Jason Dockstader

This paper provides a reconstruction of the argumentative logic behind the view of ideal agency in the Zhuangzi 莊子. I begin by articulating two principles that describe the reality in which the text understands agents to be acting: (1) Global Transformation—roughly, the view that reality is constantly transforming and (2) Inscrutability of Change—roughly, the view that agents cannot know how reality will change (§1). Then, I analyze the conditions that one’s agency must satisfy to count as an instance of ideal agency. I extract from the text an argument for the principle of Ideal Adaptive Agency—roughly, the claim that one is an ideal agent if and only if they are maximally adaptive (§2). Then, I consider the question of what capacities are involved in the exercise of ideal agency. First, I identify the nonideal agential stance “Deeming Stance” and extract from the text an argument to the conclusion that those who adopt it are not ideal agents (§3). Second, I identify the agential stance “Adaptive Stance” and extract from the text an argument to the conclusion that agents who adopt it are ideal agents (§4).