“Utility of Futility” comes from “Zhuangzi On Earth”. In this chapter, a scene depicted is like that: Zhuangzi and his disciples are having a rest in front of a big tree. The disciples are wondering why no one makes use of this quite flourishing tree, which could have been made into doors, windows and utensils. Instead, the tree is tucked away in the deep forest. The possible reason is that that tree is not as useful as other trees because it is of poor quality. Zhuangzi comments, “this tree can live to the end of his days because of its uselessness. Don’t you think that that’s Utility of Futility, not useful to others but useful to itself.”
We are living in a society which advocates utilitarianism. Everything is judged by its function. However, many things as we perceive are not seemingly useful, yet their significance and value will surface with our increasing awareness and passage of time.
Organizing team
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Yi Tsai
Co-organizer -
Yi Tsai
Co-organizer -
Jing Zhang
Market Director -
Huiying Ruan
Content Director -
Shiying Xiang
Content Director -
Ding'er Ge
Content Team Member -
Ding'er Ge
Content Team Member -
Zihao Chen
Media Director -
Shanshan Liu
Media Team Member -
Jun Shi
Media Team Member -
Na Wang
Market Team Member