本文主旨在於針對《莊子．外雜篇》中較近於莊子思想之材料，探討其和《內篇》中的莊子想在思想結構上的不同，及其思想演進上的脈絡。本文認為：由《內篇》到《外雜篇》，基本上可以發現有一由「內」向「外」，由「心」向「物」的思維發展方向。此一發展方向在中國思想史上的意義則是「氣」觀念的進一步發展，而此一思想發展的時代背景，則在於戰國中後期中國社會文明與政治發展之狀況。物性的大量開發影響了中國人世界觀的擴大；最重要的是，物性之多元化與複雜化破壞了人類心靈原來對物質世界的掌握原則，導致人類世界中「心」與「物」的關係改變。而從「依乎天理」到「達理明權」、「順俗從眾」，從「不材之用」到「處乎材與不材之間」，從「逍遙」到「曠達」，從「齊死生」的到「悅死惡生」等觀念上之轉化，分是此一想發展脈絡下的演變內容。

There was a thinking development from “mentality” to “matter” in Chuang-Tze Outer and Miscellaneous chapters. (莊子外雜篇) This thinking development based on two dimensions: the first was the social civilization progress, and the second was the development of “Chi” (氣) conception during the Chinese Warring period. (戰國時代) In this Age the Technology and civilization growing expanded the world and space idea of Chinese. The world space expanding and civilization thriving made the Chinese thoughts changing and paid more attention to “matter”, comparing to the previous age which attaching more to mentality. If we focus on the comparison between Inner and Outer-Miscellaneous chapters of Chuang-Tze, we can find some thinking changing such as “from nature law to secularization”、”from impotent to between impotent and potent”、”from unfettered to sweeping”、”from balancing life and death to favored death”. All of these changing based on the foundation of “from mentality to matter”. This is a noticeable thinking inclination in the materials of Outer-miscellaneous chapters of Chuang-Tze, and is the subject of this research article.