Philosophy Socrates vs. Taoism

Tao Te Ching is one of the most well-known Chinese philosophical scripture believed to be penned between 6th and 4th Century BC and authored by Lao Tzu. It has been a bedrock for the ancient spiritual and religious tradition of Taoism. Tao Te Ching includes two books of poetic verses explaining principle aspects of Taoism such as the metaphysical concept of ‘Tao’ roughly translated as the Way or the path, the consequences of action and inaction, virtue and the juxtaposed behavior of nature. The first book discusses the manifestation of the Way and how it directs us in harmonizing with our own qualities, morals and virtue which eventually help us in harmonizing with the working of the nature. The second book deals with the difficulties of governing

Taoism is an ancient Chinese religion dating back to the sixth century. The basic foundation of Taoism is a life philosophy and method

Unlike the Confucians, who actively tried to change the political system, Taoists pursue wuwei (nonaction) in living. According to the Tao Te Ching, by not acting one is not doing any harm which is the result of surrendering to the Tao. By doing such, one no longer has a corrupt nature and is moral and perfect human. If a person is in harmony with the Tao they are also in harmony with all

Taoism has the same worldview as Confucianism or ancient Chinese folk religion. Its philosophy operates within the same paradigms. It celebrates man's association and interdependency with nature. Moving on to a wider plane, the relationship between religion and the universe takes the form of veneration, which lies beyond the confines of time and space, ancestor worship and belief in the sovereign. The principles on which the system thrives even today include Ch'i, Feng Shui, interdependency between life and death, the Eight Immortals and the Ultimate Reality.

Nowadays, people call the first level Tao, “Tao of Heaven”[ Yates, R. (1997). Five lost classics : Tao, Huanglao, and Yin-yang in Han China / translated, with an introduction, and commentary by Robin D.S. Yates. (First ed., Classics of ancient China).26-29]. The second level of Tao is the rule or rules of Tao to create or derive everything on the Earth, “the Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things”.[ Tao Te Ching, chapter 42] In other words, Tao transforms to chaos; the chaos transforms to Yin and Yang; Mix Yin and Yang to the balance point; Everything would created from Yin, Yang, and the balance point of Yin and Yang. The third level of Tao is the way to use Taoism ideology in life. The founder of philosophical Taoism is Lao Tzu, who also is known as Old Master or Laozi.[ Creel, H. G., 2-5] The Dialectic thoughts and the Tao of third level are full of his books, Tao Te Ching, for example, chapter 58 of Tao Te Ching:“Misery！——happiness is to be found by its side！Happiness！——misery lurks beneath it！Who knows what either will come to in the end?”[ Lao tzu, 老子, Tao Te Ching

Deity, there is thus perhaps no real Deity with the capital letter to be equated with the God of Western religion. We have seen that Heaven eventually becomes the term customarily used for the Supreme Ruler, but we now know that behind or beyond heaven, there are the workings of yang and yin which have their source in tao (Thompson, 6). There is nothing distinctively Chinese in the way whereby the forces of nature were personified or the heavenly bodies were believed to exercise a direct influence in human affairs, or the way in which otherwise inexplicable occurrences of disease and other misfortunes were attributed to malignant spirits. The deification of human beings characteristic of both family and folk religion is somewhat more exceptional, although not unique (Thompson, 7). The founder of Taoism is Lao Zi and Chuan Tze, the school advocates the doctrine that the Dao is the course, the principle, the substance, and the standard of all things, to which all of them must conform. Based on the Dao De Jing, Taoism promotes the belief that a person should live a simple life, not to strive for wealth, fame or power, which will only give one worries and trouble. The school favors the political principle of “achieving good government through

While the ideals of Taoism are fun and if you make them a life style they can be a life style but I don’t understand how you maintain this mind-set. That could be because deep down everyone that’s not completely at peace with themselves in one form or another is a Bisy Backson. Whether they try to avoid it or not it comes back in forms of problems, or annoyance or whatever. When those nuisances come back into someone’s life they will probably will not turn to those values but begins with tasks between tasks between tasks in order to avoid their

The texts of Socrates and Confucius examine what it means to live the good life. Although, the texts have similarities, especially in clarifying what the good life isn’t, their philosophies on how to obtain the good life differ greatly. Additionally, the two texts are even ambiguous on what living the good life truly means, so it is first necessary to identify what the good life is.

There is no question that America is one of the most self-centered countries in the world, and because of this, we tend to avoid situations and issues that have no immediate impact on us. Desensitization on this large of a scale can be dangerous, and it is imperative that we begin to relearn traits such as kindness and compassion. The Tao Te Ching, while not very familiar to the average westerner, is filled with numerous verses that speak directly about the negative aspects of American culture and how we should be behaving. While the news spouts horror stories daily about the terrible events in the world, remembering the teachings of the Tao can help to alter our actions in the future. Some of the most monumental lessons from the Tao are those that seek to correct greed, grow trust, and enforce peace, and from them we can learn how to improve western culture with compassion and respect.

Tao Te Ching of Lao-Tzu is a book with many chapters in it showing the two different sides to basically everything. To break it down, Tao means “path” or “way”, Te means “to get”, and Ching means “great book”. So the Tao was the force that controlled the universe and appreciated the way, to find balance between opposites. The book, Tao Te Ching has been said to been written by a Laozi—an old master—and has been said that the true author (or authors’) name has been lost. In the chapters between the book it tells how to live a life of integrity and of greatness per say. It also has contradictions or paradoxes which allows us to see the both perspectives of each side. It shows us that there are always two sides to everything. Tao Te Ching

Taoism and Confucianism are two primary Chinese ways of thinking. Historically, these two philosophies have been viewed as polar opposites, but upon further research, they have the same mission. The belief system of Taoism viewed in Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tzu, is the monistic belief that human kind has a connection to the universe, and the “way” controls your life and everything that you do. The “way” has a pre-determined plan for your life, and you must sit back and follow it. On the other hand, Confucianism represented in The Art of War, shows that you have to work and discipline yourself to become complete. The Art of War is essentially a “battle plan”, and “Tao Te Ching “ is a essentially a book of ultimate humility. These two pieces seem quite different with their own different goals. While Confucianism and Taoism have different ways of reaching their respective goals, their goals and their destiny is essentially the same: and that is self-control.

The Taoist philosophy followed an interesting circle. On one hand, that Taoists rejected the regulation of life and society and preached instead to turn away from it to a solitary meditation of nature. On the other hand, they believed that by doing this one could ultimately have power enough to harness the whole universe. That by doing "nothing" one could accomplish "everything".

Though no one is completely certain, The Urantia Book Fellowship(Sprunger) many scholars believe Taoism’s foundation goes back to 604 BC, by Lao Tzu. Taoism is one of the more influential religious practices of the Eastern culture and many view it as a way of life rather than a religion. It emphasizes various themes centered on naturalness, vitality, peace, non-interference/non-resistance, refinement, detachment, flexibility, receptiveness, spontaneity, and the ways of life, speaking, and guiding behavior. Taoism represents the road, path followed in life, the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order of life that keeps the universe balanced and ordered. There are several variations of Taoism practiced around the

When relating the power of myth to Taoism, one the greatest belief is found in the first cause of the universe. Tao is said to be the first cause of the universe. The force that produces the universe is what flow through all life. Tao is what a person needs to live harmoniously with nature. If anyone follows this religion, one must nurture the Ch’I, which is the air, and the breath that has been given to him or her.

When first deciding to write my term paper on Taoism I thought it would be just another religion. In my research I found so many different translations that my head started spinning. There are really no known facts about the founder of Taoism, Lao Tsu, except that he was possibly a contemporary of Confucius. He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. (Religious Tolerance, 2007) Since there are many aspects to Taoism in this paper I will do my best to explain what Taoism is and also explain some of its main concepts.