Daoism

Taoism or Daoism is usually described as an Asian philosophy and religion, although it is also said to be neither but rather an aspect of Chinese wisdom. Translated literally, it means "the Teaching of the Way" or "Path", or "Tao". In Taoist context, Tao can be understood as a space-time path--the order in which things happen. As a descriptive term, it can be taken to refer to the actual world in history--sometimes distinguished as "great Dao" or prescriptively, as an order that should unfold--the moral way of Confucius or Laozi
or Christ or . . . . A theme in early Chinese thought is Tian-dao or way of nature (also translated as 'heaven' 'sky' and sometimes 'God'). This would correspond roughly to the order of things according to natural law. Both 'nature's way' and 'great way' can inspire the stereotypical Taoist detachment from moral or normative doctrines. Thus, thought of as the course by which everything comes to be what it is (the "Mother of everything") it seems hard to imagine that we have to select among any accounts of its normative content--thus it can be seen as an efficient principle of "emptiness" that reliably underlies the operation of the universe.

Taoism is a tradition that has, with its traditional foil Confucianism, shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. Taoism places emphasis upon spontaneity or freedom from social-cultural manipulation through institutions, language and cultural practices. Because the Confucian concept of government consists of getting everyone to follow the same moral tao, it manifests as anarchism--essentially championing the idea that we need no such centralized guidance. Natural kinds follow ways appropriate to themselves and humans are a natural kind. We all go through processes of acquiring different norms and guidance from society and yet we can live in peace if we don't seek to unify all these natural ways of being. Thus, Taoism represents in many ways the antithesis to Confucian concern with moral duties, social cohesion, and governmental responsibilities, even if Confucius's thought includes those Taoist values and the reverse, as one can read in the Analects of Confucius.

- Daoism / Neo Taoism, Ho Shang Gong, Huai-Nan Tzu, Kuo Hsiang, Lao Tzu, Tchuang Tzu, Wang Bi, etc.