Heidegger’s Phusis (φύσις) and Daoist Ziran (自然)
A Phenomenological Comparison of “Things-Themselves” in Inter-dependence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8410941 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steven Burik (0000-0002-7323-0427, Singapore Management University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-25 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-1773 • E-ISSN: 2332-0486 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00071773.2025.2573920 |
| OpenAlex | W4415547379 |
| Language | DE |
| References cited | 7 |
This article explores a key notion of classical Daoism, ziran 自然, through Martin Heidegger's interpretation of the Greek word phusis. I discuss whether a comparison between these terms allows us to understand ziran differently, and whether a “ziranist” reading sheds more light on how Heidegger understands phusis. I argue that Heidegger challenged the dominance of metaphysics as dualist representational thinking, and that his phenomenological challenge to the dominant Western categories of thought allows us a clearer understanding of ziran in Daoism. I argue that both terms have gone through a similar development in history, which unfortunately does not do those terms justice. While phusis and ziran are often understood as indicating things being “in themselves”, purely self-generated and perceived as separate entities, my reading provides a new way to understand phenomenology's core mission of returning to “the things themselves”, consisting in seeing things as fundamentally processual and relational
Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Phenomenological method · Phenomenological model · Phenomenology (philosophy) · Chinese history and philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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