Agency and Morality in Xuanxue Thought

Xuanxue or “Neo-Daoist” thinkers did not theorize about agency or morality as distinct issues, which is how they are often dealt with in contemporary philosophy. However, we can summarize their ways of approaching agency and morality by glimpsing their rich philosophical systems and concentrating on their views of ideal conduct and the types of actions that fall short. In this chapter, we demonstrate that the overarching message of Xuanxue can be summed up as “be self-so” or “be as one naturally is”—and this is also the best summary of how issues related to agency and morality are conceived. We explore the differing perspectives on what being “self-so” looks like in the thought of Wang Bi, Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, and Guo Xiang; this notion proves to be wildly more complex, rich, and difficult than it might first seem.