道 - Introduction to Taoism

Topic of yesterday: “ce qui est le philosophe” – what is philosopher.  First, we have to ask what is philosophy? According to its Greek origin, the word is a combination of philo (love) and sophy (knowledge) “Love of knowledge”. Therefore a philosopher is a "lover of knowledge."
Blandine, one of our café-philosophers who has studied Chinese for some years, made the observation that some philosophical concepts could be more easily expressed picturesquely in written Chinese. It took me some time to understand this remark and make sense of her comment. After some contemplation, I came to the conclusion that the concept of Chinese philosophy differs from what you would normally classify as the “love of knowledge”. Philosophy in ancient China could be more accurately associated with the German phrase die Weltanschauung or “world view”.

Take Taoism for example, as a branch of philosophy, it represents a view of nature and recommends a life style in harmony with nature rather than seeking the truth or knowledge.

In most philosophical schools, we ask ourselves three questions:

To be, to have, or to do? - Who are we? Why do we exist? What is the purpose? Descartes’ famous line: “je pense donc je suis” – “I think therefore I am” stresses the question of “to be” and “to do”.

In Taoism, we can examine the following words:

道 (Dao, or Tao) – path, way, nature

氣 (Qi, or Chi) – breathing, air, to be alive, to be

無 (Wu) – to have not; without

爲 (Wei) – action, to do

One of the most important concepts of Taoism is expressed as: 無爲 Wu Wei. The literal meaning of Wu Wei is “have no action” – in other words, “Do nothing!” The aim of Wu Wei is to achieve a state of perfect equilibrium, or alignment with the 道 Dao (or Tao) – in harmony with the path of nature, and, as a result, obtain an irresistible form of "soft and invisible" power.

The Taoist sage Laozi (ca.400 BC), who lived a non-material existence like Siddhartha, demonstrated the concept of Wu Wei by introducing 氣功 Qi Gong (or Chi kong) – breathing exercises - meditative training increasing longevity and as means of accessing higher realms of existence.

In Western society, some people justify their existence by accumulating unbridled wealth (investment banker’s philosophy). Some people aim to make their life meaningful by seeking fame (“Reality Show” contestant’s philosophy). Some people seek to “make history” by waging wars in the world (politician’s philosophy). Interestingly, there are also people in the West who are sick of a modern society which advocates blind pursuit of money and power. They prefer to live as hermits enjoying their own company. By detaching from society with its demands for conformity, they seek to achieve an inner peace. This kind of life-style is not very far from the Taoist concept of Wu Wei.

Notes:
子 - Zi or Tsu - archaic meaning: "Master", or "Sir". (modern meaning: “son”, “child”)

孔子 - Kongzi – founder of Confucianism (551-479 BC)

老子 - Laozi - Taoist sage (c.400 BC)

孫子 – Sunzi - Military strategist and philosopher (c.544-496 BC)

老子 Laozi

Philosophy Overview

Posted on behalf of Peter:

Any definition of Philosophy will inevitably be partially subjective, since it involves individual choices of emphasis and scope. For a birds-eye view however, the traditional division of philosophy into five main areas is still very useful. These areas are Logic and Epistemology (foundation thinking skills), Ethics and Aesthetics (how to assess the value of something), and Metaphysics (speculation on the ultimate nature of existence).

1. Logic: how to reason
This area is further divided into Formal Logic and Informal Logic - also referred to as Critical Thinking. Formal Logic can get very mathematical and self-referential, and tends to be the province of academic philosophers. Critical Thinking is much more accessible and is a key tool in assessing our own, and other people’s, arguments. (Note: in logic the word ‘argument’ means ‘an attempt to persuade by reason’, not ‘a dispute’).

2. Epistemology: how we know what we know
This area covers knowledge, and when it is justifiable to assert that we know something . It includes issues of scientific method (philosophy of science) and divine revelation (I know it is true because God revealed it to me / someone else).

3. Ethics: what is a moral act
We confront ethical questions both as individuals and at a societal level, where politics is hugely informed by ethical questions (e.g. assisted suicide, fairness of competing political theories).

4. Aesthetics: what is good / beautiful in art
This area has become less important over time, as the distinction between high and mass culture has become less significant. However it is still relevant in, for example, arts funding, where we have to ask why we should subsidise ‘x’ over ‘y’.

5. Metaphysics: the ultimate nature of being.
At one level, this area has also become less important over time due to the enormous discoveries about the world made using scientific methodology. But if one puts the philosophy of religion into this category, then it remains of huge importance to vast numbers of people.

Other definitions
At the next level down we find various permutations of the ‘philosophy of xxx’, where ‘xxx’ equates to mind, language, science, law etc. Here ‘philosophy’ tends to mean the underlying assumptions, goals, methodologies and scope of the topic. In most cases these can be linked back to one of the five main areas e.g. philosophy of science (epistemology), philosophy of law / jurisprudence (ethics).