Instituting Gestures, Inescapable Ways: Derrida and Zhuangzi Compared

For over 40 years, numerous scholars have engaged in comparing the philosophies of Zhuangzi and Derrida. These comparisons can either bring the two thinkers closer together or set them apart, depending on how the authors assess four key aspects: the central concepts employed by Derrida and Zhuangzi, their relationship to metaphysics, their writing styles, and the practical and therapeutic implications of their philosophies. A meta-analysis of these comparative efforts uncovers shared yet often unexamined assumptions that underpin the various comparisons. The repetition of these assumptions contributes to the consolidation of a set of fixed ideas regarding what connects and distinguishes Zhuangzi and Derrida, including their association with cultural identities shaped by philosophical nationalism. By reflecting on the insights of both Zhuangzi and Derrida regarding the processes of institutionalization within philosophy, this article argues that they both anticipated the deconstruction of the assumptions under which they have been compared.