Chinese Philosophy - An Introduction to an Introduction Representatives from varying language departments

Taoist view of duality

An enjoyable introduction to Taoist thinking on duality. Yin and yang are the names for female and male and also shady and sunny side of the hill respectively. Also key to Taoist thinking are humility, simplicity and the role of the sage or leader. The role of the leader and the yielding attitude he or she should embody comes up again and again in the short 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching. Water is very important as a vital element to life and also as a metaphor to a flexible way of thinking and acting that does not involve force. The lecturer explained this very well. Something not mentioned in this lecture is the concept of wu-wei or "non doing" that is also very important in Taoism and that is quite different from a traditional western way of seeing things. All and all a very fresh and enjoyable lecture.