dizzydoll
04-24-2010, 10:49 AM
The first major philosopher who lived in China was Lao-Tzu, about 600 BC, under the Eastern Chou dynasty. Lao-Tzu founded the philosophy of Taoism, which said that people should try to live in harmony with the universe, rather than fighting it. Instead of living by rigid rules and laws, people should try to work with the natural way of the world, and in this way their lives would be easier and happier.
Not long after Lao-Tzu began teaching Taoist ideas, another philosopher named Confucius came along to disagree with him. Confucius, who lived about 550 BC, also under the Eastern Chou dynasty, taught that people should recognize their responsibilities to the larger society, and work to uphold the laws and customs of their society. If everyone was a good citizen, the whole community would benefit and everyone would be happier. You can see that these two ideas conflict with each other. Yet both Taoism and Confucianism were popular all over China for the next two thousand years, and they are still both popular today.
Taoist philosophy is in many ways much more flexible than Confucianism. Taoist writers seek to avoid being "boxed" by rules, definitions and empty words. They encourage a sort of intuitive and non-logical way of seeking balance in the world by resisting the desire to interfere with normal processes of nature. Taoism emphasizes wu wei--enlightened non-action rather than needless bustle and "busy-work" for its own sake. Legalism emphasizes wu yu--active attempts to modify human behavior for the better by restraining the evil impulses of humanity in a rigid hierarchy of law.
Confucianism, while not completely incompatible with either philosophy, suggests that thoughtful contemplation is necessary in making decisions rather than blindly following rules (the Legalist philosophy). Confucianism also rejects the irrationalism of Taoists. Taoist philosophy rejects the Confucian idea that traditions are valuable for their own sake. It also rejects the Legalist idea that human nature is inherently evil. Rather, human behavior simply is.... It is artificial and pointless to force humans to always behave in a certain manner. People who behave virtuously out of fear, according to Taoist thought, aren't really virtuous at all. Rather than agonizing over virtue and morality, and splitting hairs over fine points of ethics, it is far better to rule with a relaxed hand and lead by example, as Lao-Tzu describes his "Master" in the Tao-te Ching.
Ultimately, if people stop worrying about virtue, virtue can become intuitive, instinctive, almost second-nature, as the Chuang-Tzu suggests in the allegory of the butcher. In this allegory, the best, speediest butcher in the village has been chopping meat for so long that he doesn't need to think about where to cut, or pause and consider where the best slice should fall. Instead, chop-chop-chop-chop! he instantly and precisely cuts the meat by force of habit. If he stops to think about what he does, that perfect efficiency and thoughtless speed would be lost. In the same way, the Taoists seek to live their lives just as the butcher chops his meat. That is the Tao. It is done, rather than described.
Not long after Lao-Tzu began teaching Taoist ideas, another philosopher named Confucius came along to disagree with him. Confucius, who lived about 550 BC, also under the Eastern Chou dynasty, taught that people should recognize their responsibilities to the larger society, and work to uphold the laws and customs of their society. If everyone was a good citizen, the whole community would benefit and everyone would be happier. You can see that these two ideas conflict with each other. Yet both Taoism and Confucianism were popular all over China for the next two thousand years, and they are still both popular today.
Taoist philosophy is in many ways much more flexible than Confucianism. Taoist writers seek to avoid being "boxed" by rules, definitions and empty words. They encourage a sort of intuitive and non-logical way of seeking balance in the world by resisting the desire to interfere with normal processes of nature. Taoism emphasizes wu wei--enlightened non-action rather than needless bustle and "busy-work" for its own sake. Legalism emphasizes wu yu--active attempts to modify human behavior for the better by restraining the evil impulses of humanity in a rigid hierarchy of law.
Confucianism, while not completely incompatible with either philosophy, suggests that thoughtful contemplation is necessary in making decisions rather than blindly following rules (the Legalist philosophy). Confucianism also rejects the irrationalism of Taoists. Taoist philosophy rejects the Confucian idea that traditions are valuable for their own sake. It also rejects the Legalist idea that human nature is inherently evil. Rather, human behavior simply is.... It is artificial and pointless to force humans to always behave in a certain manner. People who behave virtuously out of fear, according to Taoist thought, aren't really virtuous at all. Rather than agonizing over virtue and morality, and splitting hairs over fine points of ethics, it is far better to rule with a relaxed hand and lead by example, as Lao-Tzu describes his "Master" in the Tao-te Ching.
Ultimately, if people stop worrying about virtue, virtue can become intuitive, instinctive, almost second-nature, as the Chuang-Tzu suggests in the allegory of the butcher. In this allegory, the best, speediest butcher in the village has been chopping meat for so long that he doesn't need to think about where to cut, or pause and consider where the best slice should fall. Instead, chop-chop-chop-chop! he instantly and precisely cuts the meat by force of habit. If he stops to think about what he does, that perfect efficiency and thoughtless speed would be lost. In the same way, the Taoists seek to live their lives just as the butcher chops his meat. That is the Tao. It is done, rather than described.