Abstract This article argues that “knowing enough” ( zhizu ) and “mastering cessation” ( zhizhi ) are aligned with a Laozian view of the “natural,” understood as the broadest observable patterns of the world, but not with “self-emanation” ( ziran ). As such, the article questions the equation of Laozian ziran with the concept of “nature.” While Laozian ziran does signify a “self-emanation” free from human curtailment, from a Laozian perspective natural patterns also include acts of human restraint. “Knowing enough” and “mastering cessation” are aligned with the natural movement signified by Laozian concepts of reversal ( fan ) and return ( fugui ). This movement opposes and complements spontaneous self-emanation. What is “natural” in the Laozi (also known as the Daodejing ) thereby not only includes self-emanation but also timely cessation and return. By examining the functioning of ziran within the philosophy of the Laozi alongside its complementary moment of return and curtailment, this article also critiques the use of Laozian “naturalness” understood as purely emanative and spontaneous to support liberalist and laissez-faire readings of the Laozi .
Rory O’Neill (Sun,) studied this question.