Zhuangzu Butterfly Dream (Essay Sample)

Scene Zhuangzu does not know if he has been dreaming if he was a butterfly Philosophical Problem Reality. What is real? How can I confirm Reality? The scene in Zhuangzu Butterfly dream where he wakes up confuses him because he does not know whether he has been dreaming and confirming reality. Zhuangzu is in a state of confusion because he is unaware of the form to associate himself with, either a man or a butterfly. In the dream, he takes the form of a butterfly with all the characteristics. When he is awake or in that state of confusion where he cannot confirm whether he is still in a dream or not, Zhuangzu takes the form of a man. In that human state, Zhuangzu is unaware whether it is the real form or it is the butterfly dreaming. The scene displays the nature of human life and our inability to realize the true nature of being and the world. When we fall asleep and dream, the view is such compelling that we perceive them as reality. It is unclear how we can differentiate dreaming from the wakeful state, which presents the world we live in as an illusion. Zhuangzu shows this confusion between reality and fantasy when he wakes up so convinced that he is fully awake. But he is not sure whether he was dreaming then and whether the moment he associates with wakefulness is a dream. It is possible that at that moment he sees himself as a man, he is a butterfly dreaming that it has changed to a man. Illusions and reality is a philosophical topic of interest which seeks to answer what truth is and how we can confirm it. Ancient philosophers like Plato and Descartes are credited with the philosophy of asking the tough questions about what is perceived as reality and the challenge of demarcating a wakeful moment from a dream. Philosophy challenges us not to take the surface meaning of things in life but to examine them deeply because that is the only time we can make sense of the world. When Zhuangzu wakes up, he does not brush aside the dream he had as just a regular occurrence but chooses to dig deeper. When we have a dream, the environment is real, and in that state, we never question the reality of the scene but rather accept it as our reality. Only when our senses are fully awake, do we realize we have been dreaming. We rely on our thoughts to provide us with the genuine and what we can safely lean on as reality. Things are just enough as they are, but for Zhuangzu, he decides not to rely on his senses which have deceived us most of the time. For Zhuangzu, the mind is not a reliable source to determine whether he is dreaming now that he is awake and not a butterfly. Zhuangzu by displaying his confusion of reality invokes thought to go beyond the senses using the intellect to discover the high order of existence. Human beings struggle with understanding reality and the essence of their existence. However, very few take up the challenge of rising from the comfort of confirming to the reality presented by our senses and seeking answers to what is real. Zhuangzu is different, and he questions life and the nature of being by stating that he does not know if he has been dreaming if he was a butterfly. Reality is the nature of being, and everyone perceives reality differently. Zhuangzu has the objective reality of a butterfly in his mind, and without a clear demarcation of wakefulness and dreaming, he is not sure whether he is awake o...