Uncertainty, Detachment, and Zhuang Zhou's Butterfly

In this paper, I will focus on the metaphysical discussions in Burton Watson's translation of Zhuangzi, especially Chapter 2 and the butterfly dream. There seems to be a narrative strand in Chapter 2 that goes from showing that distinctions are fallacious to saying that there must be some distinction between the butterfly and Zhuang Zhou in the butterfly dream passage. What emerges is a metaphysical picture that is, in various ways, analogous to Zhuangzi's ideas about emotional detachment. A similar attitude is evident in Zhuangzi's ideas about emotions, whereby it is only natural to be affected by first order emotions, but at the same time, they must be controlled to some extent. Just as Zhuangzi suggests that it is possible to both have and not have distinctions at the same time, you can have emotions and be in a state of not having them at the same time. In this paper, I will examine the analogy between these two metaphysical portraits.