1 World-Historical Background

2 Two Approaches to Society“The Governor of She said to Confucius, ‘In our village there is a man nicknamed ‘Straight Body’. When his father stole a sheep, he gave evidence against him.’ Confucius answered, ‘In our village those who are straight are quite different. Fathers cover up for their sons, and sons cover up for their fathers. Straightness is to be found in such behaviour.’” (Confucius, Analects, XIII, 18)

3 Conflict in China: Family or State?The Governor of She: the State, the Law is primary Confucius ( BCE) : the Family is primary

4 Why Confucianism in China?Confucius defends primacy of family, kinship Praises Sage kings of Xia dynasty ( BCE) Confucius’ birth: 551 BCE Xia precedes the hereditary monarchy and the sharper inequalities of Shang ( BCE) Confucius refers to a time that is closer to early kinship egalitarianism No hereditary monarchy with the early Xia Confucius: return to the time before “the Fall”

5 Kinship tradition of China versus Greek anti-traditionalism> reflects ancient Chinese kinship tradition of over 1700 years before Confucius Traditionalism of Confucius: find the truth, the core values, in the tradition—but at its ideal starting point Socrates rejects the rule of tradition He “corrupts the youth,” by demanding that we rethink everything for ourselves, not accept what the elders say Reflects Greek overthrow of old kinship order Confucius’ referral to early tradition provides ethical corrective for corrupt states

6 Historical Timeline 1) Early hunter-gatherers— paleolithic age120,000 years of homo sapiens (sapiens) 2 million years of homo habilis (stone tools) 2) Revolution 10, BCE – begins neolithic age Herders and simple agriculturalists Transitional stage 3) Revolution 3,500 BCE rise of hierarchical state societies (complex agriculture) Time of the “Fall” (see Book of Genesis)

7 1) Separation from Nature1) Mode of life of hunter/gatherers Appropriation of nature Dependence on independent nature Unity with nature 2) Mode of life of herders, simple agriculturalists Human transformation of nature 3) Hierarchical states control nature: irrigation

8 Evolution of material creativity1) Change nature into tools (for hunting, gathering) 2) Transform nature with tools (for herding, simple agriculture) 3) Intensified domination of nature (e.g., the animal drawn plow)—Civilization NB: Non-biological changes, outside the human organism

9 2) Separation from Each Other1) Equality of hunter-gatherer societies Kinship-based society: natural relations Leaders democratically chosen, elders Exogamous marriage: unites the small bands into larger tribes Gender differences but equality of status: no power of men over women 2) Herders, simple agriculturalists Male dominance among herders, but no state: Hebrew God is male Goddess religions among early agriculturalists (male and female gods)

10 Rise of Inequality 3) Hierarchical Middle-Eastern state societySharp class divisions; slavery (separation from tools!) Hereditary rulers over the people Subordination of women to men

11 Oneness with Nature/GodReligion of hunter-gatherers: animism Divine in nature Harmony of divine and human Cave paintings: Why deep in caves? Cave as uterus of world; Earth Mother (Gaia) Shamanism: humans participate in creation =Oneness of humans with “God” Genesis: Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden of Eden

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13 “Natural” (kinship) societyTechnological dependence on independent nature: Animals (hunting, men) Plants (gathering, women) Kinship as natural unity of people Religion of nature – animism Not passive, active: participation with/in divine Symbolic exchange between humans and gods, not domination of gods over humans

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15 Shamash and Hammurabi Which is which? (Spodek, 59)Gods look like kings (and vice versa) Separation of ruler from ruled Separation of divine from human God-given laws cement human divisions Rich and poor Men and women

16 Historical “fall” (summary)On technological level from dependence on independent nature to control over nature On social level from family-based, egalitarian society to class-based, male dominant society rulers are all powerful On consciousness level Animist oneness > Gods/priests are all powerful

17 Neo-Kinship Society of ChinaOne clan group conquers others Contrast with Western model: internal warrior, like Gilgamesh, breaks with clan democracy, imposes his own rules: “law,” legalism Head of clan > king of society Kinship + hierarchy = Kinship system adapts to civilization Kinship is not replaced by legal order

18 Early ancestor worshipFather of family is “priest”: mediator with Heaven The “gods” include great grandmother! i.e., not alien, arbitrary rulers, as in the West Religion = ritual exchange between living and spirits of the dead => a religion of kinship Also in nature: Heaven and the Earth as cosmic father and mother

19 Ideology of the Good FatherWith neo-kinship hierarchy, the King is regarded as the Father of all his people Not literal kinship but metaphorical However, ethnic appearance, culture, language is similar

20 Legalism in the West Socrates’ discussion with the Laws in CritoThe Laws say: “Are we not, first, your parents?” = Platonic resolution of the conflict of Antigone Antigone defends the tradition of the family—she buries her brother The King however decrees a law forbidding this He puts himself above the ancient kinship order > Further developed in Roman Cosmopolitan law Expressed in Stoic obedience to divine Law

21 Historical Expression of this Conflict in ChinaConfucius BCE Period of Warring States: BCE Qin dynasty unites China: 221 BCE Qin Shi Huangdi “The First Emperor” (See movie “Hero”) Adopts Legalism; burns books of Confucius Han revolution 202 BCE Peasant leader: Liu Bang (died 195 BCE) > Han rulers adopt the philosophy of Confucius How long did the Qin (Chin) dynasty last?

22 Long Duration of Chinese EmpireLegalist Qin BCE (19 yrs) Confucian Han 202 BCE to 220 CE (422 years) Period of disunity (361 years) Chinese empire reunited by Sui (581- ) Minor interruptions (esp ) over 1300 years!! Confucian teaching, education of bureaucracy continues throughout this entire period

23 1 The Character of Chinese Philosophy

24 Character of Confucian philosophyRemarkable continuity of Chinese philosophy Confucius ( BCE) refers to the Duke of Chou (about 1100 BCE) who defended “the mandate of Heaven” The ruler has a right to rule from Heaven But only as long as he exercises virtue and cares for the people Official Chinese philosophy to the end of the last dynasty in 1911 Hence, the practical and humanistic character of Chinese philosophy On the nature of Western philosophy, a Chinese host told Bertrand Russell: So much “brain bashing” was bad for the liver A sensible man would prefer to sit by a river and listen to bird-song

25 Different summaries Hegel summed up Chinese philosophy:While for Indians everything has a dreamlike spirituality for the Chinese “everything that belongs to Spirit – morality, … inward religion, science and art – is alien.” More temperate view: Chinese philosophers are interested in human needs, the improvement of government, morals, and the values of private life Not abstract “brain bashing” that serves no useful purpose

26 Meanings of humanism Humanism here is not meant asRenaissance humanism: rediscovering the classics of earlier Greek and Roman thought Not a belief in the glories of the human being Hsun Tzu: “man’s nature is evil” Not a man-centered universe In which nature exists for the sake of humans Or the belief that the world is a construct of human thought

27 This-worldly goals Humanism = not God-centeredChinese philosophers did not believe a God created the world, Who is the source of value and purpose Belief in spirits, demons, gods, but these are not creators or moral legislators The goals of life are this-worldly Not based on rewards in the afterlife No transcendence of ordinary world—no “liberation” from material selves Goal of philosophy: Reflect on these human goals And the right means of attaining them

28 Practical philosophy “Practical philosophy”:ethics, and examination of how people ought to act, think, or feel This is true also for India (Shankara) and Greece (Plato) For Chinese philosophers, however, there is no need for speculation on the reality of the world, the relation of mind and body, the identity of the self which is necessary in Shankara and Plato for practical philosophy

29 Classics The main early works Writings of Mencius and Chuang TzuThe Analects of Confucius Little here about the ultimate nature of the universe The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu is more elevated The Tao: an ineffable source of Heaven and Earth Writings of Mencius and Chuang Tzu contain considerable speculation re innate knowledge, relativity of truth The I Ching (Book of Changes): book on divination and cosmological speculation

30 Why the practical orientation?Hence a greater emphasis in Chinese philosophy on the practical, as opposed to the abstract theoretical But why? 1) Historical climate: period of warring states? But in Europe, the Thirty Years War after the French Revolution, produced great speculative philosophy (e.g., Hegel)

31 Role of Language 2) Chinese language is ideographicCharacters are pictographic, and not abstract as are alphabets So the reader feels connected to the sensible world 3) Lack of inflection of the Chinese language the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, and mood. Hence seeing the world in terms of abstract categories parallel to those of language: thing, quality, past, etc. Hence the illusion of looking directly at concrete reality through the mirror of language

32 Chicken-and-egg Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: determination by grammar of conceptual categories Chicken-and-egg problem: maybe the Chinese mind preceded the language But “influence” of language is too weak, “determination” by language is too strong implying impossibility of abstract thinking Hence: let language play its role in restricting the appetite for metaphysical flights But look elsewhere too

33 Alienation and HarmonyIdea of India: philosophy is inspired by a sense of alienation from the world, the natural world as a foreign “other” And so they develop philosophies to dispel that sense But the Chinese feel in “harmony with the cosmos,” at home in the world from the beginning Hence no need to unmask the alienation as an illusion (India) Or to provide a rational foundation for it (Greece)

34 Role of philosophy Role of philosophy in this case:Elaborate in various ways this sense of harmony, maintaining, enhancing the harmony Or recovering it if it is lost But this pushes the explanation back further: Why did this vision of harmony prevail, by contrast with India or Greece? Few attempts to articulate systems of theoretical knowledge not because of lack of interest in or knowledge of such theory but because of a reasoned depreciation of its value

35 Affective knowledge 1) Affective knowledge“hsin” or “mind” = heart-mind, or thinking heart No separation of mind and heart, knowledge and “mere” passion or subjective feeling Mencius: we know our duties through a sense of shame that certain actions inspire Wisdom: not through construction and testing of theories “What a person knows without having to reflect on it is what he truly knows.”

36 Know-how 2) Primacy of “know-how”Not “knowing that” of propositional knowledge Knowing how to cook: not a matter of following a recipe Confucius: moral knowledge is of the Mean, a flexible balance between excess and defect Not a formula Chuang Tzu: knowledge of the Way: easy, unforced behavior that “goes with the grain” of the Way

37 Ineffability 3) Ineffability of practical knowledge Chuang Tzu:The wheelwright’s knowledge: “a knack that cannot be explained” “Those who know the nature of things do not try to explain it in words; and those who try, show thereby, that they do not know.” George Bernard Shaw: Those who can do; those who can’t teach.

38 Theoretical knowledge interferes with practiceWhere knowledge matters most it is an illusion to suppose that any adequate theory can be constructed Such knowledge, regimenting the practice, would interfere with effortless practical mastery required Hence not that ineffabilism of India where the truth is too profound or too different from ordinary reality

39 Not “the view from nowhere”The theoretical stance puts one at a distance from the world Disengagement required by physics or metaphysics Take stock, analyze, regiment, impose coherent structure Ideal “view from nowhere” required The knowledge that really counts belongs to the engaged person Integrated in the theater of action

40 Levels of harmony Hence harmony with the cosmos and depreciation of theoretical knowledge are not separate ingredients of Chinese thought Another mode of knowing is required, a style of harmonious engagement with the world Levels of harmony Within the self, family, and society Between heaven, earth, and people Balance between negative and positive of yin and yang Correspondences between “the five elements” and their human analogues Adaptation to “the Way”

41 World-Historical ContextBringing in the earliest condition of the first human beings supplements these explanations in the Cooper text China is the developed civilization whose culture and philosophies remain closest to the ancient animism: “spirit” is all around us in the material world the family-oriented kinship society of the beginning

42 Confucianism

43 Stages of ConfucianismMost influential of all philosophers 2000 years teachings that influenced the most populous country in the world Like Buddhism: 1) Simple, popular teachings of the master 2) Elaborated with more theoretical context By Mencius and Hsun Tzu 3) Complex elaborations to incorporate other theories Neo-Confucians

44 Biography Confucius, latinization of “K’ung Fu Tzu” = Master Kung BCE Unsuccessful advisor to rulers Resigns in disgust with the ruler Wanders from state to state, gathering disciples Confident in the rightness of his ideas: “If anyone were to employ me, in a year’s time I would have brought things to a satisfactory state.” (Analects, XIII, 10)

45 Analects Analects: short sayings compiled by his studentsAdvice to rulers Moral tales Comments on his person Nuggets of moral philosophy Sceptical silence about metaphysical matters (Is there an afterlife?)

46 Fall from favor He was considered the patron saint of the European Enlightenment But soon lost this prestige Hegel says his teachings are mediocre “Commonplace and unexciting” (contemporary author) 20th century criticism by Mao Tse-Tung and leftist radicals

47 Misconceptions Misconceptions about Confucius that are unsympathetic to our contemporary beliefs: Conservativism His nostalgia for the past sage king of the 12th c BC His alleged insistence on rigid performance of rituals and customs Especially those connected to “filial piety” Extreme cultivation of “Virtue” Devotion to public service Out of favor with contemporary criticism of politicians We tend to prefer the romantic individualism of the Taoists

48 Today’s governments have lost the WayHe was a conservative: “I am for the Chou” (III, 14) The glory days of this famous dynasty Contrasted with corrupted practices of the present Current governments have declined from this time “those in authority have lost the Way and the common people have, for long, been rootless” (XIX, 19) The earlier days were more favorable to the “chun tzu” – the “gentleman” or “superior person”

49 Importance of the rites (li)Li: social duties and customs “Unless a man has the spirit of the rights rites (li) … he will wear himself out … become unruly, intolerant.” They provide disciplined channels through which the chun tzu is able to put his morality into practice (XV, 18) Mencius: they are “exit gates” Without them we are locked up inside ourselves, with no way to express our inner side (jen), the Way of morality

50 From family to larger societyRites of filial piety provide such channels or exit gates But also, “when mourning for one’s parents a man realizes himself to the full” (XIX, 17) This sets an Example of unselfish behavior for others to follow, inspiring a disinterested urge to lead the moral life The Great Learning: moral example is set within the family And from there spreads throughout the larger society

51 One’s public duty The same for duties in public lifeThe chun tzu “takes office in order to do his duty” even without personal benefit (XVIII, 7) In such disinterested action he behaves in accordance with the “basic stuff” (chi) of his humanity Such virtue “is like the wind; the small man’s virtue is like grass. Let the wind blow over the grass and it is sure to bend” (XII, 19)

52 Confucian Golden Rule Hence Confucius is not trying to justify the status quo But to bring about the re-emergence of the chun tzu The chun tzu: Guides his behavior by the Confucian version of the Golden Rule: “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire” (XII, 2) => the exercize of “jen”

53 Jen 14 translations of jen: virtue, humanity, benevolence …But mourning parents is not benevolence And, Confucius says, a person can have benevolence without jen Jen is an inner quality, that can’t be determined from outward behavior It is “found within himself” (XV, 21) It is “a native substance”or “basic stuff) (chih) (XV, 18) It underlies simplicity, magnanimity, modesty, etc. Jen as “inner moral force” Like the wind it puts pressure on others It must be constrained and channeled by li, lest it “wear itself out”

54 The bonds that hold society and the world together come from withinReasons for cultivating the inner moral force of the chun tzu have to do with harmony 1) Cosmic level: A life that manifests jen (i.e., jen channeled through li) accords with the way of Heaven “Heaven is the author of the virtue (jen) that is in me” (VII, 23) 2) Social level: The chun tzu promotes harmony in the family, the wider community, and the State The bonds that keep men and women together in peace and cooperation come from inside them Love, a sense of duty, piety Not simply by external rewards and punishments

55 Inner harmony 3) Harmony within the individualThe chun tzu is a balanced person: he is “easy of mind, while the small man is always full of anxiety” (VII, 37) He is at one with himself, not overcome by passions or threats He is “able to overcome himself”—integrating the various facets of his life not by detachment, as in India

56 A balance of Jen and Li Jen as a beautiful “neighborhood” in which a person feels “at home” Like a gravitational force, giving weight and stability to a person’s life Because he is in harmony with himself, the chun tzu follows the Mean Not living mechanically or for profit But also not blind moral enthusiasm Jen must be checked by li: the customs and duties that go with one’s station in life Hence, “a well-balanced admixture” of jen and “acquired refinement” (li) produces the chun tzu (VI, 18)

57 Confucian vision todayToday’s moral poles: some see morality simply as a device for regulating self-interested behavior (externally oriented utilitarianism) Others see it as inner authenticity (internal choice of individual, without any rule) Confucius’ vision of a middle way: A well balanced mixture of an inner moral source (jen) and well-tried rules of right conduct (li)

58 Two Issues for ConfuciusA disciple: “one cannot get to hear [Confucius’] views” on Human nature The Way of Heaven Confucius must establish three things 1) human nature does not preclude the emergence of the chun tzu I.e., people can act in this higher way And not simply out of self-interest

59 Human nature and the chun tzu2) Becoming a superior being is not only for special individuals Otherwise ordinary people have no chance of developing jen 3) It’s more than a capacity; We are also capable of living in a haze of opium there must be predisposition or inclination to live a superior life

60 Mencius Mencius (Meng Tzu, Master Meng) ( BCE) replies to theories of human nature that oppose Confucius’ ideal, that say Our nature is to go for food and sex Our nature is to pursue self-gratification Mencius replies with examples If a criminal sees an infant crawling to an open well, he will try to save the child with no self-interest involved

61 The four germs of compassion“The reason why I say that all humans have hearts that are not unfeeling toward others is this. Suppose someone suddenly saw a child about to fall into a well: anyone in such a situation would have a feeling of alarm and compassion—not because one sought to get in good with the child's parents, not because one wanted fame among one's neighbors and friends, and not because one would dislike the sound of the child's cries. From this we can see that if one is without the feeling of compassion, one is not human.” (Mengzi 2A6; Van Norden 2008, 46)

62 The four germs/beginnings/sprouts of compassionThe feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; [jen] the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; [li] and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom. Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them, is to destroy themselves. 2A: 6

63 Morality will outweigh egotism1) There may be selfish tendencies in us, but these urges too are innate They cannot be explained by self-interest or social conditioning 2) These moral inclinations will tend to outweigh selfish motives under neutral or normal conditions

64 Obstacles to morality These sprouts of morality are like our physical limbs Something has to go wrong for us not to want to stretch and exercize them Like seeds of barley, like water’s tendency to flow downward External obstacles or structures can block, impede, or destroy this E.g., bad education or struggle for scarce goods

65 Retain your inner childReason and moral rightness are natural making us different from animals The superior person seeks to maintain this difference “A great man is one who retains the heart of a new-born babe” (4B: 12)

66 Counter arguments Hsun Tzu ( BCE) another Confucian, replies: “man’s nature is evil” Desire for profit, if unchecked, “lead people into “wrangling and strife … violence and crime” Goodness requires artificial actions education threats of punishments If human nature were innately good, how explain how quickly people can become evil? the need for moral education? the need for law?

67 More evidence against MenciusPeople learn to act morally Morality requires effort Nature means that something is the way it is E.g., if a warped piece of wood must be straightened by force it is absurd to say that it is naturally straight

68 Rebuttal Mencius recognize these features By “nature” Mencius meansi.e., our non-moral tendencies the ease in which the “germs” are prevented from growing By “nature” Mencius means that humans are different from animals that morality arises naturally if the circumstances are not unfavorable and so education and effort are required

69 Who is the true Confucian?If Hsun Tzu says that humans are innately egotistical (evil) he is like the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes ( ) not like Confucius If the warped wood really does become straight why not say that it is in its nature to be straight? Confucius (followed more truly by Mencius than by Hsun Tzu) The superior person does not merely conform to social norms but in doing so he becomes “at one” with himself

70 The Ch’i of Heaven and EarthConfucius did not explain what he meant in saying that the virtuous person follows “the Way of Heaven” Mencius: he is “in the same stream as Heaven above and Earth below” (7A: 13) Both heaven and earth are composed of ch’I [spirit, animism] But in refined and gross forms The superior person is not bogged down in material desire But cultivates “a flood-like ch’i” within himself, which is sufficiently refined to “fill the space between Heaven and Earth” He thus bridges the gap between the two, making the cosmos a balanced whole His is a ch’i that “unites rightness and the Way” (2A: 2)

71 The five elements Later Han Confucians develop such cosmological theory in the doctrine of the five elements Heaven employs the five basic elements of earth such that wood fuels fire Soil or earth begets metal Just as in human life father begets son—and so bad parenting would be unnatural

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73 Correspondences Doctrine of systematic correspondences of the elementsapplied to government (Tung Chung-Shu) wood is the agent of the Minister of Agriculture metal is that of the Ministry of the Interior Because metal cuts down trees It is the duty of the latter to punish corrupt officials in the former

74 Yin and Yang “Heaven has the yin and the yang” (Tung Chung-Shu)Human nature is composed of Congenital goodness (yang) And natural emotions (yin) And so “the self works in the same way as Heaven” And the Ways of Heaven and man are one

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76 Men and Women In yin and yang the opposites are unitedYin: dark, feminine, soft, hidden Yang: bright, masculine, firm, open Hence men and women have need of one another Shadow and brightness are interrelated Unity of polarities: creative interaction, infinite process of transformation This is intrinsically valuable and self-fulfilling

77 Integrating human beings with the universeYin and yang integrates human existence with reality as a whole 1) human psychology is subject to the same interplay as other forces of nature 2) an imbalance in human life reverberates throughout the world An imbalanced ruler can cause floods 3) Humans should imitate the relations in Heaven Heaven is primarily yang and blocks the infection by yin

78 Blocking the infection of JenThe superior person blocks the infection of jen (yang) by inordinate desire (yin): He “knows how to avoid injuring desire and yet to have a rest from emotion, and thus fit in with Heaven … prohibiting what Heaven prohibits.” (Tung Chung-Shu) Not through intellectual understanding but through practical mastery of one’s life and emotions

79 Taoism

80 Appeal of Taoism Its doctrines appeal today to ecologists, feministsHas a romantic image, lacking to Confucianism Legends of Taoist sages spurning official positions sought after by Confucians Lin Yutang ( ): Confucianism attracts “those who wear official buttons and those who kowtow to them” But repels those who find this “too decorous, too reasonable, too correct,” who have “a hidden desire to go about with dishevelled hair … and bare feet” and so go to Taoism

81 Tensions in China Expressing the tensions of Town and countryDiscipline and freedom Reason and romance Prose and poetry

82 Reasons to hesitate 1) Confucius does not figure badly in Taoist textsChuang Tzu describes him as converting someone to Taoism Sometimes the butt of jokes, but more often he figures as a wise man who misses the deepest truths 2) Many Chinese have embraced both Confucianism and Taoism 1) Confucianism when going to work 2) Taoism when back-packing in the mountains

83 Common goals 3) Differences between Taoist thinkers re ConfuciusMagical Taoists with demons, alchemy, quest for immortality (See film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXIJv1NoXmo Lao Tzu (author of the Tao Te Ching) is more sympathetic to Confucianism than Chuang Tzu 4) Both trends aim at 1) defining the Superior Person 2) showing a harmony with the Way (tao)

84 The Way in Taoism The Way is more central to Taoism1) Not just the manner or direction in which Heaven and earth operates, but the source of this operation 2) more is said about the Way 3) attempts to deduce proper human conduct from the features of the Way Others give the impression of inventing a “Way of Heaven” that corresponds to their prior commitment to certain ethical positions

85 Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu Two great Taoist figuresLao Tzu supposed author of the Tao Te Ching Possibly an invented figure, supposedly of the 6th c BCE The Tao Te Ching: probably a 4th c compilation Lao Tzu means “Old Master” Chuang Tzu, author of the Chuang Tzu Historical figure (c BCE) Official Author of the first 6 or 7 books of the Chuang Tzu (the “inner” chapters

86 Artificiality “All artificiality is false” – Chuang TzuThe true man is not artificial Artifice = social conventions, rules of etiquette, private property i.e., much of civilized society “Exterminate benevolence, discard rectitude” Lao Tzu (19) Not moral nihilism: i.e., denying that one life can be better than others

87 Forget knowledge Tao Te Ching, 19:Forget about knowledge and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times better off. Throw away charity and righteousness, and people will return to brotherly love. Throw away profit and greed, and there won't be any thieves.

88 Keeping at the Center of the CircleThese three are superficial and aren't enough to keep us at the center of the circle, so we must also: Embrace simplicity. Put others first. Desire little.

89 Losing the Way Not just a critique of excessive and oppressive performance of rites of Confucians But the very existence of a moral code is a sign that things have gone wrong That people have lost the Way “The adoption of conventional ways has been the ruin … of primordial nature … the ruin of the world” (Chuang Tzu)

90 Declining from the Way Tao Te Ching, 38:The kind person acts from the heart, and accomplishes a multitude of things. The righteous person acts out of pity, yet leaves many things undone. The moral person will act out of duty, and when no one will respond will roll up his sleeves and uses force.

91 The outcome is Law When the Tao is forgotten, there is righteousness.When righteousness is forgotten, there is morality. When morality is forgotten, there is the law. The law is the husk of faith, and trust is the beginning of chaos. Tao Te Ching, 38

92 Primitivism What is the “natural” way of life?Is it a call for primitivism, a return to a state of nature before civilization? “The adoption of conventional ways has been the ruin … of primordial nature … the ruin of the world.” (Chuang Tzu, 16b) Imitate animals or natural phenomena Imitate the gardener who refuses to use machines Make ourselves like the uncarved block before it is sculpted

93 Not advocating Tarzan But this idea is not adequateIt is possible to live naturally within advanced culture Lao Tzu writes for the emperor Skilled craftsmen can follow the Way So it’s not advocating a Tarzan-like return to nature But there is admiration for “the wild man of the mountain” or the poetic wanderer

94 Wild Man of the Mountain

95 Cows, not tigers Not any natural animalGrazing cows not hunting tigers Rolling stream not exploding volcano What is natural is what follows the Way not a “state of nature” of self-interested individualism What follows the Way is wu wei (non-action) Be submissive Weak Feminine Yielding

96 Let yourself be The person of wu wei – the ideal human behavior, the way of the Way “does not contend” Her spirit is one of apathy, indifference, affable passivity Like the swimmer who goes with the current Or more fundamentally, like the water itself “Because water excels in benefiting [things] without contending with them … it comes close to the Way.” (Lao Tzu, 8)

97 Imitate water Like water, the Way influences “without dominating”The Way is the source and sustainer of life But does not interfere with it “To let oneself be is to follow the Way.” Chuang Tzu (22e)

98 Pragmatism Pragmatic advantages of we wei in Lao Tzu“the person who goes against the Way will come to an early end” (55) by not contending “you will meet with no danger. You can then endure.” (44) = a philosophy of survival during violent times Deeper truth: the power of “weakness” “If you would take from a thing, you must first give to it. … The submissive and the weak will overcome the hard and the strong” (36)

99 Not cynicism, but natural lawNot cynicism, not cunning strategy in hard times, but natural truth, and a fact of social life Laws of nature Water finally dissolves the stone Newton’s 3rd law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you push against the stone, the stone pushes back against you. Magnetism, electricity: equal forces repel one another; opposites attract

100 Nations should be like womenA large country should take the low place like a great watershed, which from its low position assumes the female role. The female overcomes the male by the power of her position. Her tranquility gives rise to her humility. If a large country takes the low position, it will be able to influence smaller countries. If smaller countries take the lower position, then they can allow themselves to be influenced. So both seek to take the lower position in order to influence the other, or be influenced. Lao Tzu, 61

101 Like the “the dextrous butcher” who follows the WayFor Chuang Tzu, wu wei  “Supreme contentment” (18a) A resurgence of vitality (19a) “non-action does not wear one out” (7f) Like the “the dextrous butcher” who follows the Way

102 The Dextrous Butcher Ting the cook was cutting meat free from the bones of an ox for Lord Wen-hui. His hands danced as his shoulders turned with the step of his foot and bending of his knee. With a shush and a hush, the blade sang following his lead, never missing a note. Ting and his blade moved as though dancing to “The Mulberry Grove,” or as if conducting the “Ching-shou” with a full orchestra. Lord Wen-hui exclaimed, “What a joy! It’s good, is it not, that such a simple craft can be so elevated?”

103 Ting laid aside his knife. “All I care about is the WayTing laid aside his knife. “All I care about is the Way. If find it in my craft, that’s all. When I first butchered an ox, I saw nothing but ox meat. It took three years for me to see the whole ox. Now I go out to meet it with my whole spirit and don’t think only about what meets the eye. Sensing and knowing stop. The spirit goes where it will, following the natural contours, revealing large cavities, leading the blade through openings, moving onward according to actual form — yet not touching the central arteries or tendons and ligaments, much less touching bone.

104 “A good cook need sharpen his blade but once a year. He cuts cleanly“A good cook need sharpen his blade but once a year. He cuts cleanly. An awkward cook sharpens his knife every month. He chops. I’ve used this knife for nineteen years, carving thousands of oxen. Still the blade is as sharp as the first time it was lifted from the whetstone. At the joints there are spaces, and the blade has no thickness. Entering with no thickness where there is space, the blade may move freely where it will: there’s plenty of room to move. Thus, after nineteen years, my knife remains as sharp as it was that first day.” Chuang Tzu, Chapter 3

105 No distinction between yin and yangDeeper ethical understanding in Chuang Tzu: “perfect freedom” Return to one’s “true being” Versus his alleged “relativism” Difference from Lao Tzu re opposition of Yin and Yang “heaven and earth are one, the yin and the yang are one, and likewise the opposed aspects of all contraries” Since in reality “there is no contrast” it follows that “there is no distinction” either (2a)

106 Arguments for this relativismBut it is only “in an absolute sense” that there is neither great nor small, good nor evil that “things are relative” (17a) 1) A person’s opinions change How know that the 60th is any more correct than the 59th? But this doesn’t show that no opinion is correct 2) Opposites quickly pass into one another: pleasure into pain, action into laziness … But this supposes the opposites are real

107 4) Appeal to linguistic relativism3) What is great and good in one circumstance can be petty or evil in another And so “there is no absolute morality, but only opportunist expedience” (17a) But everybody agrees that the rightness of an action depends on circumstances 4) Appeal to linguistic relativism “There is, in reality, neither truth nor error … nor other distinctions … There are only diverse aspects, which depend on the point of view” (2c) Because all judgments are functions of language

108 Immersion in language Things we ordinarily distinguish are“designated by words to which nothing corresponds in reality” (2e) Hence our distinctions are “no better than a clacking of hens” (2c) Language is a practical device tested by success of communication not by accurate portrayal of reality Since we are immersed in our language we can never know reality outside of it

109 Chuang Tzu does not provide arguments for defending this viewDon’t impose your views on others but also don’t impose them on yourself Chuang Tzu does not provide arguments for defending this view Perhaps because it was commonplace for Chinese thought He focuses on the implications for human freedom and authenticity Refusal to impose a language-relative perspective on other people But also on oneself as well

110 “Three in the morning” From The Chuang-Tzu:But to wear out your brain trying to make things into one without realizing that they are all the same-this is called “three in the morning.” What do I mean by “three in the morning”? When the monkey trainer was handing out acorns, he said, “You get three in the morning and four at night,” This made all the monkeys furious. “Well, then,” he said, “you get four in the morning and three at night.” The monkeys were all delighted. There was no change in the reality behind the words, and yet the monkeys responded with joy and anger. Let them, if they want to. So the sage harmonizes with both right and wrong and rests in Heaven the Equalizer. This is called walking two roads.

111 Angry monkeys Story of the monkeys angry at getting three roots in the morning and four in the evening But happy to get four in the morning and three in the evening Our competing perspectives are no better than that! We should neglect these distinctions except for ordinary pragmatic considerations not let them “penetrate the palace of the mind” (5e)

112 Respect tradition, but …Respect the traditional concepts and traditions of the villages But it would be wrong if the villagers thought these represented the Way because they do not “extend to the affairs of other earthly beings” with different ways of “coordinating social interaction” Recall Confucius: Li: the external ways of acting, which differ for different relations Jen: the inner moral force or spirit, which is expressed in these different ways

113 Confucianism and Daoism: What is the difference?Confucius is focused on Morality External behaviours (Li) are relative But it is important to know them so as to relate to others in a way that expresses respect The inner moral force is universal Chuang-Tzu is focused on the nature of reality or Metaphysics People’s ideas of what is true are relative because of language, circumstances, etc. Accept these differences But reality (the Way, the Dao) is beyond these limited views: Be aware of that too!

114 The Way allows a variety of perspectivesThe Way allows for a variety of perspectives So this laissez-faire attitude follows the Way The Way influences everything By making it possible to speak and think in cooperation “whilst remaining indifferent” to particular schemes of speech and thought without imposing anything

115 Freedom as non-dependencenot Promethean imposition of will but Stoic “non-dependence” The sage is perfectly free because he “no longer depends on anything” (1c) “Do not be enslaved to the world” (28j) e.g., by excessive pursuit of honors for in another context these “honors” would be objects of distain or ridicule The sage is free because he “lets the cosmic wheel turn” “The superior man is touched by nothing”

116 Being true to yourself = not having a selfHere is “truth to oneself,” He is indifferent to himself for he does not distinguish between different persons, including himself “There are no such things as distinct beings … there does not exist, in reality, this something closer which one calls mine, and this something further away which one calls yours” (2b) Refusal to “artificially distinguish individual human cases” “makes a true man”

117 Two versions of the true personThe true man therefore 1) is the contemplative sage who abstracts from the empirical world fully occupied with discerning the Way 2) but also the dextrous craftsman immersed in his trade In common to both: setting aside conventional distinctions of everyday life “ecstatic contemplation” bringing “all the parts together into one” (17a)

118 Rising above artificial conventions or going beneath themThe wood sculptor, through the “fusion of [his] nature into one with that of the trees,” loses all concern for himself and “even the notion of his own body” How? Through a vision that rises above the world of artificial distinctions Or a practical immersion that takes him deeply into things

119 What is the Tao? There is agreement of the Taoist Masters:1) It is not “the way of the world” a tendency that things just have 2) It is the source of things “the beginning of heaven and earth … the mother of the myriad creatures” (Lao Tzu, 1) 3) It is not a creator God for it is “without substance” of its own The Way “from which beings emanate cannot properly be called the author of these beings” (Chuang Tzu, 25j)

120 Ineffability 4) The Way is ineffable“The Way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way.” (Lao Tzu, 1) “What is the good of looking for impossible terms to express an ineffable being?” (Chuang Tzu, 2e)

121 Beginning of the Tao Te ChingThe tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name. The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of creation.

122 Darkness is the beginning of allFreed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery. By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real. Yet mystery and reality emerge from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness born from darkness. The beginning of all understanding. Tao Te Ching, 1

123 Why is the Tao ineffable? 1Disagreement of the Taoist masters over why the Tao is ineffable Lao Tzu: For every property, X, there is also non-X The Tao is the source of both So if it were X, it would not be non-X Hence the Tao cannot be described by any one of the properties of things But the names of language always describe one property as opposed to another Hence the Tao cannot be named

124 Why is the Tao ineffable? 2For Chuang Tzu the ineffability is a consequence of his “linguistic relativism” All the properties of the world are imposed on it by means of our linguistic conventions But if the Way has any features, these would really belong to it And not merely ascribed to it by our human conventions

125 Non-being, not a being Asking what is the Waywith which the sage and the craftsman are acquainted prepares us to think of the Way as some kind of thing or being although a very special “deep” kind of being The masters however speak in negatives: non-being, void, empty, between being and nothing

126 Perhaps it’s just living free from the social conventionsPerhaps our thought is the wrong way around We think of the Way as what explains the wisdom of the sage or the skill of the craftsman But instead perhaps we should think that the Way just is these matters: It just is the abstracted state of the sage Or the immersed activity of the craftsman

127 Reducing the Way to being free of conventionsBoth have set aside everyday distinctions rising above them or going below them by fusing with things Following the way just reduces to living free from the conventions, the linguistic and conceptual schemes of everyday social business

128 Why “the Way”? But the Taoist says more than this:The Tao is the source of things It confers on them their destiny It is a mystery But why is this mystery called the Way? And not the One, the Absolute, Pure Being, etc.

129 @The Way that gives all waysMartin Heidegger: “tao could be the way that gives all ways” I.e., it gives all the perspectives and conceptual schemes And so gives or allows the emergence of the objects spoken of through these schemes But then this source could not be spoken of Because all the terms come from within these conceptual or linguistic schemes and so do not provide access to their source

130 Chuang Tzu: vibrating with the harmony in all beings“I have spoken without art, naturally, according to the impulse of my inner sense … Preliminary to all discourses, there pre-exists an innate harmony in all beings, their nature. From the fact of this pre-existing harmony, my speech, if it is natural, will make others vibrate, with few or no words.” Chuang Tzu 27a

131 Natural speech 1) There may be a form of speech that is a natural response to the world 2) This speech communicates by vibration Not by informative propositions 3) Such natural speech need not be verbal, for it can be “spoken without words”

132 Letting things be 1) The various perspectives or ways we talk about things and so the things talked about presuppose a source or ground: the Way 2) These ways are pragmatic devices but people mistakenly think they are accurate representations of reality 3) There is another kind of speech less impositional a natural response to things in accord with their essence or destiny letting things be what they essentially are

133 More that setting aside conventionIt is not just a matter of setting aside conventions but a quiet and patient readiness to fit one’s words and actions to the world to vibrate with the pre-existing inner harmony This is the essence of wu wei

134 The Two Ways of the Way Two possibilities for following the WayThe simple words of the sage “without art” “perceived spontaneously” to be “fitting” The way of the craftsman or the swimmer who follows the current Speech “without words”: acting on things without contending with them or imposing on them An easy response to one’s materials or environment that anyone “with a natural sense of right and wrong” can see at once to be “fitting”

135 Beatles: Let It Be When I find myself in times of trouble,Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

136 And when the broken hearted peopleliving in the world agree There will be an answer, let it be For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see

137 And when the night is cloudythere is still a light that shines on me Shine until tomorrow, let it be I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be There will be an answer, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be