive effec t and a llowsindividuals to par t ic ipate in l ife ra ther than to de ny i t. By com pel l ing them as te r to acc ep t the t e rms o f the s lave 's nega t ion , and t r ansm ut ing thema s te r 's phys ical s tr eng th in to a m ora l weakness , the s l ave has m anag ed totu rn the t ab les and usurp the mas te r ' s th rone . Thus n ih i l i sm cou ld be apow er fu l s t imulan t to c rea tiv ity and in N ie tzsche ' s w ords gave b i rth to the"sovere ign ty o f the ind iv idual ." Th i s was a nega t ion tha t de m an de d a k ind o fs t reng th fo r i t r e fused to ac cep t the t e rm s o f ex is t ence as they were .

A ccord ing to Nie tzsche , thi s k ind o f s trugg le ceased wi th the es tab-l is h m e n t o f t h e C h r is ti an G o d , w h o b e c o m e s a s y m b o l o f p e rf e ct io n . H u m a nbe ings a re burde ned wi th an ine rad icab le gu i lt and a re h e ld respons ib le fo rtheir ow n su fferin g (N ietzsch e 1968c: 11.22). Sensuali ty is held to b e theu l t ima te mani fes ta t ion o f s in , and human be ings a re implored to wage aconstant ba t t le agains t i t . In the Chr is t ian God, human beings crea te some-thing so powerful in i t s absoluteness tha t i t renders them powerless .

Nie tzsche m ocks the ingenu i ty o f c rea tu res w ho a re ab le to will themse lvesin to n o t wi lling. T he humi l i a tion spawn ed by th e gu i lt be fo re G od requ ires anan t ido te which o f ten t akes the fo rm o f mechan ica l ac tiv ity : " I t is beyo nddo ub t tha t th is re~, 'nen a llevia tes a n exis tence of suffer ing to a no t inco n-s iderable degree: th is fac t is to day ca l led, som ew ha t d ishonest ly, 'the b lessingso f w or k" ' (Nietz sche 1968c: 111.18).

However, the re i s more to Nie tzsche ' s condemnat ion o f Chr i s t i an i tyt h a n m e e t s t h e e y e, f o r th e " d e a t h o f G o d " a ls o la ys t h e g r o u n d w o r k f o r aspir itua l rebi r th . Th e sym bol of the des er t can be v ery useful in helping tobr ing to the su r face som e o f the sub tl e nuances o f Nie tzsche ' s tex t s tha t a re

eas ily ec l ipsed by his force ful rhetor ic . On the o ne h and , the d eser t is thesym bol fo r the con tag ious li fe lessness tha t has been sp read by the he rd . O nthe o th er ha nd , in ma ny rel igious tradit ions, the d ese rt is a place o f spir itualbi r th and th is is a m essage that i s n ot los t on Nietzsch e . The dese r t symbol izesno t jus t the neg a t ion o f li fe , bu t a lso p resen t s a k ind o f vas t openne ss s igni-fy ing un end ing po ten t ia l . By invok ing the symbo l o f the dese r t , Nie tzschep lays on thi s dua l unders tand ing o f the t e rm.

I t is in the dese r t tha t the sp i ri t und ergoes its " th ree m etam orp ho ses"that a l low it to e m erge f r om its n ih ilis tic despai r. N ihi li sm provides the con -d i tions fo r its ow n overcoming .1 Th e beas t o f burden , na m ely the camel , is

1 NISHITANI Ke iji astutely points out th at nihilism is pa rt o f the process o f its ownself-overcoming.He draws attention to the fac t tha t Nietzsche's nihilism is not m erely aninhibiting facto r but also a regenerative orce that m akes the affirmationo f life possible (seeNishitani 1990: 48-53).


6/20

102 Dao: A Journal o f Comparative Philosophy(IV.. 1)

t he f i rs t des e r t an imal (Nie tzsche 1969: 1 .1 ). I t t akes a ll heav y loads u po n i t se l ft h a t t h e s o c ia l o r d e r i m p o s e s a n d " h u r r i e s i n t o t h e d e s e r t " w h e r e i t c u t s i t s e lf

o f f f r o m t h e s e n s u a l a s p e c ts o f l if e. A n d y e t, s u c h s e rv il ity a l so d e m a n d s am a s t e r y o v e r t h e s e lf , w h i c h g i v es i t a t as te f o r t h e e x e r t i o n o f p o w e r o v e ro t h e r s . T h e c a m e l ' s " y e s " t o o t h e r s i s a" n o " t o it se ls O n c e i t b e c o m e s t h el io n , t h is o r d e r is in v e r s e d a n d t h e l i o n sa ys " n o " t o o t h e r s a n d " y e s " t o t h es e ls T h e r e is n o n e g a t i o n t h a t is n o t a l so a n a f f ~ m a t i o n . T h e l io n w a n t s t o b et h e c o m m a n d i n g "l o r d i n h is o w n d e s e r t ." T h e d e s ir e f o r m a s t e r y is b o r n i ns la ve ry. F o r N i e t z s c h e , it c o m e s a s n o s u r p ri s e th a t t h e o p p r e s s e d o f t e n b e -c o m e t h e o p p r e s s o r s . N e v e r t h e le s s , th e l iv es o f b o t h t h e o b e d i e n t c a m e l a n dt h e c o n q u e r i n g li o n a re m a r k e d b y a n i n t e n s e l o n e li n e s s , a s a s e n s e o f c o n -n e c t e d n e s s is la c k i n g i n b o t h c a se s . M o r e o v e r, t h e l i o n d e s t r o y s w i t h o u t b e i n g

able to crea te :" T o crea te n ew values- -- --even the l ion i s incapab le of tha t - - -b utt o c r e a te i ts e lf f r e e d o m f o r n e w c r e a t i o n - - t h a t t h e m i g h t o f t h e l io n c a n d o "(Nietzsche 1969: 1.1) .

T h e i n t e n s e l o n e li n e s s a n d g r o u n d l e s s n e s s o f t h e d e s e r t a ls o p r o v i d e t h ei m p e t u s f o r n e w b e g i n n i n g , s y m b o l i z e d b y t h e c h i ld . I n t h e c h i ld , t h e c o n -n e c t i o n b e t w e e n " y e s " a n d" n o " i s a ff i rmed . T he ch i ld is ab le to fu lly a ff i rml ife , em bra c ing i ts s pon tane i ty. I ts ab i li ty to fo rge t ind ica tes tha t i t is capab leo f r e v e l i n g i n th e o p e n n e s s o f e x i st e n c e b e c a u s e i t d o e s n o t y e t h a v e a n e g ot h a t i t c li ng s to . I t is n e i t h e r r iv e t e d t o t h e p a s t n o r w o r r i e d a b o u t t h e f u t u r e

a n d is n o t y e t b u r d e n e d w i t h p r e c o n c e p t i o n s a b o u t i ts o w n id e n ti ty. T h e c h i ldp l ay s w i t h w h a t it is g i v e n a n d i n s o d o i n g m a k e s s o m e t h i n g n e w . T h i s s i g-n if ie s a m o v e o n N i e t z sc h e 's p a r t f r o m a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f n o t h in g n e s s a sa li fe - d e n y in g f o rc e t o a m o r e e m a n c i p a t o ry u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f n o t h i n g n e s s a so p e n n e s s : " T h e c h i l d i s i n n o c e n c e a n d f o rg e t f u l n e s s , a n e w b e g i n n i n g , aspo r t , a se l f -p rope l l ing wh ee l , a f i rs t m ot i on , a sac red Yes" (Nie tzsche 1969:I . 1 ). T h e c h i ld i s th e s y m b o l f o r t h e o v e r c o m i n g o f n i h il is m .

T h e p a r a b l e o f th e t h r e e m e t a m o r p h o s e s i ll u st ra te s t h a t n i h i li s m m u s t b eo v e r c o m e t h r o u g h n o t h i n g n e s s r a t h e r t h a n a g a i n s t i t . H o w e v e r, w h i l eN i e t z s c h e c e le b r at e s n o t h i n g n e s s a s o p e n i n g , t h e r e is a ls o a s t r o n g s e n s e i n

w h i c h i t m u s t b e e n c o u n t e r e d a s c l o su r e . I n o r d e r t o c a s t f u r t h e r l ig h t o n t h em u l t ip l e u n d e r s t a n d i n g s o f n o t h i n g n e s s t h a t a re e v i d e n t i n N i e t z s c h e 's w o r k ,I w ill i n v o k e t h e p a ra b le o f b o t h t h e t i g h t- r o p e w a l k e r a n d t h e m e t a p h o r o fthe e t e rna l r e tu rn . InThus Spoke ZarathustraN i e t z s c h e p r o c la i m s t h a t " m a n isa r o p e , f a s t e n e d b e t w e e n a n i m a l a n d S u p e r m a n - - a r o p e o v e r a n a b y s s "( N i e t z s ch e 1 96 9: P. 4) . T h e h u m a n b e i n g a s " b r i d g e a n d n o t agoa l"(Nie tzsche 1969: P.4 ) i s a lways in the ma k ing . Th e abyss sym bol izes bo th thel a c k o f g r o u n d i n g a n d t h e p e r il s t h a t a r e a s s o c ia t e d w i t h b e i n g a c r e a t u rea lways in t r ans i tion . Th e so l it a ry t igh t rop e wa lke r is p reca r ious ly ba lanc ed ona r o p e w i th t h e g a p i n g a by ss a ll a r o u n d h i m . T h e u n e a s y p o s i ti o n w e o c c u p ys u s p e n d e d a b o v e n o t h i n g n e s s is b r o u g h t t o l i gh t th r o u g h h i s p r e d ic a m e n t .H e exper iences th i s no th in gn ess a s h i s own , fo r a f a lse ly p laced s t ep w i ll s en dh i m p l u m m e t i n g t o h i s d e a th . T h i s i s a k in d o f n o t h i n g n e s s t h a t s e p a ra te s h i mf r o m e v e r y o n e e ls e a n d a l m o s t b ru ta ll y th r u s ts h i m b a c k o n t o h i m s e lf . T h eu n c o m p r o m i s i n g a w a r e n e s s o f h i s li fe 's f ra g il it y w e d s h i m t o it e v e n m o r e


7/20

Froese: Fro m Nihilism to N othingness 1 0 3

c l o se l y a n d b e s t o w s m e a n i n g o n h i s d e li c at e ex i s te n c e .T h e t ig h t r o p e w a l k er 's a w a r en e s s o f n o t h i n g n e s s c o m e s i n t o d i r e c t

c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h e n ih i li st ic b u f f o o n . T h i s i s th e k i n d o f n i h il i s m w h i c hN i e t z s c h e a s s o c ia t es w i t h th e h e r d t h a t r e f u se s t o e n c o u n t e r n o t h i n g n e s s . I tis th e n i h i l is m o f c o n s t a n t e m p t y a c ti vit y. T h e b u ff o o n r e p r e s e n t s t h e h e r d ' sc o n t e m p t f o r a n y o n e w h o d a re s t o e x p re s s h is d if f e re n c e f r o m t h e c r o w d . H et a u n ts t h e t i g h t ro p e w a l k e r, c a ll in g h i m a l a m e - f o o t , a n d a d m o n i s h e s h i m f o rl e a v in g t h e t o w e r. A t n o r is k to h i s o w n l if e, h e j u m p s o v e r t h e m a n , s e n d i n gt h e l a tt e r p l u m m e t i n g t o h i s d e a t h . A c c o r d i n g to N i e t z s c h e , t h is e x e m p l i f ie st h e b il e th a t t h e h e r d i s r e a d y to s p e w o u t a g a i n st a n y o n e w h o t ra n s g r e ss e st h e i r n o r m s . I t is a n e g a t i o n t h a t is b a s e d o n c o n t e m p t . T h e t i g h t r o p e w a l k e rr e p r e s e n t s a t h r e a t b y r e v e a l in g t o t h e h e r d t h e l a c k o f g r o u n d i n g th a t c h a r-a c te r iz e s t h e i r o w n e x i s te n c e . H e d a r e s t o f o rg e a p a t h o f hi s o w n a n d c o n -s e q u e n t l y i s m e t w i t h e x e c r a t i o n . I n d e e d , o n l y t h e s o c i a l o u t c a s t s i nZara thu s t ra ' s ta le t rea t each o the r w i th respect . Za ra thus t ra bur ies the t igh t ropewalke r, wh i l e the hem-fit p rov ides Z ara thus t ra w i th su s tenance a long h i s journey.T h e o n l y re a l c o m m u n i t y h e r e i s a m o n g t h o s e w h o m s o c ie t y h a s o s t ra c iz e d .W hi le the h e rd is r e spons ib le fo r the t igh t rope wa lke r 's d ea th , they f lee "espe -c ia lly w h e r e t h e b o d y w o u l d c o m e c r a s h i n g d o w n " ( N i e tz s c h e 1 96 9: P.3 ).

I n t h e s t o r y o f t h e t i g h t r o p e w a l k e r, n o t h i n g n e s s i s r e p r e s e n t e d a s a k i n do f t e r m i n u s t h a t t h e i n d i v id u a l m u s t c o n f r o n t . Ye t , a t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e re i s

i n N i e t z s c h e a l so a n e n c o u n t e r w i t h a d i f fe r e n t n o th i n g n e s s , w h i c h is n o te x p e r i en c e d a s o n e ' s o w n b u t r a t h e r re i n fo r c e s t h e c o n n e c t e d n e s s o f allt h in g s . I t is t h e k i n d o f g r o u n d l e s s n e s s t h a t i s p a r t o f t h e c y c le o f t h e e t e r n a lr e t u rn . N i e t z s c h e i s b y n o m e a n s t h e r a d i ca l in d i v id u a l is t t h a t h e is o f t e np r e s u m e d t o b e . T h e m e t a p h o r o f t h e e t e r n a l r e t u r n r e v e a l s t h a t a l l f r n i t eb e i n g s a re i n t e r tw i n e d . H e d e s c r ib e s e a c h m o m e n t a s a g a te w a y d e p i c t i n g t h ec o n f l u e n c e o f p a s t a n d f u tu r e . I t i s s ig n i fi c a n t t h a t t h e g a t e w a y is e m p t y a n dthus s ign i fi e s po ten t i a l . W he n the ind iv idua l r eaches the ga teway, she o r h eh a s t o m a k e a d e c i s i o n a n d a p p r o p r i a t e t h e p a s t t o m a k e t h e f u t u r e t h a ts t r e tc h e s o u t b e f o r e h e r o r h i m . F r e e d o m a n d n e c e s s i t y c o a l e sc e b e a u t if u ll y i n

t his m e t a p h o r. T h e g a te w a y is b o t h a m a r k e r o f s e p a ra t io n a n d o f c o n n e c t i o n ,w h i c h r e m i n d s Z a r a t h u s t r a o f t h e w h o l e t h a t h e is p a r t o f . H e is a b le t o d r a wu p o n t h e r e s o u rc e s o f th e w o r l d i n to w h i c h h e i s t h ru s t , b u t a t th e s a m e t i m ec o n f r o n t s i n th e e m p t i n e s s o f t h e g a t e w a y th e e s s e n t ia l g r o u n d l e s s n e s s o fe x i st e n ce . I n t h e g a t e w a y, t h e i n t e r s e c ti o n o f b e i n g a n d n o t h i n g n e s s is m a d em a n i f e s t. G r o u n d l e s s n e s s i n th i s v ie w i s n o t m e r e l y a n e g a t iv e f o r c e b u t a ls oe n ta il s a n e w b e g in n i n g . B y u n d e r s c o r i n g t h e s ig n if ic a n ce o f t h e m o m e n t i nt h is w a y, N i e t z s c h e a ls o h i n t s a t b o t h t h e i m p o r t a n c e a n d i n s ig n i fi c a n c e o fh i s to r y.2 T h e t e r m " e te r n a l r e tu r n o f t h e s a m e "(e w i g e IV ie d e r k e h r d e s G k ic h e n )d o e s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y i m p l y a r e c u r r e n c e o fi d e n t i c a l p h e n o m e n o nb u t r a t h e rc a n b e t r a n s la t e d a s re c u r r e n c e o f th e s im i la r. E v e r y a c t d r a w s u p o n t h e p a s t

2 Kar l L6 wi th suggest s t ha t N ie t z sche is d i spensing w i th C hr is t ian no t ions o f t empora ll inear i ty a nd re turn ing to G reek cycl ica l no t io ns of t ime 0_ .6wi th : 60).


8/20

t 04 Dao: A Journalo f Comparative Philosop& IV . 1)

whi le a t the same t ime incorpora t ing the g roun d lessness o f the fu tu re . In fact ,Nie tzsche makes i t c l ea r tha t two pa ths l ead to the ga teway o f the m om en t ,

one o r ig ina ting in the pas t , and the o the r o r ig ina ting in the fu tu re : "A nd a reno t a ll th ings bo un d fast toge the r in such a wa y tha t th is m om en t d raws a f te rit all future things?Therefore---drawsi t se l f too?" (Nie tzsche 1969: I I I.2). O nthe o ne hand , th is em phas izes the h i sto ri cal na tu re o f hum an be ings ass e lf -m a k i n g c r e at u re s w h o a t e a c h m o m e n t m u s t a p p r o p ri a te f r o m t h e p a s t i norde r to c rea te the fu tu re w hich l ie s open be fore them. Y e t , the sugges tiont h a t t h e m o m e n t d r aw s t h e f u t u r e"af te r" i t impl ies a non -his tor ica l un de r-s t and ing o f humani ty tha t on ly makes sense i f the in te rconnec t ion o f a l lth ings is bo rn in mind. This is akin to a myst ica l un de rs tan ding that a l lowsZara thus t ra to exper ience a k ind o f e te rna l p resence w hich a ff i rms the un i tyo f all th ings tha t bo th have b een a nd a re to com e:

I f we a ffi rm on e s ing le m om ent , w e thus a ffi rm n o t on ly ourse lves bu t a ll o f ex-is tence. For N oth ing is se l f suff ic ient , nei th er in us ourselves no r in things; and i four sou l has t rembled w i th happiness and soun ded l ike a harp s t rin~ jus t once , a lle t er n it y w a s n e e d e d t o p r o d u c e t h is o n e e v e n t - - a n d i n t h is s in g le m o m e n t o faffimaation, all eternity was called good, redeemed, justified and affirmed.(Nietzsche 1968& 1032)

Fr om the p erspect ive o f th is uni ty, t ime is ir relevant. Zara thu st ra ' s animalsremind h im of a type o f consc iousness tha t i s no t h i s to r i ca l : "Every th inggoes , every thing re turns ; the w heel o f exis tence ro lls forever. Ev ery thing dies ;every th ing b lossoms anew: the yea r o f ex i st ence runs on fo reve r" (Nie tzsche1969: II1.13). H is tor ica l con sciousness is tem porar i ly ov erc om e so thatZara thus t ra can exper ience the o neness o f a ll o f ex i st ence . As he says,

Every th ing breaks , every th ing i s pu t toge ther anew; e te rna lly the same house o fBeing bu i lds i tsel f. Ev elyth ing par ts , ev erything gleets i t se l f again; e ternal ly ther ing of Being remains fa i thful to i tsel f. In every now Bein g begins , arou nd ev eryhere roi ls the bal l of there. Th e m iddle is everywhere. Th e pa th of e terni ty iscurved. (Nietzsche 1969: III .13)

Nie tzsche depar t s r ad ically f rom m an y o the r W es te rn ph i losophers byseeing nothin gne ss no t on ly as negat ion bu t a lso as a conne ct ive t issue be-twe en a l l th ings: ' "N ow I d ie and decay,' you w ould say, ' and in an ins tant Ishall be no thingne ss. Souls are as mortal as bodies. ' 'But th e co m plex o f causesin wh ich I am entangled wi ll recur i t wi ll c rea te m e again! I m yse l f am par t o fthe causes of the e ternalrecurrence" ' (Nietzsche 19 69 : III .13). H er eZara thust ra aff i rms the endless cycles o f exis tence that he par t ic ipates in . H egoes bey on d a pe r spec t ive in which h um an be ings a re a t the cen t re o f ex is-t ence. As the e te rna l r e m m dem ons t ra tes , no th ingness no t on ly ind iv idua tes

and separa tes beings , bu t a lso allows for the dev elo pm en t o f a non-eg ois t icfo rm o f sub jec tiv ity, w here I be com e consc ious o f my par ti cu la r ity th rou ghi n t e rc o n n e c t e d n e s s w i t h o t h e r t h i n g s ) T h e m o m e n t is r e v e r ed ,bothas the

3 Laurence Lamp er t has po in ted ou t tha t the re is a co n t rad ic t ion be tween Nie tzsche ' s no t i on


9/20

F r o e s e : F r o m N i h i l is m t o N o t h i n g n e s s 105

p r o d u c t o f m y c h o i c e a n d a s a p o in t o f c o n n e c t i o n w h i c h a llo w s m e t o g ob e y o n d t h e s e lf .

A s i m i la r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f n o t h i n g n e s s i s re v e a l e d i n t h e p a r a b l e o f t h es h e p h e r d w h o c h o k e s a n d w r i t h e s i n t h e s t ru g g l e a g a i n s t a b l a c k s n a k e t h a t i sl o d g e d in h is t h r o a t . E v e n t u a l l y h e b i t e s t h e s n a k e ' s h e a d o f f a n d i s i m m e d i -a te ly " a t r a n s f o m a e d b e i n g , s u r r o u n d e d w i t h li g h t,laughing]'(Nie tzsche 1969:I I I. 2 ). Z a r a t h u s t r a h a d n e v e r h e a r d s u c h h e a r t i n e s s o f l a u g h te r, w h i c h w a so n l y m a d e p o s s ib l e b y t h e s h e p h e r d ' s c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h d e a t h . T h is is w h yZ a r a t h u s t r a e x c l a im s :" M yl o n g i n g f o r th is l au g h t e r c o n s u m e s m e : o h h o w d oI e n d u r e s till to liv e! A n d h o w I c o u l d e n d u r e t o d i e n o w " ( N i e t zs c h e 1 96 9:I I I . 2). O n t h e o n e h a n d , t h e p e a s a n t 's a c t c o n s t i tu t e s a d e f e n c e o f h is o w nb o u n d a r i e s a g a i ns t t h e t h r e a t p o s e d t o t h e m b y t h e s n a ke . H o w e v e r, t h e

s y m b o l o f t h e s e r p e n t s h o u l d n o t b e g l o s s e d o v e r f o r i t is n o t o n l y a s y m b o lo f d e a t h i n C h r i s ti a n m y t h o l o g y b u t a l s o c o n s t i t u t e s a s y m b o l o f l if e in t r a-d i ti o n a l a l c h e m y. N i e t z s c h e p la y s u p o n t h is d u a l m e a n i n g . T h e c o il s o f t h es n a k e r e m i n d u s o f t h e e te r n a l r e t u r n a n d t h u s t h e i n t e r c o n n e c t e d n e s s o f allt h i n g s . T h e l a u g h t e r o f t h e p e a s a n t i s s y m b o l i c o f t h e a w a r e n e s s o f c o n -n e c t e d n e s s t h a t c o m e s t o h i m t h r o u g h h is e n c o u n t e r w i th d e a t h. H e is re b o r nb e c a u s e h e h a s b o t h a f f i r m e d t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f th e s e lf , w h i l e a t t h e s a m et im e b e i n g l ib e r at e d f r o m t h e m . W e m u s t n o t h i d e f r o m t h e r e ality o f d e a th ,f o r t a k i n g t h e s t in g o u t o f d e a t h a ls o r o b s u s o f t h e v it al it y o f l if e w h i c h is

e x p e r ie n c e d b o t h t h r o u g h t h e e g o - s e l f a n d b e y o n d i t.T h e f a c t t h a t w e w a n t t o m a i n t a i n o u r b o u n d a r i e s w h i l e o v e r c o m i n gt h e m , h i n t in g th a t w e a re b o t h s e l f a n d m o r e t h a n s el f, m e a n s t h a t p a in w i lla lways be an in teg ra l pa r t o f our exper ience : "P a in too is a joy, cu r s ing is a l soa b less ingo so r ich i s joy tha t i t th i rs t a f ter p a in , f or he l l for h a t r ed .. .. F or a ll joyw an ts i t se l f, an d th e re fo re i t a lso w an t s su ffe r ing in the hea r t. .. . Joy w an t s thee t e r n i t y o f al l things, w ants deep, deepeterm'ty.t ' (N ietzs ch e 1969: IV.19 ).Z a r a th u s tr a 's d e s p o n d e n t m o o d s c a n n e v e r be p e r m a n e n t ly o v e r c o m e f o r h ewi l l a lways a l t e rna te be tween despa i r and joy : '%a te ly I wa lked g loomi lyt h r o u g h a d e a t h l y g r e y t w i li g h t, g l o o m i l y a n d s t e rn l y w i t h c o m p r e s s e d l ip s .

N o t o n l y o n e s u n h a d g o n e d o w n f o r m e " ( N i e tz s c h e 1 96 9: I II .2 ) . F o rN i e t z s c h e t h e s tr u gg le b e t w e e n t h e e g o - s e l f a n d t h e k i n d o f n o n - s e l f s u g-g e s t e d b y t h e u n i t y in t h e e t e rn a l r e m m is a n o n g o i n g o n e . T h e t h re a t o fn o t h i n g a n d d e a t h d i f f e r en t ia t e s , b u t a t t h e s a m e t im e , t h e i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n st h a t n o t h i n D a e s s r e p r e s e n t s a l so e n a b l e t h e i n d i v id u a l t o g o b e y o n d t h e s e lf .N i e t z s c h e 's t e n d e n c y t o c e le b r at e b o t h t h e e g o - s e l f a n d its o v e r c o m i n g m a k e sh i m u n i qu e a m o n g W e s te r n p h i lo s o p h e rs .

o f s e l f - o v e r c o m i n g a n d t h e c y c l ic a l n a t u r e o f t h e e t e r n a l r e tu r n . H o w e v e r, t o a c e rt a in e x t e n tt h i s a n a ly s is g l o s s e s o v e r t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f N i e t z s c h e ' s a rg u m e n t , w h i c h s u g g e s ts t h a tN i e t z s c h e i s e x t o l li n g b o t h a n " e g o t i s ti c a l " s e l f i n t e n t o n e s t a b l is h i n g a n d p r o t e c t i n g i t s o w nb o u n d a r i e s a n d a k i n d o f n o n - e g o s e l f t h a t is a b l e t o g a i n r e le a s e f r o m t h e s e b o u n d a r i e s . Iw o u l d a rg ue t h a t N i e t z s c h e i s n o t o u l y a d v o c a t in g a s e l f - o v e rc o m i n g b u t a ls o a n o v e r c o m i n go f t h e s e l f ( s ee L a m p e r t ) .


10/20

106 Dao: A Journal of Comparative P&'losophy IV . 1)

II. N o t h i n g n e s s a n d th e D a o

T h e k i n d o f o r d e r t h a t D a o i s t t h in k e r s e n v i s io n i s n o t a m e t a p h y s i c a l o n eb a s e d o n a si ng le lo g o s b u t r a t h e r i s p r e d i c a t e d o n t h e u n i t y o f p r o c e s s w h i c hi n t e r c o n n e c t s w h a t L a o z i r e f e r s t o a s t h e " t e n - t h o u s a n dt h ings . " Thew o r dDao ~_l o o s e l y r e f er s t o a k i n d o f c o s m i c u n it y, b u t n o a t t e m p t is m a d e t o p i nit d o w n , o r t o d e t r a c t f r o m t h e o b s c u r i t y o f th e t e r m . T h e t e x t o ft he Dao DeJing { ~ [~ ,,~ _ ) is b a s e d o n a s tr ik i n g p a r a d o x , n a m e l y t h a t th e D a o c a n n o t b ea r t ic u l a t ed , t h o u g h t , o r s p o k e n : 4

The D ao that can be expressedis no t the eternal Dao.The nam e that can be nam edis no t the eternal nam e. (Laozi: ch. 1)

T h e s e n e g a t i o n s d o n o t p r o d u c e a se n s e th a t t h e c o s m o s i s m e a n i n g l e s s , b u tr a t h e r a r e t h e o n l y m e a n s b y w h i c h l im i t e d b e i n g s c a n r e f e r t o t h e l im i t le s sa n d c o n t in u o u s l y e v o l v i n g n a t u re o f t h e D a o . Ye t , th e n e g a t io n s t h a t f o r m t h eo p e n i n g lin e s o f t h eDao D eJ ingbea rn o t r a c e o f n ih i li sm . B e c a u s e t h e r e i s n op r e s u p p o s i t i o n t h a t li m it ed h u m a n b e i n g s c a n u n ra v e l t h e m y s t e r y o f t h el im i tl es s c o s m o s , t h is " a b s e n c e " o f k n o w l e d g e is n o c a u s e f o r p h i l o s o p h i c a ldespa i r.

T h e r e is a s t r o n g s e n s ein the Dao DeJingt ha t p ro c e s s a n d m o v e m e n t a rem o s t i m p o r ta n t . H o w e v e r , th e r e is n o r at io n a l s u b s t r a t u m w h i c h d e t e r m i n e st h e d ir e c t io n o f t h is m o v e m e n t , n o r i s t h e r e a p r e d e t e r m i n e d p a t t e r n t h a tr e g u la t es t h e i n t e r a c ti o n o f b e i n g s , p r o m p t i n g a n a ly s ts s u c h a s D a v i d H a l l a n dR o g e r A m e s t o p o i n t o u t th a t t h e D a o i s t u n i v e rs e is p r e d i c at e d " u p o n t h es p o n t a n e i t y o f t h e u n o r d e r e d " ( H a ll a n d A m e s : 2 3 0 ). I n a s im i l ar v e in ,N o r m a n G i r a r d o t c la im s t h a t c h a o s(hundun ~ ) is p r i m e v a l n o t o n l y f o rD a o i s t p h i l o s o p h y b u t f o r C h i n e s e c u l tu r e m o r e g e n e r a ll y ( G i r a rd o t : 4 3 ).C h a o s d o e s n o t r e f er t o a b r e a k d o w n o f o r d e r b u t r a t h e r t o a k in d o f p r im a l ,u n d i f f e r e n t i a te d u n i t y t o w h i c h e v e r y t h i n g r e tu r n s o n a r e c u r r in g b a s i s. B e -

c a u s e th e w h o l e is n e i th e r p r e d e t e r m i n e d n o r u n i f o r m , i t c a n n o t b e c o n -c e p t u a l l y g r a s p e d .Ye t o n e m u s t b e c a r ef u l n o t t o a ll o w th e n o t i o n o f f o r m l e s s n e s s t o

o v e r s h a d o w t h e e m p h a s i s o n o n e n e s s t h a t is a n in t eg r al p a r t o f L a o z i 'sw o r l d v i e w , a n d t h i s o n e n e s s is c r e a t e d i n la rg e p a r t o u t o f n o t h i n g n e s s .N o t h i n g n e s s o r w u ~ , is t h e r e f o r e n o t s i m p l y a n e g a t i o n o r d e n ia l o f w h a t i s,b u t a k i n d o f m y s t e r i o u s a n d f o r m l e s s f o r c e t h a t li n k s all t h in g s . I t p l a y s ap r e d o m i n a n t a n d l a rg e ly p o s i t iv e r o l e i n D a o i s t t e x ts , p r o v i d i n g a n i m p o r t a n tc o n t r a s t t o m a n y W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h i c a l w o r k s w h e r e it is g r e e t e d w i t h a p -p r e h e n s i o n a n d d r e a d . W h a t is i m m e d i a t e ly n o t i c e a b l e t o th e W e s t e r n r e a d e ris t h a t , w h i l e t h e r e a r e r e p e a t e d r e f e r e n c e s t o n o t h i n g n e s s i n D a o i s t w r i ti n g s ,t h e r e i s v i r tu a l ly n o t r a c e o f n i h i li s m t o b e d e t e c t e d i n t h e s e t e x t s. W h i l e t h i s

4Julia Ching points ou t that the termDaocould designate "anything and everything" (Ching:85).


11/20

Froese: Fro m N ihilism to No thingness 107

can in p ar t be a t t r ibuted to h is tor ical fac tors , i t is a lso character is t ic o f a m od eo f th ink ing which s tresses the in te rcon nec tedness ra the r than the separa te -

ness o f a ll things. Fur the rmo re , no th ingn ess h igh ligh ts the l imi ts o f hu m anunders tand ing , which a re accep ted ra the r than bemoaned . Noth ingnessse rves as a con s tan t r em inder tha t the re is som eth ing mu ch l a rge r than thehu m an se lf , and th is m ay very wel l be w ha t keeps n ihi l ism at bay. Th us , ane lu c id a ti o n o f " n o t h i n g n e s s " i n t h e w o r k s o f Z h u a n g z i a n d L a o zi c an h e l p t oi lluminate W estern pres um pt ion s abo ut the abyss as wel l as help to ex po se thenon-nihi l is t ic not ion s o f nothingn ess tha t surface occas ional ly even in theworks o f a ph i losoph er such as Nie tzsche .

Nietzsche sees nothingness as the negat ive l imi t tha t forces the indi -v idual to c rea te m ean in g f ree ly in an a t t emp t to fend o ff an encroac h ing abyss .

W hi le Nie tzsche pays hom age to the pow er o f no th ingness tha t Z ara thus t racon fron ts , it is v iewed pr imar i ly as a negat ive fo rce that ca tapul ts h im tow ardan alm ost rebell ious affm -nation o f li fe . I t is the ne gatio n tha t m ake s aff ir-mat ion poss ib le . Fur the rmore ,individualdeathis seen as sym ptom at ic o f al a rge r mean ing lessness and the re fo re n ih i li sm em erges ou t o f a w or ld -v iewwh ich g ran ts the sub ject p r imacy. I t is aga ins t the b ackdrop o f no th ingnessthat the con tours o f the individual are bro ug ht in to sharp re l ief , impel l ing he ror h im to ca rve a "un i f i ed wh ole" o u t o f the f ra~-aen ts tha t com pose the self.Throughout Nie tzsche 's works , i t i s the individual tha t i s accorded an im-po r tan t s tatus. N othin gne ss , by threatenin g to d issolve all boun dar ies , en-courages the individual to dem arcate them . In a phi losophical t radit ion w hichpr iv i leges individuation, nothing ness is in terpre ted pr imar i ly in the negat ivesense o f depriva tion . Whi le I have po in ted ou t tha t N ie tzsche 's no t ion o f thee te rna l r e tu rn p rov ides an a l t e rna t ive unders tand ing o f no th ingness asopen ing, h is ins istence on noth ingn ess as a force o f neg at ion remains a verypow er fu l th read in h i s work .

Nie tzsche does n o t den y tha t ex is t ence and no th ingness a re re lated bu ti t is a re lat ion that der ives mainly ou t o f opposi t ion . I t i s the tens ion b etw eendeath and l ife tha t forces individuals to crea te . Converse ly, Dao is t th oug ht ,

ra ther than cas t ing being and nothingness as opposi tes , under l ines the i rcom plem enta ry na tu re . Laoz i s tr esses the en tang lem ent o f ex i s t ence(youand noth ingn ess (wu ~, ) whi le v iewing nothing ness as crea t ive in i t se lf ra thertha n as the nega tion tha t s t imu lates hu m an creat ivity:

"non-existence"I call the beginningo f Heaven and E arth. "Existence" I call hem other o f individualbeings. Therefo redoes the direction owardsnon-existencelead to the sight o f the miraculousessence, he direction owards existence o thesight o f spatial limitations. (Laozi: ch. 1)

O ne o f the fo rem os t in te rp rete r s o f Laozi , WANG Bi ~E~, suggest s tha t theno t ion o f wu or no th ingness i s cen t ra l to an u nders tand ing o f theDa o D eliriaand u ses i t to descr ibe the n ature o f the Da o itself . In h is in terpre ta t ion o f theope n ing l ines o f the t ex t, WANG Bi main ta ins tha t non -be ing i s a po in t o forigin:

all beings originatedfrom nonbeing. The time before physicalforms and names


12/20

108 D ao: A Journal o f Comparative Philosophy ~ 1)

appea red was t he beg inn ing o f t he myr i ad th ings . A f t e r f o rms a nd nam es appea r,"dao"deve lops t hem, nou r i shes t hem , p rov ides t he ir f o rma l shape an d com ple t e sthe i r fo rmal subs tance , tha t i s , becomes the i r Mother. This means tha t the Tao

prod uces and com ple tes th ings wi th the formless a nd nameless . (Wang:. 1 )

W A N G B i 's a n a ly s is s u g g e s t s t h a t w u is n o t s i m p l y t h e n e g a t i o n o f b e i n g b u tr a t h e r h a s a k i n d o f m y s t e r i o u s p r e s e n c e a s t h e u n d e r l y i n g u n i t y o f a ll th i n g s .A l a n K . C h a r t b u i l d s u p o n Wa n g ' s a n a l y s i s t o s u g g e s t t h a twuh a s a f u n d a -m e n t a l s u b s t a n c e w h i c h is b o t h " o n t o lo g i c a l ly d i s ti n c t f r o m a n d p r i o r t o' b e i n g " ' ( C h an : 4 6). I n t h e w o r k o f L a o z i, w h i c h e m p h a s i z e s t h e i n t e r c o n -n e c t e d n e s s a n d o n e n e s s o f all t h in g s , " n o n - e x i s t e n c e " is p r i m o r d i a l b e c a u s e i th i g h li g h ts t h e n o n - d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n b e t w e e n b e i n g s .W u c a n n o t b e n a m e d , b u ti t i s p r e c i s e l y t h a t w h i c h t i e s t h e t e n - t h o u s a n d t h i n g s t o g e t h e r a n d m a k e st h e m o n e . E x i s t e n c e a s d is t in g u i s h e d f r o m n o t h i n g n e s s is th e s it e o f p a r -t ic u la r it y a n d t h e " t e n t h o u s a n d t h i n g s . "

W h i le e x i s te n c e d e p e n d s o n b o u n d a r i e s t h a t a ll o w u s t o d i f fe r e n t ia t et h in g s , n o t h i n g n e s s is t h e r ad ic a l o p e n n e s s t h a t a ll ow s t h e m t o c o n n e c t . B yc e l e br a ti n g b o t h b e i n g a n d n o t h i n g n e s s , L a o z i's t h o u g h t c e le b ra te s b o t h t h ed i f f e r e n ti a t io n b e t w e e n t h in g s a n d t h e ir o n e n e s s w h i le r e f u s i n g t o r e d u c e o n et o t h e o th e r. I t is i m p o r t a n t n o t t o d e m a r c a t e e x i s te n c e a n d n o t h i n g n e s s t o os h a rp ly f r o m o n e a n o t h e r. T h eDao DeJinga ls o e m p h a s i z e s t h a t t o g e t h e r t h et w o , w h i c h"are o n e i n o r ig i n " a n d " d i f f e r e n t o n l y inname," c o n s t i t u t e t h e

w ho le (Laozi: ch . 1) . T he par ticular i ty o f each bein g em erges b ot h in i ts d i ffer-e n ti a ti o n f r o m t h e o t h e r a n d f r o m t h e w a y i n w h i c h it c o n n e c t s t o o t he r s . T h u s ,t h e re c a n b e n o b e i n g w i t h o u t n o t h in g n e s s a n d n o n o t h i n g n e s s w i t h o u t be in g .N e i the r o ne is s imply the de r iva t ive o f the o th e r fo r they a re equ ip rimord ia l.

T h e e x p e r i e n c e o f n o t h i n g n e s s is n e c e s s a r y i n o r d e r t o f r e e u s f r o m a ne x c e s si v e a t t a c h m e n t t o w o r d s , s i n c e it c a n h e l p t o r e ve a l a t r u t h t h a t n a m e sa ll t o o f r e q u e n t ly c o n c e a l. S o , a n a t t u n e m e n t t o n o t h i n g n e s s is a n e s s e n ti a lp a r t o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g th e D a o , w h i c h c a n n o t b e n a m e d . W o r d s n e c es s ar il yd r a w b o u n d a r i e s , im p e l l in g h u m a n b e i n g s t o f o rg et t h a t t h e n a t u r e o f a p a r -t ic u la r b e i n g c a n o n l y b e k n o w n t h r o u g h its i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n w i t h o t h e r b e -ings. S ince the m aze o f ne tw ork s tha t an y en t i ty is en tang led in is in f in i t e , t heu l ti m a t e e ss e n c e o f a t h i n g c a n n e v e r b e p o s t u l a te d . N o t h i n g n e s s r e m i n d s u so f t h e p a r ti c u la r"thisness" o f a t h in g w h i c h c a n n o t b e r e d u c e d t o c o n c e p t u a lc a te g o r ie s . W h e n n a m e s a r e s u b s t i t u t e d f o r th e d i r e c t e n c o u n t e r w i t h t h i n g st h e m s e l v e s , w e c a n s i n k i n to a c o m f o r t a b l e f a m i li ar it y w h i c h n e v e r t h e l e s sd i s t ances us f ro m the rad ica l pa r t icu la r ity o f the th ings a t han d .

Z h u a n g z i ' s w r i t i n g p u t s le s s d i r e c t e m p h a s i s o n t h e c o s m o l o g i c a l u n -d e r s t a n d i n g o f n o t h i n g n e s s a s a k i n d o f p r im o r d i a l s o u r c e t h a n d o e s L a o z i,b u t still in v o k e s th e c o n c e p t i n o r d e r t o p o i n t t o p r o b l e m s o f o u r u n d e r -

s t and ing . In theZbuang~,t h e r e i s a p a s s a g e w h i c h d e s c r i b e s o u r g r a d u a lm o v e m e n t aw a y f r o m a n a t t u n e m e n t to n o t h in g n e s s:

In th e beg inning they d id no t kn ow tha t any th ing existed ; th is i s v ir tua lly p er fec tknowledge , f o r no th ing can be added . La t e r they knew tha t som e th ings ex i s tedbu t t hey d id no t d i s ti ngui sh be tween t hem. N ex t cam e those wh o d i s t ingu i shedbe twee n t h ings, bu t d id no t j udge th ings a s 'b e ing ' o r ' n o t be ing '. I t was wh en


13/20

Froese: From Nihilism to N othingness 109

judgements were m ade th at theTa o was dam aged, and because the Taowasdam aged, lov e bec am e complete. (Zhuangzi_ '2, 14)

He re a l ack o f know ledge is desc r ibed as the m os t pe r fec t knowledge ,because no thin g is ye t seen as d i fferent ia ted f rom any thing e lse. T he n i t be-cam e kno wn tha t th ings ex i s ted bu t n o d i s tinc tions were m ade be tw een them ,because they were s till v iewed in term s o f the i r in terconnect iv i ty ra ther thanin t e rms o f the i r separateness . La te r on , d i st inc tions were m ade bu t be ing andnon -be ing were no t separa ted f ro m o ne ano ther. Th i s suggest s tha tnon-be ing i s r ecogn ized as an aspec t o f be ing because the open ing tha tcon nects o ne th ing to o the r th ings i s recognized. Th erefo re , th ings are seenas d is t inc t bu t no t as i so la ted f ro m o ne another. F inally, w he n jud~ 'nents were

m ade , and an accoun t o f th ings was g iven tha t focused on the i r d iffe ren t ia t ionf rom o ne an o ther, hum an be ings s t r ayed fu r thes t f rom the Dao . Ye t , becausethe D ao was da m aged, love becam e com plete because the i rres is tib le pul l ofnoth ingn ess i s s til l m anifes ted in the des i re to re turn to th e no n-di fferen t ia tedone ness o f a ll th ings .

Laoz i too suggest s tha t no th ingness rem inds us o f the non-opp os i t iona lnature o f opposi tes : " I f a ll on ear th ackn ow ledge the beaut i fu l as beauti fu l ,then the reby the ug ly is al ready pos i ted . I f all on e a ~ acknowledge the go odas goo d, then thereb y is the no n- go od a l ready po si ted" (Laozi: ch . 2) . O n on elevel, th is suggests tha t we th ink in d ic ho tom izing terms. F or exam ple , we canon ly know w ha t hea t is in r e la t ion to co ld . I f I p lunge m y hand in to two p o t so f wa te r o f d i ffe ring t empera tu res I w in desc r ibe the d i ffe rence be twe en themas ho t an d cold . A t f i rs t g lance , th is appears to b e a s imple negat ion, for Iiden ti fy one by v i r tue o f the w ay in which i t isnot the other. Yet , a t the sam et im e , i f h o t a n d c o l d w e r e n o t s o m e h o w c o n n e c t e d t o e a ch o t h e r, t h e n Iwo uld be incapab le o f com par ing them. B ecause o f th is en tang lem ent the re isa sense in which the re i s no d i ffe rence be tw een them. T he a rgum ent tha t theyare abso lu te ly d i s t inc t f rom each o the r p resupposes tha t the fundamenta lre lat ionship betw een th ings i s on e o f d iv is ion. H ow ever, i f everything is seenas in tercon nected , then each th ing is a lso it s opposi te .

For Zhuang z i , m ora l judgm ents such as go od and evil em erge ou t o f awor ldv iew tha t sees th ings p r imar i ly in t e rms o f the i r d iv i sion f rom one an-o the r. How ever, f ro m the pe r spec tive o f the rad ica l openn ess represen ted bynothin gness , every thing is one , and so the d is t inc t ion betw een r ight andwrong a lso begins to fade away. When i t i s sa id tha t the sage "manages toharm on ize r ight and wro ng " (Zhuangzi : 2 , 14) , th is is no t a prescr ip t ion fora k ind o f m ora l r e la tiv ism in w hich any th ing goes. R a ther i t m eans tha t f roma s tand poin t wh ere th ings are seen as non-d i fferent ia ted , the d is t inc t ionbe twe en go od an d ev il becom es le ss p ron oun ced . Ho wev er, Zhuangz i is no t

imp lying that the sage is com plete ly indi fferent to the cou rse o f events. Be-cause he recognizes tha t th ings areboth di fferen t i ated f rom each o the r an dnotdi ffe ren t i a ted f rom each o the r, he m us tharmonize b e t w e e n r ig h t a n d w r o n grather than dispense wi th m oral i ty ent ire ly. H e m us t balance h is k now ledgeo f the separa t ion be tw een th ings wi th the u nders tand ing tha t they a re a lsoconnec ted . Z huang z i uses the idea o f no th ingness in o rder to desc ribe the


14/20

110 Da o: A Journ al o f Com parative P&'losophy IV.. 1)

op enn ess tha t fos ters in terconnec t ion. H e is less co nc ern ed wi th the n ot iono f orig ins than is Laozi , bu t ra ther invokes no thingn ess in ord er to a l low for

the con t inua l r ec rea t ion o f ha rm ony.W e m igh t raise the o bjec t ion tha t the sage 's activi ty leaves us w ith fe ws ignpos ts tha t can he lp d e te rmine the p ro per m ora l course o f act ion . How -ever, i t is impo r tan t to em phas ize tha t the Dao is t oppos i t ion to m ora l dog-m at i sm is no t in tended to fos te r r eck less mo ra l abando n , bu t r a the r to a llowthe sage to resolve conf l ic t in a m ore contextual ized m ann er. In the W est , anabsence o f m oral d og m a is of ten in terp re ted as n ih i li sm, bu t th ere i s no t raceo f mo ra l n ih i li sm in Dao is t works . An a t tune m ent to no th ingn ess can he lpfos ter a k ind o f m oral pragm at ism wh ich nei the r re lies sole ly on the appl ica-t ions o f abs tract ru les, nor depend s o n an un th ink ing com pl iance wi th r ig id

m oral r ituals . Fo r exam ple , the D aois t sage cou ld avoid the k ind o f label ingwh ich needs to de f ine an e nem y in o rd er to reassure i tse l f o f its ow n g ood -ness. Fur the rm ore , i f m y enem y ' s a ll eged ly " im m ora l" behav io r i s r ecogn izeda s s o m e h o w h a v i n g b e e n p r o v o k e d b y m y o w n , t h e lin es b e t w e e n g o o d a n devi l a lso beco m e m or e b lurred . I f the d iv iding l ines betw een go od and evil a redrawn too sharp ly, then o ne c rea tes the ve ry enemies tha t on e pu rpor t s toavoid . No thingn ess can help to rem ind us of the d iv is ive effec ts o f m orallabeling.

W he n Nietzsch e ra ils agains t Judeo -Chris t ian m oral ity, insis ting that thedis t inc t ions betw een go od and evil d isguise a la tent po w er d ynam ic , he islodg ing a compla in t tha t i s no t a l toge the r d i ffe ren t f rom tha t o f Dao is tth inkers. In fact , the ins ights w hich D aois t texts prov ide can a lso help shedl igh t on N ie tzsche 's pos tu re o f go ing bey on d goo d and evil. Th e n o t ion tha tNietzsch e is an absolute m oral re la t iv ist w ho wan ts to tear all exist ing m o-ra lities asu nder in o rde r to a l low creat ive f lour ishing no m at ter wh at co nse-quences m igh t ensue is too s imple. Nie tzsche 's co nde m nat ion o f mo ra l itya lso ar ises f ro m th e sense that a ll th ings are con nec ted to each oth er in thee terna l r e tu rn . Thus , an app roach tha t a ims to o verco m e mora l ity does n o tnecessari ly extol v io lence and blo od shed , especia l ly i f i t is p redicated o n an

unders tanding that a l l th ings are connected. There i s no suggest ion in theworks o f e ithe r Laoz i o r Zhu angz i tha t the sage employ v io len t m eans toachieve harm ony . O n the co ntrary, v io lence is explic it ly shu nne d. H avin g sa idthis , i t i s a lso imp or tan t to recogn ize that N ie tzsche do es no t ab ho r v io lencein the same way and indeed bel ieves it to b e inevitable because th e bou ndar ieswh ich separa te th ings are v iew ed by him to be as pow erful as the forces tha tc o n n e c t th e m .

Da ois t th ink ers w an t to avoid precise ly the k ind o f d iv isiveness tha tNietzsch e th inks m akes v iolence and conf l ic t an inevi table par t o f the pro cesso f life. Fo r Dao is t th inkers , bou ndar ies are of ten co nsidere d a source o fanguish . This i s w hy Laozi and Z huan gzi both suggest tha t the sage mu st gainre lease f rom an a t tac hm ent to the sel f. The Dao is t sage tr ies to rend er h is soulop en in the sp ir it o f no th ingness. He becom es a k ind o f non -se l f tha t does no tc l ing to the se lf , bu t ra ther recognizes tha t h is se l fhoo d emerge s throu gh hisin terac tion wi th o thers. T he sage creates by le t ting-be and a l lowing the par-


15/20

F r o e s e : F r o m N i h i l i s m t o N o t h i n g n e s s 111

t icular v i r tue o f a ll th ings to u nfo ld o ut o f spon taneo us in terplay. To cul tiva teh a r m o n y a m o n g th i ng s , h e m u s t b e a t tu n e d t o t h e p o w e r o f n o t h in g n e ss :

"T he pe r fec t man , in con t ras t , concen t ra tes h is sp ir it upo n tha t which wasbefo re the beg inning and res ts in the s t rangeness o f bein g in the f ie lds o fno th ingness . L ike wa te r he f lows wi thou t fo rm, o r p ours ou t in to the g rea tpur i ty" (Zhuangzi : 32 , 290) . The Daois t sage "remains undeser ted" becausehis non-a ct ion a l lows othe r th ings to go tow ard him. In th is way, he is able tofred ful lness in emp tiness:

Thu s also is the M an o f Cal lingH e dwells in effectiveness withou t action.H e pract ices teaching without talking.Al l be ings em ergeand he does no t re fuse h imse l f to them.H e genera tes and ye t possesses no th ing .H e is effect ive and ke eps nothing.W hen the work i s donehe does no t dwell with it .A nd jus t because he does no t dwel lhe re m ains unde serted. (Laozi: ch. 2)

Perha ps ano ther way to shed l ight on th is dy nam ic is to l iken i t to a k indof conversa t ion . In o rder fo r me to converse wi th you , I mus t a l so occa-s ional ly remain s i lent so tha t you can speak. In the f renet ic buzz of con-tem po rary socie ty th is i s of ten forgot ten .

Th e type o f act iv i ty the sage engages in i s of ten refer red to aswuweiNNwh ich is f requen t ly t rans lated as non-act ion:"In stillness th ey take acfion lessact ion ... Th rou gh act ionless ac t ion they are h appy, very happy; b eing sohap py they are no t aff l ic ted by cares and w orr ies" (Zhuangzi : 13 , 107).Ho wev er, th i s t rans la t ion can be som ewh at mis lead ing fo r W es te rn readers ,s ince w u~ i does n o t imply the cessa tion o f ac tivi ty, bu t r a the r m eans tha t weshou ld ac t in such a way tha t no th ingness i spart o f o n e 's a c ti on . O n e m u s tprov ide an op en ing for o th er beings thro ug h on e 's activity. I f I am to es tab-

l ish accord a m on g th ings, I m us t a lso be familiar wi th the i rde ~ , or par t icularv i rtues in o rd er to p rov ide the p rop er spaces tha t they can en te r in to . A p o tthat i s to h old l iquids m ust b e ta ilored to tha t wh ich i t is in tende d to hold .Th us , no n-act io n is a very d i ff icul t sk il l to m aster, because i t dem and s a so-ph i s ti cated a tt en tiveness to the open ings p rov ided b y the wo r ld a rou nd o ne .Co ok D ing expresses th is w hen he desc ribes h i s t a len t fo r bu tchery : "Be-tween the jo in ts there are spaces, and th e b lade o f a kni fe has no real th ick-ness . I f you p ut w hat has n o th ickness in to spaces such as these , there isp len ty o f room , cer ta in ly enou gh fo r the kn i fe to wo rk th ro ug h" (Zhuangz i:3 , 23). Yet the cosm ological un ders tand ing o f nothing ness an d its practical

appl ica tion are no t d ivorced. I t is Co ok D ing 's awareness o f spaces betw eenth ings tha t a llows h im to w ork accord ing to the sp ir it o f the Da o and the rebyre m m to th e D ao in this way. H is pract ical act ivity is also a spir itual experi-ence and imbues h i s experience wi th a sense o f oneness .

W hi le Da ois t wr i t ings are reple te wi th th e language o f a spontan eousharmonizat ion, th is does not mean i t i s eas~y achieved. As the t i t le of the


16/20

112 D ao: A Journ al o f Com parative Ptu'losophy(IV.. 1)

s e c o n d c h a p t e r i n t h eZ h u a n g q ," W o r k i n g e v e r y t h in g o u t e v e n l y " s u g g e st s,h a r m o n y h a s t o b e a c t iv e ly c u l ti v a te d . H a r m o n i z a t i o n a ll ow s u s t o e x p e r i e n c e

a c ti vi ty w i t h t h e c a l m n e s s o f n o t h i n g n e s s . T h e a u t h e n t i c p e r s o n o r s a ge e x -p e r i e n c e s a n d i n it ia te s m o v e m e n t b u t s e e m s u n a ff e c t e d b y i t:

H e does no t f ee l the hea t o f the burn ing dese r t s nor the co ld o f the vas t wa te r s .H e i s no t f r igh tened by the l igh tn ing which can sp l i t ope n moun ta ins , no r by thes to rms tha t can whip up the seas . Such a pe r son r ides the c louds and mountsupon the sun and moon , and wanders ac ross and beyond the four seas . Ne i the rdea th no r l i f e concerns h im, no r i s he in te res ted in wha t is good o r bad! (Zhuangzk2 , 1 8 )

T h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n h a r m o n y a n d s tilln e ss is c o n t i n u o u s l y r ei n-

f o r c e d i n D a o i s t t h o u g h t : " C r e a t e e m p t i n e s s u p t o t h e h i g h e s tl G u a r d s ti ll ne s sup to the m o s t com ple te . T he n a l l th ings m ay r ise tog e th e r" (Laoz i: ch . 16).A c c o r d i n g t o L a o z i, m o v e m e n t m u s t b e c o m e s o h a r m o n i o u s t h at i t m i r ro r sno th ingness : "Th ings in a l l the i r mul t i tude : each one re tu rns to i t s roo t . Re-tu rn ing to the ro o t m ean s s t il lness" (Laozi: ch . 16) . Th i s o ffe r s a s t a rk con t ra s tt o t h e f r e n z i e d m o v e m e n t o f N i e t z s c h e ' s Z a r a t h u s t r a w h o is s p u r r e d t o a c t i npar t by the th rea t tha t no th ingness poses as the cessa t ion o f a l l ac t iv i ty. InD a o i s t t h i n k i n g , m o v e m e n t i s e x p e r i e n c e d a s s t i l l n e s s n o t b e c a u s e w e a r er e n d e r e d p a s s i v e , b u t b e c a u s e t h e c u l t i v a t i o n o f h a r m o n y i s i n t e n d e d t om i n i m i z e c o n f l ic t a n d t e n s i o n , t h e r e b y p r o v i d i n g s e r e n it y in c h a n g e .5

N o t h i n g n e s s b e c o m e s i m p o r t a n t a s t h e s p a c e b e t w e e n t h i n g s t h a ts e p a ra t e s t h e m w h i le a ls o a l lo w i n g t h e m t o c o n n e c t . T h i s is w h y t h e p a r-t ic u la r it y o f th i n g s is m a d e p o s s i b l e t h r o u g h n o t h i n g n e s s . I n a c o m p l e x p a s -sage , Zhu an gz i e luc ida tes th i s l ink :

Noth ing ex i s t s which i s no t " tha t , " no th ing ex i s t s which i s no t " th i s . " I canno tlook a t som eth ing th rough som eon e e l se 's eyes, I can on ly t ru ly kno w som eth ingw h i c h I kn o w. T h e r e f o r e " t h a t " c o m e s o u t o f " t h i s " a n d " t h i s " aris es f r o m " t h a t . "Th i s i s why we say " tha t " and " th i s " a re born f rom each o the r, mo s t de f in i te ly ...W h e n "this" and "that" do n o t s t and aga ins t each o the r, th is i s cal l ed the p ivo t o fthe Tao . Com pare bLr th wi th dea th , com pare dea th wi th l if e ; com pare w ha t i sposs ib le wi th wh a t i s no t poss ib le and com pare w ha t i s no t poss ib le wi th wha t i sposs ible ; because there is , there is not and be cause the re is not , there is. (Zhuangzi :12)

M a n y la ye rs o f m e a n i n g c a n b e g l e a n e d f r o m t his p a ss a ge . O n t h e o n eha nd , i t i s c l ea r tha t " th i s" a nd" t h a t " a r en o t o n e a n o t h e r. T h e f a c t th a t t h e r eis n o t h i n g w h i c h is n e i t h e r" t h i s " n o r " t h a t " i n d ic a te s t h a t e a c h t h i n g israd ica l ly d i s t inc t f rom the nex t and i t s pa r t i cu la r i ty canno t be reduced tow o r d s . Z h u a n g z i u s e s th e v a g u e te r m i n o l o g y o f t h e " t h i s " a n d " t h a t " t o p o i n to u t t h a t t h e s p e c if ic i ty o r " t h i s n e s s " o f a t h i n g c a n n o t b e d e f i n e d . Ye t , a t t h es a m e t i m e , w h a t a t h i n gis o n l y m a k e s s e n se t h r o u g h t h a t w h i c h i t #n o ts ince

s Cher t Guying h igh ligh ts the t r em endous sadness and pa in tha t Z ara thus t ra m us t endure toexper ience the fu l lness o f l if e , con t ras t ing th is w i th Zhuang z i ' s no t ion tha t the f ee lings con-s t i tu te an "en orm ous res t ra in t " on hum an be ings (Chen : 117).


17/20

F r o e s e : F r o m N i h i l is m t o N o t h i n g n e s s [ 13

" t h i s " a n d" t h a f ' a r e c o n n e c t e d . B e c a u s e o f t h is c o n n e c t i o n , e a c h t h i n g isb o t h " t h i s" a n d " t h a t. " E a c h t h i n g "i s" w h a t i t " is n o t " b e c a u s e t h e c o n n e c -

t io n b e t w e e n t h in g s is m a d e p o s s ib l e b y t h e o p e n n e s s o f n o t h i n g n e s s .N o t h i n g n e s s r e fe r s t o a k i n d o f n o n - e s s e n t i a li s m o f a ll th i n g s . W i t h o u tth e presenceo f n o t h i n g n e s s , w e w o u l d n o t b e a w a re o f th e f a ct th a t o n e t h i n gis not the o t h e r. B u t t h e p r e s e n c e o f n o t h i n g n e s s a ls o r e m i n d s u s t h a t o n eth ing i s the oth er fo r a ll th ings a re inex t ri cab ly en tang led . As in W es temp h i l o s o p h y, t h e r e i s a s e n s e t h a t t h e " n o t h i n g " d i f fe r e n t ia t e s , b u t t h i s d if -f e r e n t ia t i o n is n e c e ss a r y f o r th i n g s t o c o m e t o g e t h e r. N o t h i n g n e s s i s t h e r e f o r ep r e s e n t r a t h e r t h a n a b s e n t a s t h e e m p t y s p a c e t h a t a l l o w s t h i n g s t o b o t h b ea n d t o c o n n e c t i n t o a w h o le :

T h i r t y sp o k e s s u r r o u n d t h e h u b :In th e i r no th ing ness con s i s t s the ca r r iage ' s e ffec t iveness .O n e h o l l o w s t h e c l ay a n d s h a p e s i t i n t op o t s .I n i ts n o t h i n g n e s s c o n s i s t s t h e p o t ' s e f f ec t iv e n e s s .O n e c u ts o u t d o o r s a n d w i n d o w s t o m a k e t h e c h am b e r.I n t h e i r n o t h i n g n e s s c o n s i s ts t h e c h a m b e r s e f f ec t iv e n e s s .T h e r e f o r e : w h a t e x i st s s er v e s f o r p o s s e s s i o n .W ha t doe s no t ex i s t se rves fo r e ffec t iveness . (Laoz i - ch . 11)

I II . F r o m N i h i l is m t o N o t h i n g n e s s

B e i n g a n d n o n - b e i n g a re s o i n t e rm i n g l e d in D a o i s t p h i l o s o p h y t h a t t h e yc a n n o t b e e a s il y d i s e n ta n g l e d . Z h u a n g z i b r i n g s t h is p o i n t h o m e : " T h e r e is t h eb e g i n n i n g ; t h e r e i s n o t a s y e t a n y b e g i n n i n g o f t h e b e g i n n i n g . T h e r e is w h a t is ,a n d t h e r e i s w h a t i s n o t , a n d i t is n o t e a sy t o s ay w h e t h e r w h a t is n o t , i s n o t ;o r w h e t h e r w h a t is , i s " ( Z h u a n g z i : 2 , 1 5). N o n - b e i n g i s n o t p u r e a b s e n c e b u ta ls o r e p r e s e n t s p o t e n t ia l it y. T h e r e is n e v e r a n y p u r e b e g i n n i n g w h i c h is n o ta ls o a n e n d i n g a s w e l l as a c o n t i n u a t i o n . T h e e n d o f o n e p a r t i c u la r t h i n g m a r k st h e b e g i n n i n g o f a n o t h e r. F o r t h i s re a s o n , Z h u a n g z i is l es s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h ec o s m o l o g i c a l n o t i o n o f o ri g in s t h a n i s L a o z i w h o s e es in n o t h i n g n e s s a k i n do f c o n s t a n t r e t u r n t o o r i g in s . Ye t , i n b o t h L a o z i a n d Z h u a n g z i e n d i n g s a n dbeg inn ings a re a lways co nn ec ted and the re fo re the re is l it tl e t r ace o f a k ind o fN i e t z s c h e a nA n g s to r n i hi li st ic d es p a i r. N o t h i n g n e s s m a r k s t h e b i r th o f a llth ings , because i t i s noth ing in pa r t i cu la r, and the re fo re represen t s end lessp o t e n t i a l a s w e l l a s h a r m o n y. R i c h a r d W i l h e lm p o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e d e e p e s ts e c r e t is t h e n o n - b e g i n n i n g t h a t is o f t e n r e p r e s e n t e d b y a s i m p l e c ir c le(Wi lhe lm: 116) . T he c i rc le is bo th w ho le an d in f in i t e s ince each p o in t a long i tc a n b e s e e n a sbothb e g i n n i n g a n d e n d .

W h i l e n o t h i n g n e s s i n p h i l o s o p h i c a l D a o i s m i s s e e n a s a n o p e n i n g , i n

Wes te rn though t i t i s o f t en assoc ia ted wi th c losure . Th i s i s ind ica t ive o f thei n d iv i d u a li st a s s u m p t i o n s t h a t u n d e r l i e W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y, f o r i f w e l iv ep r i m a r i l y f o r t h e s e l f , t h e n " t h e n o t h i n g " c o n s t i t u t e s a h a u n t i n g s p e c t e r o ff ina l i ty indeed . Nie tzsche ' s t igh t rope wa lker pe rce ives no th ingness as theh o r r i f y i n g ab y s s w h i c h s ig n a ls t h e e n d o f h i s m o v e m e n t . I t is li te ra ll y t h ed e a d - e n d t h a t f o r c e s h i m t o f o c u s f u l ly o n t h e a c t iv i ty h e is e n g a g e d i n . I n


18/20

114 Da o: A Journa l o f CoraparativeP&'losophj lia 1)

D a o i s t t h o u g h t , d e a t h is a r e m i n d e r o f t h e i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n o f a ll th i n g s. T h e r eis no pass ing-away tha t is no t a l so a com ing- to -b e . Th i s i s the reas on tha t the

D a o i s t s a g e c o n f r o n t s h i s o w n d e a t h w i t h r e l a t i v e e q u a n i m i t y. H e i s n o tf r i g h t e n e d b y h is m o r t a li t y b e c a u s e h e " s i m p l y u se s h i s p h y s i ca l b o d y a s ap l a c e t o d w e l l" ( Z h u a n g z i: 5 , 3 9). H e k n o w s t h a t " d e a t h a n d b i r t h , b e i n g a n dn o n - b e i n g , a re o n e a n d t h e s a m e " ( Z h u a n g z i: 6 , 5 2). R a t h e r t h a n v i e w i n g h i ss e l f i n t e r m s o f t h e c o n s t r a i n ts h e f a ce s , h e r e g a rd s i t a s b u t o n e t h r e a d i n a ni n fi n it e n e t . T h e b o u n d a r i e s o f h is b o d y a r e n o t p e r c e i v e d a s l im i t s b u t r a t h e ra s o p e n i n g s . F o r t h i s r e a s o n h e t r a n s c e n d s h i s l im i t a t io n s n o t b y s t ru g g l i n ga g a in s t t h e m i n s u p e rm a n - l ik e f a s h i o n , b u t r a t h e r b y a c c e p t i n g t h e m t h r o u g ht h e a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t t h a t th e y a re a ls o p o i n t s o f c o n n e c t i o n .

I h a v e a rg u e d a b o v e t h a t t h e r e is a n a c c o u n t o f n o t h in g n e s s a s o p e n i n g

e v e n i n N i e t z s c h e ' s w r i t in g s t h a t i s d ir e c tl y l in k e d t o h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h ee t er n a l r e t u r n w h i c h r e v ea ls t h e f u n d a m e n t a l c o n n e c t e d n e s s o f all th i n g s . I nf a c t, b y s u g g e s t i n g t h a t a c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h d e a t h m a k e s t h e a f f i r m a t i o n o fl i f e poss ib le , Nie tzsche t ac i t ly acknowledges the in te r re la t ionsh ip be tweene n d i n g s a n d b e g in n i n g s. H o w e v e r, N i e t z sc h e w o u l d n o t w a n t t o p e r m a n e n t l yo v e r c o m e t h e s e n se o f i n d iv i d u a ti o n th a t d iv id e s t h in g s f r o m o n e a n o t h e r.W h e n t h e t i g h t - r o p e w a l k e r s ta r es i n t o t h e g a p i n g a by s s t h a t e n c ir c le s h i m , h eb e c o m e s a c u t el y a w a re t h a t h e c o n f r o n t s n o t h i n g n e s s a s h is o w n . T h e D a o i s ts a ge d o e s n o t e x p e r i e n c e n o t h i n g n e s s a s h i s o w n a n d r e le a s e f r o m t h e i n d i-v i d u a t e d e g o - se l f is h is c o n s t a n t a im : " N o t h i n g s e en ; n o t h i n g h e a rd . E m -brace the sp i ri t in qu ie tness , the bo dy w i th i ts ow n r igh tness . Be s till, be pure ,d o n o t m a k e y o u r b o d y s tr u gg le , d o n o t d i st u rb y o u r e s s e n c e " ( Z h u a ng z i: 11,86) . Fo r the sage , ind iv idua t ion is a s soc ia ted w i th tu rm oi l , d i scord a nd g r ie f .

H o w e v e r, t o c l a i m t h a t t h e p a r a d o x e s o f i n d i v i d u a t i o n a r e c o m p l e t e l yi g n o r e d i n D a o i s t p h i l o s o p h y w o u l d a ls o b e a n u n j u s t r e n d e r i n g o f t h e set e x t s . Z h u a n g z i ' s f a m o u s b u t t e r f l y d r e a m p r o v i d e s a s u b t l e e x a m p l e . H ea d m i t s t h a t h e c a n n o t k n o w w h e t h e r h e is a b u t te r f ly d r e a m i n g h e is a m a n o ra m a n d r e a m i n g h e is a b u t te r fl y :

O nce up on a t ime I , Zhuangz i , d reamt tha t I w as a bu t ter f ly, f l it t ing a roun d anden joy ing myse lf . I had no idea I was Zhuangz i . Then suddenly I w oke up and wasZhu angz i again . But I cou ld no t t ell , had I be en Z huan gz i d reaming I was a bu t -texi ly o r a bu tte r f ly d reaming I was now Zhua ngz i? How ever, the re m us t be som esort of di fference between Zhuangzi and a but terf ly! We cal l th is the t ransfor-m arion o f things . (Zhuangzi : 2 , 20)

Zh uan gz i ' s d re am e xper ienc e is sign i fi can t fo r i t r ecal ls the t r a ns fo rm at ion o fo n e t h i n g i n t o a n o t h e r t h a t c o n s t i t u te s t h e D a o ' s p r o c e s s . I t is n o a c c i d e n tt h a t t h is v i s io n c o m e s t o h i m i n s le e p w h i c h d i s s o lv e s th e b o u n d a r i e s o f t h ee g o - se lf . F r o m t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e D a o , i t is i rr e le v a n t w h e t h e r o r n o t

Zh uan gz i really i s a bu t t e r f ly o r a ma n . Y e t , a t the sam e t ime , in the en d , hea c k n o w l e d g e s th a t t h e r e

nihlism and nothingness

Documents