A Philosophy For All An Analysis Of
A Philosophy For All: An Analysis Of The Tao Essay, Research Paper
A Philosophy For All: An Analysis of the Tao
There is no single definition of Taoism in the Tao de Ching. The reader
author, Lao-tzu, establishes his first premise: the Tao is a force beyond human
explanation. However this assumption does not mean that he can’t attempt to
describe it. Using the literary tools of contradiction, parallel structure, and
Contradiction
reaction,
“If you want to shrink something,
you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
you must first allow it to be given.”
This excerpt ties into the statement in Chapter 30 that “for every
force there is a counter force” which is applicable to political situations.
For example, if a ruler noticed an uprising of disgruntled subjects, it would be
whole before she individually addressed their complaints.
Lao-tzu also uses contradiction in Ch 22,
“If you want to become whole,
let yourself be partial.
If you want to become full,
let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn,
let yourself die…”
In other words, if a person wants to succeed she must first understand the
opposition. This strategy is used often in war. In order to predict what the
enemy will do next, one can think like the enemy, be the enemy. Another way to
understand this contradiction is by applying it to modern day life. In many
cases those who are most against drinking are former alcoholics. They have, in
a sense, gone straight from being crooked, been reborn from having died.
In Ch 45 Lao-tzu uses contradiction to discuss human nature,
“True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.”
People are always in seek of more. Everything must be bigger, better, newer.
fullness seems empty” he is referring to the fact that people hardly ever notice
what they have until it is gone. When something is gone, that is when people
Parallel Structure
In Ch 41 Lao-tzu uses parallel structure to describe the Tao.
“When a superior man hears of the Tao,
he immediately begins to embody it.
When an average man hears of the Tao,
he half believes it, half doubts it.
When a foolish man hears of the Tao,
If he didn’t laugh,
Parallel structure is a method of repetition after which a conclusion is stated.
man must embody the Tao, the foolish man must laugh at it. This is one example
of the duality of the Tao- it needs both good and bad aspects to exist.
Another instance in which Lao-tzu uses parallel structure is to explain
non-being in Chapter 11,
“We join spokes together in a wheel
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.”
importance. This is another comment on human nature. People tend to overlook
what they have, and focus on what they don’t have. Like the hole that makes the
Adjectives and Metaphors
metaphor. As contrasted to bare adjectives, metaphors explain abstract concepts
by relating them to every day objects. For example, “It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present” in Ch 25 doesn’t really
help explain the Tao. However in Ch 4 he says, “The Tao is like a well: used
infinitely capable.” These metaphors say essentially the same thing as the
description in Ch 25 but they are much easier to comprehend. If the Tao is like
rewards just as a person must lift the bucket to the top of the well in order to
drink the water. If the Tao is like a bellows, then when it is not used it is
vacant, dead. But when in action, the bellows produces powerful currents of air
Lao-tzu has taken these abstract concepts such as nothingness and
bellows…). In Ch 32 he goes on to explain, “The Tao can’t be perceived.
Smaller than an electron, it contains uncountable galaxies…. All things end in
the Tao as rivers flow into the sea.” Lao-tzu makes the Tao seem so much
greater than the reader by explaining that it contains galaxies, but then goes
on to connect the reader with it saying that everyone is drawn to the Tao like
rivers to the sea.
The common man
It is important to Lao-tzu to make the people understand the Tao because
the Tao is for all. This is why he attempts to state its principles in a fairly
straightforward manner. He appreciated the common man and after spending so
much time on explaining the Tao, he uses it to tell the people how to live.
Often times, to do this, Lao-tzu offers examples of how the ancient
Masters conducted themselves. In Ch 15,
“They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.”
With these similes he explains that as a Taoist the reader should be cautious
and kind, flexible and open, observant and straightforward.
philosophies/religions where the ideal person should be an example to others,
Taoism focuses on the individual herself. Also unlike many other philosophies
which view the commoner as a dullard, Taoism looks upon a moderate person
favorably,
“The mark of a moderate man
Tolerant like the sky,
firm like a mountain,
supple like a tree in the wind…” (Ch. 59)
In Ch 39, “He doesn’t glitter like a jewel but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as a stone.”
Ch 9 Lao-tzu admonishes extremism, “Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
driven by hopes for the respect and admiration of her people, but rather wants
to be humble and normal.
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