What Does it Mean to Be Self-So?

Abstract

This article aims to understand Guo Xiang’s concept of self-so in the perspective of the metaphysical agenda of the Xuanxue movement. After reviewing the core features of this metaphysical agenda, I show that Guo Xiang’s original use of self-so could be understood as an exegetical tool to deal with the challenges addressed to language in the Zhuangzi, as well as with its conception of reality as ever-transforming. I attempt to show that although Guo Xiang dismisses the metaphysical quest for a first principle, his philosophy can nevertheless be read as an enquiry into the most fundamental feature of reality.