A comparison of skeptical thought and modes of expression between the outlines of Pyrrhonism and the Zhuangzi
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Date
2025-09-30
Authors
Yingjia, Xu
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Abstract
This paper presents a comparative study of the Outlines of Pyrrhonism and the Zhuangzi, focusing on their skeptical thoughts and ways of expression. It argues that although the two texts share significant similarities in both the starting point and practical aims of their skepticism—namely, a negative and critical attitude toward epistemology, a deep mistrust of the human capacity for knowledge, and a use of questioning as a means rather than an end, wishing to reduce mental distress by eliminating attachment to dogmatic assertions—they also emphasize the connection between philosophical reflection and everyday life. However, the two works exhibit no resemblance in literary style, rhetorical technique, or expressive form. Although neither of these two philosophical works was celebrated in their respective ancient contexts, both Western and Eastern, for their epistemological skepticism, in the modern and contemporary period—especially as the value of Eastern philosophy came to be recognized— the skeptical dimensions of both have been studied more deeply and accorded greater significance. This may suggest not only that philosophical thought admits multiple possibilities of expression, but also that the nature of skepticism is well-suited to the increasingly pluralistic and complex life of thought, particularly in its positive implications in de-eurocentrism and delogocentrism. At the same time, the debate over whether the Zhuangzi should be regarded as skepticism reflects the limitations of interpreting Eastern philosophy through Western philosophical concepts, and invites reflection on comparative philosophy conducted from a single standpoint. Such reflection itself corresponds to the core value of skepticism: This attitude can be described as the refusal to dogmatically impose the value system representative of any one position upon a phenomenon. Through a direct textual comparison, this paper seeks to demonstrate how similar skeptical ideas are articulated through different avenues within distinct cross-cultural philosophical contexts.
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Pyrrhonian skepticism, Zhuangzi