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1、,Unit 2 Laozis Philosophy of Non-action,Content,Lead-in,Text study,Exercises,“The Dao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Dao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived
2、 of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.”,Lead-in,Whats the Chinese version of these lines?,道可道 非常道,名可名 非常名,无名 天地之始,有名 万物之母,Introduction,Naturalness and Non-action,The Philosophy of Non-contention,Returning to Newborn State,Text study,Introduction,Laozi (about 571-471 BC), also called
3、Laodan, surname Li, given name Ran and alias Boyang.,He was a recluse (隐居者) who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was said to have once held a low civil position in the royal court, in charge of archival records of the Zhou Dynasty.,Laozi,Laozi was a man of great learning. Even Confucius
4、 was said to have traveled miles to consult him.,Confucius consulting Laozi about li,Introduction,Additional Info,Why is Li Ran known as Laozi rather than Lizi?,There are two explanations as to the source of “Laozi”. Some say during the period when Li Ran was alive, Lao and Li were pronounced in the
5、 same way. So “Laozi” actually sounded the same as “Lizi” at that time. The second legend is that Li Ran was born with white eyebrow and white beard like an old man. Thus he was called “Laozi”.,Introduction,Laozi (老子), also known as Classic of the Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing.,The author is generally
6、 believed to be Laozi.,It consists of just over 5,000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue).,Introduction,Laozi,The book has played a tremendous role in the development of Chinese culture.,It became the basis of Daoism, the school of philosophy
7、 parallel to Confucianism in ancient China.,The thought of Laozi formed the foundation of Daoism, the most influential indigenous school of religion in China.,Introduction,The influence of Laozi,It also exerts a direct impact on the characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of t
8、he Chinese nation and is still playing a role in the development of Chinese thinking.,Introduction,Famous versions of its translation include that of James Legge and that of Stephen Mitchell.,Laozi in the world,It is first introduced into Europe possibly as early as the 15th century,It has become on
9、e of the most translated philosophical works of ancient China.,Additional Info,Introduction,The core of Laozis philosophy,Many of Laozis enlightening views are based on his philosophy of naturalness and non-action.,Introduction,Naturalness and Non-action,Naturalness (顺应自然),It refers to a natural sta
10、te of being, an attitude of following the way of nature.,Everything in the world has its own way of being and development. Natural phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural.,Following the way of nature is the wa
11、y to resolving conflicts between humans and the world.,Naturalness and Non-action,Non-action is the guarantee of “naturalness”.,Non-action (无为),Naturalness and Non-action,By saying “(Dao or the Way ) acts through non-action”, Laozi did not mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for somet
12、hing to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity.,What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on the basis of naturalness, not on any attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.,Naturalness and Non-action,“(Dao or
13、 the Way ) acts through non-action (无为而无不为).” Selected from Laozi,How do you understand this line?,“Great ingenuity appears to be stupidity (大智若愚).” Selected from Laozi,How do you understand this line?,“Great ingenuity” refers to the highest level of ingenuity, arising so naturally that it does not
14、resemble ingenuity at all. Ingenuity can be achieved through human effort, but “great ingenuity” is superior to ordinary ingenuity.,Naturalness and Non-action,Deceit,To Laozi, resorting to deceit is true futility and would accomplish just the opposite result.,Those who intend to play tricks are not
15、genuine and therefore are not natural.,Deceit is detrimental to naturalness and to the harmony of life.,Naturalness and Non-action,The Philosophy of Non-contention,On the basis of “naturalness” and “non-action”, Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak (以柔克刚)”.,The era Laozi l
16、ived in was replete with endless war.,Overcoming the strong by being weak,War was an important theme for Laozi, and anti-war thinking was the norm.,The Philosophy of Non-contention,According to Laozi, war springs from humanitys bloated desires. Conflicts arises out of peoples struggle to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war.,Human striving and competitive strife is the root cause of decline; desiring nothing is the natural way of life.,Therefore, Laozis phi
