“You are not a fish — how do you know what the fish enjoys?”Zhuangzi · Zhuangzi · -300 · capitolul 17
You can never verify another's inner life — you can only guess it by analogy with your own.
The line comes from the famous exchange on the bridge over the Hao river, where Zhuangzi says the fish are happy and Huizi objects with exactly this point. Zhuangzi replies that he knew what Huizi felt when he asked — so knowing another is possible through analogy and closeness, not proof. The text leaves both positions standing, showing that the question of other minds has no decisive answer.
The card shows we cannot verify what others feel. The next step: this does not force silence, but a choice. When your neighbor says he is fine, you can refuse to believe him, or accept that analogy with yourself is enough for daily life. Zhuangzi points to the second path: we know through closeness, not proof. Think of a child crying at night. You do not know exactly what he feels, yet you still respond. The question then becomes: how far can this closeness stretch — to animals, to strangers?
Why it matters It raises the limits of empathy and judgment: we attribute feelings to others that we cannot verify.